May be moving to Pensacola from Miami. Got lots of questions. (section 8, rental)

[MaybeGoingNorth]

I'm on the Section 8 waiting list for Escambia county, and while I'm sure my final approval is several months away, I wanted to do some more research on the area before moving out there. So far, from what I've seen, Pensacola seems like a nice change of pace, and in some ways, is much closer to what I want in a place to live than Miami is, which is where I've lived most of my life. So could you guys maybe answer a few questions about Pensacola for me?


1. I don't know what my Section 8 rental limit will be (they don't tell you until you get your voucher), but I would guess that it'll be less than $1,100, restricted to a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom dwelling (I live by myself). Where are some good, safe neighborhoods in the county that I should be looking at, with that in mind? Basically, I just want to avoid the hood lol.


2. At the moment, I don't have a driver's license (trying to resolve that little problem before I have to move though), so areas where I could walk to grocery shopping would be ideal. Something like Walmart or Target would be ideal, since they have more than just groceries, but basically any supermarket will do. Any particular areas that fit that criteria as well?


3. I'd prefer living in suburbs or semi-rural areas if possible, more so than the downtown parts of the city. Anything like that, which also fits the above criteria?



4. Seeing as how I'll know absolutely nobody in the area, what are some good places to connect with other people? Besides bars, since I don't drink lol. Places where I could connect with people who have nerdy interests would be great, since that's the kind of stuff I'm into. Also, I'm kinda center-right politically, so I'd prefer to avoid hanging out with far-left liberals.



5. How's the internet speed up there? And what's the average price?


6. Might be a stupid question, but one I've not yet figured out the answer to... Uhh... Any good suggestions on how I'm supposed to search for a home to move to when Pensacola is like 10 hours away from here? lol. I mean obviously I need to get up there and look around... but what should my game plan be? If I've only got a few days to be up there before I have to come back and prepare to actually do the move, what would be the best way to go about doing this?



Also, to answer a couple questions that I feel might come up: I don't need to worry about work at the moment since I'm currently considered Disabled and get an SSI check. Hope to fix that eventually as well, but that's how it is now. Also, I don't have a wife, nor kids, nor pets - it's just me, so no one else needs to be factored in to any of this.


Any help would be appreciated!

[Bluedive]

Ok I see not many replies and I can understand why.
1. Do you a good car? No public transportation in north florida....NONE.
2. The winters are cold and Gulf Power is expensive...average 300 a month electric summer and winter.
Its not poverty freindly. Its a southern culture of take advanage of the less fortunate.
Probably no one will accept you section 8 and if they do it will be a dump!

My advise is stay in south florida. My buddy is a property owner in Miami and he has a section 8 tenent who is getting 2,500
( Market Rate).
Dont even consider the panahandle its for the southern wealthy and poor rednecks who have a High School diploma at best.