[Krych914]

We're considering Florida for a relocation from Rockland County, NY. We're a couple in our mid-30's with two children (5 and 12), one with an IEP for ADHD. We're looking for a single family home, ideally on the water but we would consider being within a 10 minute drive to a dock space. We have a 25' center console that we would be homing so we're looking for easy access to the water. Good schools is a top priority for us, as well as being in a town that is very family-friendly with a great community feel (lots of programs, activities, events throughout the year) as my husband and I are both very actively involved as volunteers in our community and would like to continue to that wherever we relocate to. We don't want to be in a city but being close to one would be nice, but not necessary. We'd prefer a town with shops, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, even a nice or quaint downtown area would be great but if not within our town itself, We'd want to be within a 10-15 minute drive from a neighboring town with all of those things. Our budget is $600K at the high end and we're looking for a 4-bedroom home. Is there anywhere in Florida that might be a good match for us?

[wp169]

I live in NY near you, I used to live in Florida for 10 years but came back to NY. Florida is much too crowded, too much crime, schools weren't good back then, my Florida co-workers had their kids in private school. If you don't live in a gated community, homeowners just do whatever they want, like keeping 10 cars on their lawn and law enforcement does nothing about it. Five of my coworkers had Florida relatives who were crime victims and were killed. I witnessed someone taking a gun out of his car at a gas station and start shooting on my lunch hour.
Unless a poster can come up with an area in Florida that fits your criteria and has a low crime rate, I would think twice about moving there. Living in Florida is not as nice as living in suburban New York where we take so many good things about living here for granted.

[Krych914]

Originally Posted by wp169

I live in NY near you, I used to live in Florida for 10 years but came back to NY. Florida is much too crowded, too much crime, schools weren't good back then, my Florida co-workers had their kids in private school. If you don't live in a gated community, homeowners just do whatever they want, like keeping 10 cars on their lawn and law enforcement does nothing about it. Five of my coworkers had Florida relatives who were crime victims and were killed. I witnessed someone taking a gun out of his car at a gas station and start shooting on my lunch hour.
Unless a poster can come up with an area in Florida that fits your criteria and has a low crime rate, I would think twice about moving there. Living in Florida is not as nice as living in suburban New York where we take so many good things about living here for granted.

I appreciate your honest reply. This is one of my concerns and it helps to hear the viewpoint of someone who has lived in the part of NY that we're from and can give an accurate account of the differences. Rockland County in general, but particularly the town we live in, does have a VERY low crime rate and I wouldn't even consider relocating to an area that didn't have a low crime rate, so thank you for reminding me of that important factor.

If you don't mind me asking, what area of Florida did you live in? From what I understand, and I could be completely off-base because my knowledge is only coming from hear-say and the few friends we have that have relocated to Florida in recent years, Florida seems to have areas that have very high crime and very poor schools and then some other areas of better schools (still not to some NY standards, but still good) and low crime. Again, please excuse if this sounds naive because I have no first-hand experience of the statistical population of the state as a whole, which is why I'm asking on this forum. We're truly trying to determine if Florida is a good fit for us (it's been my husband's dream for years and our retired ocean/boating-loving in-laws would gladly follow us) or if we should be exploring other places.

[FL_Expert]

Palm Harbor and East Lake in northern Pinellas County are a great match. Osprey in Sarasota County would be a good fit too… I probably sound like a broken record because I recommend these places a lot for families. Unfortunately you’re not going to find a 4br home on the water with good schools in Florida anymore for $600k.

[Krych914]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

Palm Harbor and East Lake in northern Pinellas County are a great match. Osprey in Sarasota County would be a good fit too… I probably sound like a broken record because I recommend these places a lot for families. Unfortunately you’re not going to find a 4br home on the water with good schools in Florida anymore for $600k.

Thank you for your suggestions - I'm going to look into each of them. I'm not surprised though at your assessment of homes on the water with good schools. I expected that to be the case with prices skyrocketing. It seems to be happening all over the country right now.

[wp169]

Originally Posted by Krych914

I appreciate your honest reply. This is one of my concerns and it helps to hear the viewpoint of someone who has lived in the part of NY that we're from and can give an accurate account of the differences. Rockland County in general, but particularly the town we live in, does have a VERY low crime rate and I wouldn't even consider relocating to an area that didn't have a low crime rate, so thank you for reminding me of that important factor.

If you don't mind me asking, what area of Florida did you live in? From what I understand, and I could be completely off-base because my knowledge is only coming from hear-say and the few friends we have that have relocated to Florida in recent years, Florida seems to have areas that have very high crime and very poor schools and then some other areas of better schools (still not to some NY standards, but still good) and low crime. Again, please excuse if this sounds naive because I have no first-hand experience of the statistical population of the state as a whole, which is why I'm asking on this forum. We're truly trying to determine if Florida is a good fit for us (it's been my husband's dream for years and our retired ocean/boating-loving in-laws would gladly follow us) or if we should be exploring other places.

I lived and worked in Orlando in Orange County and had a house built in Deltona in Volusia County (half hour from New Smyrna Beach). I don't think you are naive, to the contrary, I think you are playing it very smart to seek out info about Florida before you move and your friends have filled you in correctly. It's very disheartening when I read about the high crime stats of areas in Florida I used to frequent that used to be wonderful places to live. I can't advise you on any good areas for you to move because I'm not familiar with the school systems, but I'm sure you will find the info you need from the posters here.

I just remembered reading good things about Jupiter, Fl., you might want to research that area.

[wp169]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

Palm Harbor and East Lake in northern Pinellas County are a great match. Osprey in Sarasota County would be a good fit too… I probably sound like a broken record because I recommend these places a lot for families. Unfortunately you’re not going to find a 4br home on the water with good schools in Florida anymore for $600k.

Just wanted to note for the OP the west coast of Florida; Sarasota, Tampa, etc, is more hurricane prone than the east coast.

[JenaS62]

Originally Posted by Krych914

We're considering Florida for a relocation from Rockland County, NY. We're a couple in our mid-30's with two children (5 and 12), one with an IEP for ADHD. We're looking for a single family home, ideally on the water but we would consider being within a 10 minute drive to a dock space. We have a 25' center console that we would be homing so we're looking for easy access to the water. Good schools is a top priority for us, as well as being in a town that is very family-friendly with a great community feel (lots of programs, activities, events throughout the year) as my husband and I are both very actively involved as volunteers in our community and would like to continue to that wherever we relocate to. We don't want to be in a city but being close to one would be nice, but not necessary. We'd prefer a town with shops, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, even a nice or quaint downtown area would be great but if not within our town itself, We'd want to be within a 10-15 minute drive from a neighboring town with all of those things. Our budget is $600K at the high end and we're looking for a 4-bedroom home. Is there anywhere in Florida that might be a good match for us?

Check out Martin County on the south east coast. 600K on water might be a little too low but beautiful area and close the West Palm Beach and Ft Lauderdale airports. Pretty conservative. Great schools.

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by wp169

Just wanted to note for the OP the west coast of Florida; Sarasota, Tampa, etc, is more hurricane prone than the east coast.

That’s not accurate. The last time Tampa was hit was the 1920s and I believe the last time Sarasota was hit was in the 1960s. SE Florida gets hit pretty often. The stretch from Cape Canaveral to Georgia very rarely get impacted though.

[kidyankee764]

I was going to suggest Boca Raton or Jupiter but that house would be double the price. You may want to look into Lakewood Ranch, Parrish or Venice (amazing little downtown) in the Sarasota area. Still not cheap, and you won’t find a house on the water for that price, but you’re never too far away.

I also relocated from the NYC suburbs four years ago and find the quality of life here very high. The crime is no different than the crime up there - you have your high crime areas and low crime areas like anywhere else. And statistically, Florida cities have crime rates that are dropping, as opposed to rising like we see in the NYC area.

Best of luck with your move. If you zero in on a city/town and need help with specific communities, let me know.