Navarre, fl (Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Destin: 2013, apartment, rent)

[zbenassi]

My husband and I are trying to relocate from Indiana to Navarre but we are at a loss on how to get there. a little background: We fell victim to the economy here in Indiana and need a fresh start - there isn't much here for us anymore. We have family in the area and would love to be near them!
We would need to find jobs before we make the move and it has been difficult performing a job search a thousand miles away. I know that salaries in Florida are somewhat on the low side but It seems that most jobs in Navarre do not pay much at all.

Anybody have relocation experience? How did you go about performing a job search? Rent or buy? etc..... Thank you in advance for any ideas you may want to share

[m1a1mg]

Try this: https://www.employflorida.com/vosnet/Default.aspx

Buying is normally better than renting, just be aware of the costs down here.

[JJAF]

I will share my experience with you and you can take it or do what you want with it. I lived and built 2 homes in Navarre from 1989-1997. I traveled daily from Navarre to Hurlburt Field (Air Force Base). from 1997 through 2012 I made many visits for vacation and potential final home. I have seen solid growth and some changes through out the years. Highway 98 is atrocious and that is if there is no wreck or bad road conditions on a normal day.

In 2012 we decided to quit job and move to Navarre and build our 3rd and final home there. In May of 2012 we moved and rented an apartment Cayo Grande just west of Navarre. Cost was approx. $850 monthly for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath. For months my wife put in applications at places to work. She is a 20 year AF vet, has 40% disability, 3 year experience Government Civil Service and lots of medical experience. She could not get on any where. It took til late September to get a job at a eye doctor place for 10$ an hour. Had to grovel for that as they were gonna start her at $9.50 despite years of experience and being certified technician.

Continued applying on the military bases/VA hospitals/clinics through out the Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola areas. Not even a sniff of an interview.

To sum my story up, IF you got a 10$ job in Navarre, you are very, very lucky. I do like Navarre as I feel it is pretty clean and lots of new homes going up. But we spent hardly any time there, either going to FWB, Destin r Pensacola for things to do. PLEASE do not relocate there without solid jobs secured. Unless you have a years worth of savings, you will be scrambling and underwater very quickly.

We also noticed houses to own are slowly creeping upward again over the past 18 months. Another damaging hurricane and they will be exorbitant.

Hope this helps a little. If you have more questions I would be glad to help you out an answer anything via email.

[zbenassi]

JJAF, You are confirming what deep down I think I already knew ..... still would like to find somewhere near that has more employment options. Anybody have any suggestions?

m1a1mg, I am checking out the employment link - thanks

[JJAF]

For what it is worth, My wife (while we were in Navarre) applied to the VA hospital in Murfreesboro, TN to get back in Gov Civil Service and she got hired in March of 2013. Now that we have been here a year(in TN), we are going to try and transfer to the Pensacola VA. We like Pensacola, but we are partial to Stock Car Racing and we like to go to 5 Flags Speedway for the races. I do know there are some jobs in Pensacola that are not Gov Civil Service related that are in the 13-14$ an hour range. I can also tell you if you have food service or retail experience, you wouldn't have a problem getting a job in Destin, its just that the pay is nothing to "high five" about.