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Well ... at least you've "learned" something. Keep up your search and keep Martin County in mind for the future, you never know. We have "enough" old folks.
I'll touch on one point I saw come up.. How long your commute would be will very quite a bit especially with your EMT hours.. You may not be hitting peak 9-5 drive times so you might get there much quicker.
Best thing is to use Google Maps doing directions for exact addresses. You can set google maps to specify the time of day and day of the week and it will estimate based on typical traffic at that time of day.
I wouldn’t let my parents live in Bradenton either, because I’ve heard it’s really dangerous.
I wouldn't consider Bradenton exactly "dangerous" - it's certainly not going to be like inner city STL if that's what you're imagining. Even the worst parts of Bradenton are probably still safer than even some of the STL suburbs. That being said, there are definitely parts of the town I would prefer to never have to drive through. Go drive around the area. You'll know what I mean. Also, a lot of nice, newer areas are stuck with a Bradenton designation and zip code even though they are NOTHING like Bradenton proper. So people really do need to keep that in mind as there are a number of very nice areas towards Lakewood Ranch that just happen to have a Bradenton designation. Parrish is also very nice, too.
As for CDDs, they are usually in addition to an HOA. It's where a developer has taken out a bond to pay for everything so that the general taxpayer living outside the area doesn't have to be taxed to pay for what really only benefits the people living in these new communities. Also, don't be fooled into thinking that a CDD is only a "bad" or "expensive" thing because there are plenty of communities whose HOA & CDD costs combined are less than some HOA-only communities. Instead of passing along the cost of paying off those infrastructure bonds, the developer will just eat those costs upfront and pass them along to the home buyer by way of higher home prices and higher HOA fees. So people really need to think about what the HOA and/or CDD is really getting them and whether or not it provides a real benefit for them versus just someone just saying an HOA or a CDD is a bad thing.
I'll touch on one point I saw come up.. How long your commute would be will very quite a bit especially with your EMT hours.. You may not be hitting peak 9-5 drive times so you might get there much quicker.
Best thing is to use Google Maps doing directions for exact addresses. You can set google maps to specify the time of day and day of the week and it will estimate based on typical traffic at that time of day.
As a paramedic in the high majority of Florida you work 24 hour shifts, with 48 hours off. Some busier stations do 12, but 24 is standard. Up here the standard is 48 hours on, 96 hours off. Commute should be fine as long as I find a nice enough area within 45 minutes of where I’m working!
I wouldn't consider Bradenton exactly "dangerous" - it's certainly not going to be like inner city STL if that's what you're imagining. Even the worst parts of Bradenton are probably still safer than even some of the STL suburbs. That being said, there are definitely parts of the town I would prefer to never have to drive through. Go drive around the area. You'll know what I mean. Also, a lot of nice, newer areas are stuck with a Bradenton designation and zip code even though they are NOTHING like Bradenton proper. So people really do need to keep that in mind as there are a number of very nice areas towards Lakewood Ranch that just happen to have a Bradenton designation. Parrish is also very nice, too.
As for CDDs, they are usually in addition to an HOA. It's where a developer has taken out a bond to pay for everything so that the general taxpayer living outside the area doesn't have to be taxed to pay for what really only benefits the people living in these new communities. Also, don't be fooled into thinking that a CDD is only a "bad" or "expensive" thing because there are plenty of communities whose HOA & CDD costs combined are less than some HOA-only communities. Instead of passing along the cost of paying off those infrastructure bonds, the developer will just eat those costs upfront and pass them along to the home buyer by way of higher home prices and higher HOA fees. So people really need to think about what the HOA and/or CDD is really getting them and whether or not it provides a real benefit for them versus just someone just saying an HOA or a CDD is a bad thing.
I didn’t assume it was as bad as North City, as I don’t recall hearing about people in Bradenton using children as human shields in drive by’s. However, I live in St Charles County, and it’s literally one of the safest places on the planet. I think we have a murder MAYBE once every 3-5 years, and we have a population of 385k. I could walk around wearing a pair of pants made of $100 bills and I wouldn’t get robbed. I’m pretty in touch with the fact that I’m gonna be hard pressed to find somewhere as safe as here in Florida, and I’m totally okay with that.
I’m looking to move to Florida from Missouri in the next few years. I believe it’s the perfect place for my family and I. (My parents and I, Single 24 yo male.) I’m going down there this summer and I need to narrow down my choices of places to check out. What I’m looking for besides the weather and the beach is a place that FEELS like home. (Subjective, I’m aware!)
I’m from the suburbs of St. Louis, and I’m not a fan of big city life. I don’t like nightclubs or museums; I just like to go to the comic book store and the local music shops for fun. My county has a population of 385k, and I’d be fine going somewhere smaller than that, but it’s not a requirement. I just don’t want to live anywhere as crowded as South Florida.
So I’ve done my research over the past couple years on where I’d like to live based off job opportunities.
The panhandle has always been my favorite. Destin/FWB/Niceville and PCB have been top of my list for awhile. Love the North Florida landscape and the beaches. My issue with these areas are that aside from Destin and Niceville, the panhandle has a lot of really run down areas. A lot of the shops and homes in FWB, Pensacola, and PC/PCB look old and dilapidated. I really don’t like that. Destin is very upscale, but I’m really not sure about the community. Like I said, I want to live somewhere that has its OWN people and feels like a home to me. Niceville seems great, but has very few amenities. The mid bay bridge charges going to Destin would probably rack up pretty big as well living in Niceville.
Flagler Beach/Ormond Beach seems to be like a giant beach suburb. I LOVE that. The population of Volusia County is pretty high, but Ormond seems like a good balance between small town and good amenities. The housing prices are very cheap, and there’s a lot of new construction going on here. The beaches aren’t as anywhere near as nice as the gulf coast, but they seem clean and well maintained. Also, EMS is run by a private service here; and I’m not a fan of working for private companies vs. county run services. So that is a small downside for me.
Pinellas and Manatee County. Pinellas county seems crowded to me. I’d really only consider living on one of the small islands south of st pete beach. They have some good priced homes there. Manatee county seems to be a pretty great place to be. Lakewood Ranch reminds me a bit of where I grew up, but nicer. My only problem with there is that my mom wants to live near the beach, and the prices of homes on Anna Maria, Longboat, or Siesta are ridiculously high. I wouldn’t let my parents live in Bradenton either, because I’ve heard it’s really dangerous. They have a great paying EMS service though, and the weather is really warm!
What are your guy’s thoughts on these areas?
Thanks for the input.
- Jake
(The places in black are where I could move to.)
The panhandle is no doubt beautiful. Pensacola is probably one of my favorite places in the country however, every other time there is a hurricane it gets thrashed and trashed. Same thing applies to the rest of the panhandle. The insurance premiums are nearly as high as your mortgage payment. 2 years after the fact, people are still living in FEMA trailers from the last hurricane that rolled through.
Flagler beach is nice but again the insurance premiums are staggeringly high. Snowbird season will bring huge crowds and traffic.
Pinellas and Manatee not only get hurricanes but have frequent sinkhole activity. Again, really high insurance rates. Snowbird season is even worse than at Flagler.
If you just have to have something near the beach I would look at St. Augustine on the Atlantic or Steinhatchee on the Gulf of Mexico. If you are just looking for warm weather, reasonable housing costs, and minimal hurricanes I would suggest areas around Gainesville, Middleburg, Keystone Heights, or something in the middle of the state.
FYI I moved from Davie to Keystone Heights about 4 years ago and with the exception of a few inconveniences, feel like I made the right move. Less than 2 hours drive to either coast. Crime is nearly non-existant, albeit everyone and their grandmother conceal carries. The only gunshots you hear here are from target practice, hunting, or Camp Blanding. Really friendly genuine people however, if you vote democrat you’ll be S.O.L.
The panhandle is no doubt beautiful. Pensacola is probably one of my favorite places in the country however, every other time there is a hurricane it gets thrashed and trashed. Same thing applies to the rest of the panhandle. The insurance premiums are nearly as high as your mortgage payment. 2 years after the fact, people are still living in FEMA trailers from the last hurricane that rolled through.
Flagler beach is nice but again the insurance premiums are staggeringly high. Snowbird season will bring huge crowds and traffic.
Pinellas and Manatee not only get hurricanes but have frequent sinkhole activity. Again, really high insurance rates. Snowbird season is even worse than at Flagler.
If you just have to have something near the beach I would look at St. Augustine on the Atlantic or Steinhatchee on the Gulf of Mexico. If you are just looking for warm weather, reasonable housing costs, and minimal hurricanes I would suggest areas around Gainesville, Middleburg, Keystone Heights, or something in the middle of the state.
FYI I moved from Davie to Keystone Heights about 4 years ago and with the exception of a few inconveniences, feel like I made the right move. Less than 2 hours drive to either coast. Crime is nearly non-existant, albeit everyone and their grandmother conceal carries. The only gunshots you hear here are from target practice, hunting, or Camp Blanding. Really friendly genuine people however, if you vote democrat you’ll be S.O.L.
Good Luck on your move.
Thanks for the info. I’m pretty dead set on living coastal though. If I was going to live inland somewhere I’d probably choose Houston, but I would really prefer living in Florida.
The panhandle is no doubt beautiful. Pensacola is probably one of my favorite places in the country however, every other time there is a hurricane it gets thrashed and trashed. Same thing applies to the rest of the panhandle. The insurance premiums are nearly as high as your mortgage payment. 2 years after the fact, people are still living in FEMA trailers from the last hurricane that rolled through.
We're paying less than $2K a year for homeowner's in the panhandle- 5 miles from the coast and Flood Zone X. While not cheap, it's not like you're talking Florida Keys levels of premiums.
We're paying less than $2K a year for homeowner's in the panhandle- 5 miles from the coast and Flood Zone X. While not cheap, it's not like you're talking Florida Keys levels of premiums.
That’s not bad. If you were on Destin/30a and a mile from the beach with a 500k home, what do you reckon the price would be for insurance? Double what you’re at?
How’s Niceville?
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