Family Moving To Florida Coast (Fort Lauderdale, Port St. Lucie: employment, good schools, college)

[belantino]

We are a young family with two boys under two looking into moving to the Florida coast. Employment and finances aren't an issue in the move.

We are looking for:

-Smaller town/suburb within 15 minutes to the beach
-Safe, quiet area (not a huge beer-fest all the time)
-Schools with low student/teacher ratio and large percent of the graduating class attending college (85%+)
-Reasonable cost of living
-More families, less retirees

So far we have looked into:

-Sarasota
-St. Augustine
-Fort Lauderdale
-Port St. Lucie
-Ormond Beach

Does anyone have additional cities we have yet to look into or know of any of the above fall within the criteria we would like to have in our next spot?

Thanks!

[Nolefan34]

I would highly recommend the Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens area located in northern Palm Beach County. It is an affluent area with good schools and is touching the beach. You can live right on the beach or 15 minutes inland. Most of those areas are middle class suburban atmospheres. There is also lots of stuff to do for a smaller town and you are a short drive from West Palm and Palm Beach International Airport.

I would rule out anything in Fort Lauderdale or Broward County. It is a big city here, not a small town. The cost of living is not reasonable here. Also keep in mind that Southeast FL is very different than the small towns once you go further up the coast. Ormond Beach and St. Augustine have more of a Southern feel to them. South FL has more of a cosmopolitan feel with a diverse population. Port St. Lucie is sort of in between. Its a very laid back area. lots of retirees and lots of younger families getting started out. PSL isn't known for having great schools.

Sarasota is on the west coast and that area tends to be lots of retirees from the Midwest. It is a beautiful area, but a bit too slow paced for me.

I think one thing you'll have a tough time finding anywhere in FL is schools with low student/teacher ratio's. Schools everywhere in FL tend to be overcrowded. This is due to a lack of funding and lack of tax dollars going towards education.