[Breeze2019]

My husband & I are late 40-something’s and thinking about a move to Florida. Our top priorities & wish list include:

> Safe neighborhood (most important)
> Single family home (1 or 2 story, no preference)
> 2bedroom/2bath (at least)
> A nice sized yard for our 2 labs (.25 acre or more)
> Trees
> Garage
> Within 1 hour to ocean (the closer the better)
> Backyard pool (community pool okay, but prefer backyard)
> Commute Time & Schools are not a concern. Husband is in tech & I have a small home business. We can work from home if needed, and we don’t have kids living at home.
> No preference for/against HOA but prefer neighborhood that looks like MOST residents own & care about the neighborhood & curb-appeal (even if some are renters).

We are active and nowhere near ready for a senior-living-type-neighborhood or anything overly boring. We love to go to outdoor events, music events, local restaurants, parks & walk/bike trails, art shows, farmers markets, quirky festivals, good people-watching hangouts, neighborhood parties, cookouts, etc. We prefer to live in an area that has good walkability scores but if that’s not affordable for our budget, being close enough to drive to is fine.

Our budget is “up to $250K” and our timeframe is flexible so if there are overpriced neighborhoods on the down-swing or up-and-coming (but low crime) neighborhoods worth watching over the next 6-12 months, please include them!

We are very interested in any suggestions or personal recommendations for neighborhoods and/or cities that we should look into (OR avoid)???

Thank you!!!!

[TreeBeard]

Trees???? Most Florida developers will go into an area and literally chop down nearly every tree because they want to pack as many homes into the tiniest postage stamp lots as they can.

Of course the good news is you may wind up living on a street called "Oak Street" where old oaks used to be and were axed down to make room for the house you may one day live in.


In my case, I was looking at a heavily forested lot and told the contracted to save as many trees as he could and I believe we managed to save nearly all.


Northern Florida has or rather had some amazing forests and trees. They are almost all gone.



New Subdivisions are the worst.

[beach43ofus]

North Port would be a general area I'd look at, but I cannot be any more specific than that.

[Arcenal813]

At that budget, your best bet would be to buy a plot of land somewhere and get a modular home installed on it. That way you can adjust home size/needs based on what you want within your price range.

My uncle had a 3,500sqft home installed on his property for $199,000. Your 2 bed 2 bath would be considerably smaller than what he has, so it would be a fraction of that cost. Just to give you an idea of costs.

[kyle19125]

More established areas will have plenty of trees, unlike as pointed out new build communities where developers plow under all of the mature growth in favor of saplings that may start to offer some shade in about 3-5 years. For bang for the buck I think you might find Palm Coast a good option. Check out the SW side which is quieter/nicest in my opinion and has lots of trees.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...t/12_zm/0_mmm/

[FLKitties]

Some parts of Punta Gorda, SE Cape Coral, and Fort Myers would meet that criteria.

[BNBR]

This sounds like almost all of Florida.... These places exist everywhere. A 2/2 on a 1/4 acre for $250k or less. You can find this in almost any region of Florida.

[Breeze2019]

I just included house info to provide a better picture of us & what we’ll ultimately be looking for. I’m really hoping to get some ideas on which cities or neighborhoods to begin our search & which ones would be a good fit for what we’re looking for regarding energy-level, vibe, things to do, low crime, not too far from the ocean, etc. Most neighborhoods (and cities) are known for having certain characteristics or personality (quiet, boring, crazy, artsy, snobby, active outdoor lovers, laidback, college oriented, pet lovers, walkable, loud troublemakers, retirement community, industrial, family friendly, touristy, ....) Not that every neighborhood can only be one type, we’re just looking for suggestions on places that are lively, friendly, have outdoor events that bring the community together, not too quiet or boring but not 24/7 club-goers, known for low crime but affordable, kid friendly but majority is not mostly young families with young kids, mostly active adults that enjoy nature, the ocean, their pets, art, music, wine, hobbies, fitness, and that sort of thing.)

[TD*]

Tallahassee is a strong bet

[FLKitties]

Originally Posted by Breeze2019

Not that every neighborhood can only be one type, we’re just looking for suggestions on places that are lively, friendly, have outdoor events that bring the community together, not too quiet or boring but not 24/7 club-goers, known for low crime but affordable, kid friendly but majority is not mostly young families with young kids, mostly active adults that enjoy nature, the ocean, their pets, art, music, wine, hobbies, fitness, and that sort of thing.)

Based on this updated info, I'd recommend St. Pete, Gulfport, Punta Gorda, and parts of Tampa (Hyde Park, Downtown, Channel District, etc.). Very walkable areas to get out and do stuff but the problem is going to be the budget part but I suppose is doable in some cases.