[sebastia]

We are looking to move to florida and have chosen five cities to explore: Melbourne, Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie, Sebastian and Margate. We would love to know which city is best for jobs, a low crime rate, cost of living, and generally a good place to live with a small family. We would also like to know which parts of the cities are the best in which to live(if you know) and any comments about apartment rentals. We are looking to move this summer and will visit FL this next month. We would appreciate any comments. Thanks!

[t-town]

I'm from the West Coast of florida, but I'm pretty sure that Melbourne and Port. St. Lucie are good...

[bootzie]

Ocala is beautiful. Safe, alot of horse farms and nice changes in seasons. You could probably rent a house for what you've been paying for an apartment. Cost of living is much cheaper there. Ocala is nice because it's 100 miles (or so) from all coasts and it's in the middle of the state away from hurricane alley. You can drive for an hour and be in Orlando, or any one of the beaches. Ocala is known as the horse capital of the world, and it is beautiful there. Check it out. Good luck.

[Judes]

Florida is a lovely state. But don't think it is cost effective to live here. The apartments are becoming harder and harder to find because so many of them are turning into condos. Development is going on all the time. Insurance is EXTREMELY expensive and very hard to get. The cost of living is not less than up North unless you are from New York City or Washington DC areas. The pay scale for jobs here is about 1/2 what it is up North, but the rent and food costs are probably the same. Very expensive to live here! I would at least try to live inland in a smaller town! The winters are lovely here and summer is HOT and HUMID! Traffic is horrible, especially between October and April. I live on the west coast and I guess it's considered one of the more expensive areas, so I would suggest you look more toward Crystal River or Mt Dora. Both are lovely little towns, but jobs will be hard to come by there. Good luck with your journey!

[richkat]

Judes - you are so right. When we first made plans to move here, it was a lot less expensive. By the time we got here from California, housing prices had doubled but the pay had actually lowered. True, we do own a house here but other than that, we could be better off going back to California - if we didn't mind renting. Truth be told, we're looking at other states where you can come out ahead - where we can have 2 jobs. Here we've only managed to have one. And that's getting old. As it turns out, it's a lot more expensive to live here than it seems.

[Ameriquest1]

I am a florida real estate broker in Port St. Lucie. Port St. Lucie is an up and coming area. I work free for buyers and would be happy to assist you. Please visit my website at URL removed. Have a good day.

[cakeprincess]

True, it is getting expensive to live here now than it was 20 years ago. I bought a 2 bedrooms/1 bath concrete home for $36,000 in 1991 and now I sold my house for $159,900! I sold my house because I'm fed up with the hurricanes and the salary from the job is not enough to live on, which I ended up working 2 jobs. School isn't too great, either, because reading level is really bad and the State constantly test the students (FCAT) to see if they're ready for their next grade. Summer is HOT and humid! Winter and Spring are GREAT!

I strongly advise you to look for a place to live where the land level is up higher. Dont live in a low lying area - you will easily get flooded, even tropical storm. Think the storm drainage will help? Not at all - they get easily clogged and backed up, causing some people's home toilet to back up.

Mosquito is a pain - can't enjoy outdoor anymore, or get used to spray on smell thing.

[robman]

i was born and raised in stuart fl. i can tell you right now that port st. lucie isnt the first place id wanna move to. id give palm city a try. the people are nice and its in general a great place to live. true the housing is expensive and it can get hot but hey i like the heat so im not complaining. btw if you do for some reason decide to move to lucie dont live on the aves especially d (not the safest of neighborhoods)

[Thisisjuno]

Hi there,
I am very familiar with the current situations in the areas that you are researching to move to in Florida. I am originally from the Adirondack region of upstate NY but my whole family, including myself for the last 6 years, resides in many areas all over Florida. Sebastian is a great small town, with virtually no crime. Currently both of my sisters and step-father live there and I can't wait to get there when I go visit (I live near St. Petersburg on the other coast which I strongly do not recommend!) However, as far as the jobs I am not sure. My sisters are nurses so they can work anywhere..My step-father on the other hand dabbles in real estate (which was booming but is on a hault now because of the hurricanes) and travels far to work. There is really not much in Sebastian which makes it so desireable and beautiful. It is like old Florida..the way it used to be before urban sprawl. Vero Beach is just a little further south and has more population therefore more jobs. Once you get south of that...it gets crazy. The cost of living goes up significantly because south Florida has gotten so Cosmopolitan. I am not sure of your income level, but it does take a significant level of income for a famuly to have a decent quality oflife in Florida..especially south Florida. The west coast is aweful..so overpopulated and no housing available at reasonable prices..pay is aweful too. I cannot wait to move back east. I hope this is helpful..I am glad you are researching before you move..so many are not only to see that Florida is not what they expected. Lila Kelly

[Mountain Man]

I Just mved from the west coast of FL to Vero Beach its a lot nicer here ,I like the Sebastian area also