[soccermom1225]

I am losing my mind sitting at this computer doing research trying to find the best place to move my family. My husband and i have 4 children and we live in NY. I have never lived anywhere else but I really HATE the winters here and have been wanting to leave for some time now. Here's what we are looking for: good schools(really can't afford private) I know the schools will not be like NY schools and that is great because although we have such 'great' schools I think my kids are under to much pressure to keep up with 'numbers and scores'. Also, are Charter schools better than reg schools? I need a safe neighborhood, really don't want to be too near Orlando(too busy for me), we have family in Ocala so somewhat close would be cool but not nec. and my husband would like to be somewhat near the ocean(no more than 3 hrs away). We are religious and would like a place that is tolerant of that(this year my kids school would not even allow 'santa' to visit). And of course somewhat affordable housing...lol our mortgage right now is around $900 a month. Now that I am typing it all out it sounds like a pretty tall order...lol no wonder I am having such a hard time...does such a place exist...lol Thank you so much in advance!

[doggiebus]

I think if you took a map out and looked at the state of Florida you would see you have given us a pretty good Idea of what part of the state you are look at. I would say you should look at Jacksonville down to Daytona on the coast. Also look at Ocala and Gainsville.

[TD*]

Tallahassee sounds like the perfect place for all of those wishes Seriously.

[beachmouse]

There isn't a place in the state more than about 75 minutes from the beach, though the stretch of coast from about Crystal River to Apalachicola in the Big Bend is pretty swampy. There are excellent and horrible charter schools in the state; you have to look at each school on a case by case basis. In terms of religous tolerance, general vibe is that your neighbors don't really care what faith you are or how you spend your Sunday mornings and expect you to do the same.

In terms of narrowing it down, find the job first, and then the city itself. Southeast Florida, the Naples area, and the central Panhandle tend to be the most expensive housing markets. You can find fairly reasonable in most of the rest of the state, and can probably go a bit higher on the sales price because property taxes hwere tend to be low compared to NY.

[SoFLGal]

You might want to try Sarasota county. You could pick up a home in North Port (southern Sarasota county) for around $100K, the schools are excellent, very kid friendly community, 30 minutes or less to the gulf.

You didn't mention your job situation. Will you be looking for a job when you move to FL?

[GLS2010]

Look into deland fl

[soccermom1225]

thank you everyone for your replies! SOFLGAL: I didn't even think to mention the job situation...duh Thank you for bringing that up Well, my husband is currantly an acct manager for AArons rental and planning on attending training to become an HVAC tech and I am currently a stay at home mom with some college and hope to complete soon with a degree in medical imaging (I would would very much like to do sonograms at an obgyn office). If that extra info helps or changes anything please let me know...I am going crazy trying to find the 'best' place for us Thanks again everyone, really I can't thank you enough!

[harrycrat]

Look no further than Miami...

Check the Mia map of quality districts by Crisp 444 in Miami threads...

This winter is a...one -in -30 years- exception,regularly u will T-shirt & flip-flop the winters...

Once u try,u will "never " look back...

[Col.W.Deering]

Originally Posted by soccermom1225

thank you everyone for your replies! SOFLGAL: I didn't even think to mention the job situation...duh Thank you for bringing that up Well, my husband is currantly an acct manager for AArons rental and planning on attending training to become an HVAC tech and I am currently a stay at home mom with some college and hope to complete soon with a degree in medical imaging (I would would very much like to do sonograms at an obgyn office). If that extra info helps or changes anything please let me know...I am going crazy trying to find the 'best' place for us Thanks again everyone, really I can't thank you enough!

Your husband may find a tough time finding an HVAC job in the North Port area. You may have some better luck in the medical field once you complete your degree. A larger city, with more opportunities may be better for you.

[2nzigo]

I am a FL native but unfortunately don't live there now. I have two children and if I were to move back, I'd probably move to Gainesville (due to the good schools, good size town, college atmosphere, decent distance to the beach). I would also consider Melbourne if I wanted to live real near the beach. Fort Myers is particularly cheap to live right now but there's not enough to do there for me and I don't know what the schools are like.