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My husband and I both lost our jobs over a year ago due to plant closings. We had made a pact early in our marriage – that being if we ever lost our jobs, we would liquidate and move out of this God-forsaken place called central Illinois. Well, here we are. We made the most of a bad situation and decided to change careers and go back to school to obtain degrees. We will graduate in May and plan on moving to Florida sometime that summer after the house is sold. Why Florida? I’m sick and tired of 6-7 months of frigid temperatures, so much so in fact that I can honestly say that I don’t care if I ever see snow again. I will gladly trade this out for a climate in which I may actually be able to take a winter walk without risking frostbite. Hurricanes? Bring ‘em on! Hell, I’ve been through one (Gloria) and I don’t consider them nearly as much of a menace as a tornado. At least with a hurricane you get some type of advance notice…try waking up from a dead sleep to screaming tornado sirens at 3 a.m., and sleeping on a cold basement floor for hours while waiting out the warnings. The wage scale here is decent, with good reason….you obviously have to attract people somehow (when there is nothing else to offer). My husband was offered competitive wages in a Chicago ‘burb – we declined. The reason for the competitive wages is that the cost of living was nearly twice of what we have here in central Il. Add a $2000 monthly rent bill, MORE snow and ice, and an ungodly commute to the picture, and you can see why. Ever wonder why 9 out of 10 people in the Midwest are obese? It’s because there’s nothing to do here, except eat! I swear there are thousands of restaurants in my hometown and they’re always full with lines out the door! I’m sorry, but I envision just a little more for myself and my family.
That said, we have spent the past 2 years researching possible areas of Florida that we have considered for relocation. Then we went there, and checked ‘em out first-hand, with our own eyes. We found that there were many cities we wouldn’t even consider; such as Tampa, Orlando/Kissimmee, Tallahassee, Lake City and Ft. Myers. In contrast, we really liked the Pensacola area, Panama City, and Englewood /Manasota Key (south of Sarasota). We liked what we saw of Sarasota, but haven’t researched its crime rate and employment yet. What did we base our decision on? We took many factors into consideration, the most important being including employment opportunities (in our field), real estate costs, and crime rate (now you can see where city-data.com came in so handy!) What factored into our decision of the cities we did NOT like? Real estate costs, CRIME, and first hand VISUAL experience of not liking what we saw (i.e. dirty city, run-down, pollution, etc.) Also, I refuse to move my young children into areas that don’t have a handle on crime, or gangs. I don’t want to live in any area in which ENGLISH SPEAKING Americans are the minority. No, I’m not racist, I’m realist. More importantly, I have the freedom and the right to make that my choice. You have the right to disagree. It may not be as important to you as it is to me with young, impressionable children (and their possible successful or unsuccessful future). I could give a **** less if I’m being politically correct or not. PC is going to be the death of this country. If you don’t like it, don’t waste my time or yours in this forum. Fair enough?
In closing, everyone can find something wrong with the place they live. We all know that the grass is greener on the other side…. I can only concede that the positives outweigh the negatives in Florida. If it’s so bad, why is it still the number one retirement destination? The way I look at it, I’ll just be there twenty years early.
I would be very interested in contacting and keeping in contact with others that are considering relocating to Pensacola. We spent a week in Milton last year, and actually contacted a real estate agent and looked at homes. We liked what we saw in the Pensacola area. If you are considering relocating to Pensacola, and would be interested in the possibility of organizing a support/networking group to keep in touch with before, during and after relocation, please reply to this post. Thanks, and happy trails to everyone out there. Life is an adventure……live it!
I live three miles from Pensacola in a town called Gulf Breeze. It is basically between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach. It is surrounded by water on three sides and there is one way in and one way out. It is bordered on the east by National Park land. The crime is next to nothing, there is a lot to do and it is a very friendly place. Google Earth Gulf Breeze, Florida and you will see how neat it is. I have lived here > 30 years and it has grown A LOT, but it can only grow so big at 3 miles x 3 miles in size. We have the best schools in Florida! Pensacola can get ify in many places. I wouldn't live in many areas of Pensacola, although most places are great. If you look into GB, consider Gulf Breeze proper versus outlying areas on Hwy 98. If you search the Pensacola MLS, be sure to select "proper". We are moving to Woodland Park, Colorado for several years, then well be back! You can also visit the city of Gulf Breeze web-site.
When you see people complaining on here about Florida, they are usually talking about the peninsula, not the panhandle. It's a different world up here. The taxes are high and the homeowners insurance is terrible like the rest of the state, but we have fewer of the other problems they have.
Milton is prone to tornadoes more than the coastal area. I know hurricane Ivan spawned a tornado in Milton that killed a few people. It does get chilly here but not Illinois cold. You can expect it to go down to the 30s at night in Jan. and Feb. but it will be in the 50s during the day. Nobody ever died of a heart attack while shoveling snow in Florida.
I live about 50 miles from Pensacola. I used to live south of Milton in Navarre. I think you will like living in Milton. It's the kind of small town that doesn't really exist in this country anymore. Personally, I prefer Navarre Beach to Pensacola Beach. It's quieter, less congested, and fewer tourists. From Milton it will take you about 30 min. to get to Navarre Beach and 40ish min. to get to Pensacola Beach (which is actually in Gulf Breeze).
Since you have young children, you might be interested in some school info. Schools in Florida are among the worst in the nation so you want to live in one of the better school districts in the state. Milton is located in Santa Rosa county. Santa Rosa county schools are ranked #6 out of 67 in the state. They are good schools. My daughter went to Santa Rosa schools in Navarre and we were happy with them. Pensacola is located in Escambia county. Escambia schools are ranked #57 out of 67. They are terrible. We have friends who live in P'cola who took their son out of public school and put him in private because their school was so bad. So, if for some reason you don't move to Milton, you might not want to move inside Escambia Co. JMO.
I currently live in Navarre!! Looking to move but ONLY because of the heat and tourist!! The area itself is beautiful, Navarre has Great schools! I have four young children and we find plenty to do in Navarre,Pensacola or fort walton,there all so close and such an easy drive it's great! I will miss this area and i am looking for an exact town of Navarre in Colorado!! Milton is nice and cheap but kinda run down looking just extremely historic i guess Navarre is a little more upscale i guess!! I have lived her my whole life so any questions please ask!!
My husband and I both lost our jobs over a year ago due to plant closings. We had made a pact early in our marriage – that being if we ever lost our jobs, we would liquidate and move out of this God-forsaken place called central Illinois. Well, here we are. We made the most of a bad situation and decided to change careers and go back to school to obtain degrees. We will graduate in May and plan on moving to Florida sometime that summer after the house is sold. Why Florida? I’m sick and tired of 6-7 months of frigid temperatures, so much so in fact that I can honestly say that I don’t care if I ever see snow again. I will gladly trade this out for a climate in which I may actually be able to take a winter walk without risking frostbite. Hurricanes? Bring ‘em on! Hell, I’ve been through one (Gloria) and I don’t consider them nearly as much of a menace as a tornado. At least with a hurricane you get some type of advance notice…try waking up from a dead sleep to screaming tornado sirens at 3 a.m., and sleeping on a cold basement floor for hours while waiting out the warnings. The wage scale here is decent, with good reason….you obviously have to attract people somehow (when there is nothing else to offer). My husband was offered competitive wages in a Chicago ‘burb – we declined. The reason for the competitive wages is that the cost of living was nearly twice of what we have here in central Il. Add a $2000 monthly rent bill, MORE snow and ice, and an ungodly commute to the picture, and you can see why. Ever wonder why 9 out of 10 people in the Midwest are obese? It’s because there’s nothing to do here, except eat! I swear there are thousands of restaurants in my hometown and they’re always full with lines out the door! I’m sorry, but I envision just a little more for myself and my family.
That said, we have spent the past 2 years researching possible areas of Florida that we have considered for relocation. Then we went there, and checked ‘em out first-hand, with our own eyes. We found that there were many cities we wouldn’t even consider; such as Tampa, Orlando/Kissimmee, Tallahassee, Lake City and Ft. Myers. In contrast, we really liked the Pensacola area, Panama City, and Englewood /Manasota Key (south of Sarasota). We liked what we saw of Sarasota, but haven’t researched its crime rate and employment yet. What did we base our decision on? We took many factors into consideration, the most important being including employment opportunities (in our field), real estate costs, and crime rate (now you can see where city-data.com came in so handy!) What factored into our decision of the cities we did NOT like? Real estate costs, CRIME, and first hand VISUAL experience of not liking what we saw (i.e. dirty city, run-down, pollution, etc.) Also, I refuse to move my young children into areas that don’t have a handle on crime, or gangs. I don’t want to live in any area in which ENGLISH SPEAKING Americans are the minority. No, I’m not racist, I’m realist. More importantly, I have the freedom and the right to make that my choice. You have the right to disagree. It may not be as important to you as it is to me with young, impressionable children (and their possible successful or unsuccessful future). I could give a **** less if I’m being politically correct or not. PC is going to be the death of this country. If you don’t like it, don’t waste my time or yours in this forum. Fair enough?
In closing, everyone can find something wrong with the place they live. We all know that the grass is greener on the other side…. I can only concede that the positives outweigh the negatives in Florida. If it’s so bad, why is it still the number one retirement destination? The way I look at it, I’ll just be there twenty years early.
I would be very interested in contacting and keeping in contact with others that are considering relocating to Pensacola. We spent a week in Milton last year, and actually contacted a real estate agent and looked at homes. We liked what we saw in the Pensacola area. If you are considering relocating to Pensacola, and would be interested in the possibility of organizing a support/networking group to keep in touch with before, during and after relocation, please reply to this post. Thanks, and happy trails to everyone out there. Life is an adventure……live it!
Hey KitKat, like you, my wife and I are from Illinois(Freeport, just north of Peoria) Iam a temp. worker at the Belvidere Chrysler plant that is about to cut a shift so I will be losing my job. My wife and I are REALLY tired of winter in Illinois, its currently around -4 degrees below zero. My wifes sister lives in Milton, Florida and that is the area we are planning on going to. My worry is jobs, I have 30yrs in factories with a quality control background and I dont think manufacturing is real big in the area. I cant afford any school, so I'm a bit worried. Just gonna have to see what happens in the next six months and hope for the best.
Hey, Sounds like we are of like minds here. I did college in Pensacola, my husband lived there with his family for several years. We were supposed to move there when we got married, but the job thing didn't work out at the time. Well, we lived in AR for 5 years with his family, then came back here to PA. Have been here for 8 years and are getting taxed out of our minds! Oh, and we are freezing to death! I feel so bad for the kids. They used to like the snow, and I was thinking we were making the wrong choice, but then they started complaining about the cold! They want to go to the beach! In January! Well, they wouldn't be swimming, but they could take a nice stroll (without snow!) My 4yo daughter said the other day that she hates that it has to be cold to snow, and she went out back yesterday (why? b/c there was some snow coming down) and came back in crying about how she hates the cold! So we are all on board! We will be experiencing a job shutdown as well due to a buyout. We cannot afford the school for him, but my husband has these 8-9 years of engineering for a tier one supplier of automobile mirrors, and his military and machinist backgrounds should help him land a decent job. We just have to hope it all works out! The job thing is definitely a worry for us too. Hopefully we will both get the jobs we need! We are looking at mid-June to July to move, b/4 the next school year gets started and after this one ends. It is a good time and a great way to turn something bad into a great move for our family. Wishing you-all luck with your move! See you there!
Ahhh man...one more party I won't get invited too! We practically ran out of Pensacola, hated it with a passion. Not our cup of tea even a little bit. I'm too liberal, too outspoken, too northern in attitude, and want warm, warm winters. So Pensacola and I were like oil and water.
This is my 10th year living in Gulf Breeze, just outside of Pensacola. Absolutely love this area. Sure all areas on EARTH have some sort of problems, but we truly love living here and whine very little...in comparison to many of the negative posters on the Florida forum. Zone8Heather laid it out very well...Check out the Gulf Breeze "Proper" area.
I would be very interested in contacting and keeping in contact with others that are considering relocating to Pensacola. We spent a week in Milton last year, and actually contacted a real estate agent and looked at homes. We liked what we saw in the Pensacola area. If you are considering relocating to Pensacola, and would be interested in the possibility of organizing a support/networking group to keep in touch with before, during and after relocation, please reply to this post. Thanks, and happy trails to everyone out there. Life is an adventure……live it!
It depends on what ya'lls careers will be in. Right off the bat, healthcare, technology, applied science/research & development, law, all strong fields. Defense is a HUGE employer here, of which I am in, and LOVE IT!
I keep a place in Ft. Walton Beach during the workweek, and go home to Gulf Breeze on the weekends (closer proximity to my family in Pensacola, FL and Daphne, AL). Lived in Atlanta and San Jose/San Francisco for 10 years prior to coming back. It was the plan, just got a little detoured when the dotcom thing happened.
We live about 2 hours west of Pensacola in Walton County ...
along the Scenic Highway 30a ... Niceville is just northwest of us ...
and it may be another area you might want to check out ...
Niceville is located in Okaloosa County ....
here is a link to their school system: Okaloosa County School District
We've known a few folks who have lived in Gulf Breeze / Navarre and they seem to like it there ....
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PC is going to be the death of this country. If you don’t like it, don’t waste my time or yours in this forum. Fair enough? 
Gulf Breeze Resident here
