Safe Towns (Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando: crime rate, homes, safe area)

[mattington]

This is a general Florida question, where is the safest place to live, eg towns, cities etc because i am planning to move there with my wife and 3 kids.

If Florida isnt the place for me which state should i go to which has higher temperatures than the UK.

[mattington]

didnt see the main florida section sorry

[skylinet]

there's many nice safe areas, all depends on your budget, tolerance to heat, job situation etc.

[Reedsmit]

Florida is a huge state - it has many large cities and large cities tend to have a higher crime rate than smaller towns. Florida has several regions - the northern most part of the state from the panhandle to Jacksonville has reasonably cold weather. There are many small towns - and it has more of an old south feel to it.

The center of the state Orlando specifically can be very hot in the summer - as they don't have the sea breezes. The winters can get cold - coat weather.

West Palm Beach, Boca, Ft. Lauderdale are on the coast - get sea breezes but our summers are still hot, homes need a/c.

Miami - is very tropical.

The Keys are more relaxed but - only one main road in and out - during hurricanes evacuation starts very early to get people out of the Keys before a storm.

I have lived in the Jupiter / Tequesta area for about 30 years. Raised a family here, and think it is a great place to raise a family. It has a small town feel - it's on the ocean, beautiful beaches, great sports programs for the kids, crime rate is low, close to major highways.

We get a few days of cold weather every winter (30's) but it does not last long. We have some very pleasant winters and springs - but the summers do get hot.

There are hundreds of towns like Jupiter in FL - but frankly it will get down to the following.
1. Job - what type of work do you do, will you be bringing a job with you?
2. Type of climate your family will be comfortable with.
3. Price you can pay for a home.

Before making such a move you may want to come to FL for a week or so and visit some of the areas that you are most interested in.

Best of Luck

[Pebbs78]

Jupiter is beautiful - yes, very small town feel. I grew up in WPB, moved to Chicago. If I ever move back to Florida, I'd definitely pick the Jupiter area.

Personally, I would not live anywhere below Palm Beach Gardens. Just my opinion though. I enjoy the natural beauty of Florida, without it being over-developed.