Looking for local information on Milton Florida (Clearwater, Spring Hill: rent, homes)

[mkroj]

We are considering relocation to Milton/panhandle area from New England area. I'm interested in hearing from folks that currently live in the area to gain local info about the area. Including best beach areas, good and bad neighborhoods, traffic issues, proximity to shopping and jobs in the area? Things to do in the area, community? Way of Life? Pro's and Con's? We are in our mid 40's, business professionals without kids. thanks in advance

[AustinTraveler]

How did you manage to come up with Milton? Milton, and nextdoor Pace, have basically become suburbs to Pensacola but are still very "country". The beaches are nowhere near. You will see water all around you but to get to the Gulf where the nice beaches are will take you 35-45 minutes (without traffic) depending on whether you go to Navarre Beach or Pensacola Beach.

Traffic can be bad since most people are commuting. Shopping is typical big box stuff. Way of life is overwhelmingly Christian conservative. This is the Bible Belt after all.

To make recommendations it would help to know what kinds of things you are looking for from a community, and what types of activities are important to you.

I clicked on the red triangle up in the right-hand corner of your post to alert the moderators that this belongs in the Pensacola Forum.

[mkroj]

Austin,

Thanks for the Reply. We found Milton based upon reading a couple articles, wanting to be on the Gulf side of the state, seeing a housing market that appeared to be reasonable and my thought was we'd be 20-30 drive to the white sand beaches of the Gulf. It appears I was wrong by a few minutes.

More about us. We're looking for an area that has established "real neighborhoods" that aren't there just as vacationers or snowbirds. We don't have children so schools aren't a primority. We'd like to be 20-30 minute drive to the beach. Job market isn't that important to us, although I'm sure we'd like to find some work in the area. We're looking for an area that has chain restaurants and Big Box stores within 30 minute drive, but don't want to live in a congested city area with heavy traffic. Reasonable housing prices is another important need for us. We're basiclly average couple in our 40-50 years age that don't golf and want a nice peaceful place to call year round home. I know the area tends to be known for it's bible belt lifestyle but that isn't a main interest in my family and I'm a bit worried about Our only exposure to the Gulf side beaches was at Clear Water Beach and WOW!!! Loved the water temp, white powder sand and sunsets. However living there appears to be more expensive and congested. We don't want all tropical weather so don't want to go further south than Clearwater. Spring Hills looked nice, however more research tells me that they don't have significant beaches in the region. Therefore we keep looking further north and around the panhandle. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. We plan a trip down in Late Sept to tour various locations and regions. Thanks again for any offerings.

[beachmouse]

If you're looking in Milton then, there's an unincorporated area just south of there called Bagdad that's got a nice number of 100+ year old homes in generally decent condition. It's also a few minutes closer to the beaches than Milton proper since it's closer to I-10.

[AustinTraveler]

Unless you are directly on the Gulf of Mexico, every neighborhood here has full-time residents. Snowbirds and tourists rent on the beaches, which are mainly barrier islands. Personally, I would be looking at Gulf Breeze or Navarre. You'll be much closer to the beaches and, although you won't have every big box store, you have the basics: WalMart, Lowe's, etc. It's a short drive (probably well under 30 minutes) to everything else. It would help to know what a "reasonable" budget is for you.

[AT9]

Originally Posted by mkroj

Austin,

Thanks for the Reply. We found Milton based upon reading a couple articles, wanting to be on the Gulf side of the state, seeing a housing market that appeared to be reasonable and my thought was we'd be 20-30 drive to the white sand beaches of the Gulf. It appears I was wrong by a few minutes.

More about us. We're looking for an area that has established "real neighborhoods" that aren't there just as vacationers or snowbirds. We don't have children so schools aren't a primority. We'd like to be 20-30 minute drive to the beach. Job market isn't that important to us, although I'm sure we'd like to find some work in the area. We're looking for an area that has chain restaurants and Big Box stores within 30 minute drive, but don't want to live in a congested city area with heavy traffic. Reasonable housing prices is another important need for us. We're basiclly average couple in our 40-50 years age that don't golf and want a nice peaceful place to call year round home. I know the area tends to be known for it's bible belt lifestyle but that isn't a main interest in my family and I'm a bit worried about Our only exposure to the Gulf side beaches was at Clear Water Beach and WOW!!! Loved the water temp, white powder sand and sunsets. However living there appears to be more expensive and congested. We don't want all tropical weather so don't want to go further south than Clearwater. Spring Hills looked nice, however more research tells me that they don't have significant beaches in the region. Therefore we keep looking further north and around the panhandle. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. We plan a trip down in Late Sept to tour various locations and regions. Thanks again for any offerings.

I would highly recommend visiting the area before making any big decisions - the Florida panhandle is a very different place from New England! I'm in Milton/Pace pretty often because that's where the in-laws are, so I feel pretty confident commenting on the area. Here are the major features I notice:

-Very conservative and very Christian. In fact, having lived in many spots throughout the US, I can say that this may be the most conservative Christian area I've been to. It's to a degree that I don't like, and I'm both Christian and conservative! If you happen to be way liberal, I'd say the least conservative areas are probably Gulf Breeze or maybe the East Hill area of Pensacola (?).

-Its culture is a mix of country/redneck and middle/upper-middle class suburbia. Kind of an odd mix between working professionals, who mostly commute to Pensacola, and rednecks (no offense to anyone here).

-I don't know exactly what you mean by "real neighborhoods." If you want older neighborhoods connected to a more “urban” area, I'd suggest looking in Pensacola, particularly East Hill. But if you're fine with newish suburban neighborhoods with lots of families (as opposed to snowbirds), then Pace/Milton have some good options.

-Shopping: Basic big box stores including Wal-Mart, Target, Petsmart, etc. However, you're only about 20 minutes from more options in Pensacola.

-Dining: lots of fast food and local restaurants. Some nicer chain restaurants like Chilis, Ruby Tuesday, and Texas Roadhouse.

The area is generally a good place to live with nice people, but it's not for everyone. Based on what you've said about yourself, I'd recommend looking at places in Pensacola (Escambia County). It's closer to the beaches, more shopping and dining options, and it's less country. Not to mention, it has a good deal of real neighborhoods, both newer/suburban and older/established. Good luck!

[Tiger9296]

How far is Milton to brewton? As I may be taking a job there?

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

Unless you are directly on the Gulf of Mexico, every neighborhood here has full-time residents. Snowbirds and tourists rent on the beaches, which are mainly barrier islands. Personally, I would be looking at Gulf Breeze or Navarre. You'll be much closer to the beaches and, although you won't have every big box store, you have the basics: WalMart, Lowe's, etc. It's a short drive (probably well under 30 minutes) to everything else. It would help to know what a "reasonable" budget is for you.

Agreed.

We lived in Fort Walton Beach for several years and my husband grew up there. You might find you like Navarre and Gulf Breeze better.

Personally, I would never want to live in Milton. I just never cared for it, there is not much there and like someone else mentioned, its a bit "redneck" for my taste. I would prefer Crestview over Milton....there is more there and you are closer to Destin/Fort Walton which IMO is much nicer than Pensacola. We lived in Crestview for a couple of years but I never enjoyed it as much as living in Fort Walton.

Mary Esther is a outlying community between Fort Walton and Navarre that is really nice, lots of nice neighborhoods and not at all touristy.

Shalimar is a beautiful part of Fort Walton you also might look at...as well as Niceville/Blue Water Bay. If we were to move back (which is our eventual plan) it will be to one of those communities.

Originally Posted by Tiger9296

How far is Milton to brewton? As I may be taking a job there?

About 30 minutes if I recall correctly.

[xkaelie]

Milton is amazing!
I don't know why people keep going on about it being bible thumpers.
I'm not Christian and it doesn't bother me.
You see people preaching on the road turn up your music. Lol pensacola you see homeless people begging on the road. Take your pic!

I would suggest east milton. It's country and like Bagdad it's close to i10. But also it's right by 87 which goes straight to Navarre beach. Which I prefer Navarre because pensacola is overpopulated.
Milton doesn't have much jobs unless you work in the hospital. Pensacola was always where I worked. Also in milton it's so much safer!! And people are nicer!

Brewton is close to an hour from milton. Unless you live close to whiting field which it may take 35 to 45 min depending if you speed or not.