Moving to the Panhandle…which area? (Tallahassee, Gainesville: middle-class, spring break, rentals)

[GolfMomTN]

We are exploring a move up to the Panhandle. But we are getting stumped on which area - Pensacola, Fort Walton or Panama City - to focus our home search.

We are looking for safe neighborhoods, not in a flood zone or subject to mandatory evacuation. We want good shopping (decent grocery stores (not Dollar Tree), dining options, etc.) within 5 miles, a good hospital within 20 miles and a good airport within 40 miles.

Our ideal house would be single floor living, over 3000 sq. ft., over .25 acres, and budget is up to $1,200,000+-. What we are finding is many potential homes are in flood zone, are in rental hot spots, no yard, insufficient sq. footage, too far outside civilization, or just simply overpriced by at least $100,000 for the amount of work to bring them up to snuff.

We are in retirement mode, upper middle class and like gentility.

What are the pros and cons of these three areas and how does their overall vibe seem in comparison? Which neighborhoods of each town to put on watch list? Any suggestions appreciated.

[EscAlaMike]

Do you have to be near the coast? Have you considered Tallahassee? It checks your boxes much better than Pensacola, FWB, or PC.

[GolfMomTN]

Originally Posted by EscAlaMike

Do you have to be near the coast? Have you considered Tallahassee? It checks your boxes much better than Pensacola, FWB, or PC.

Yes, we thought about Tallahassee (and Gainesville) but no family members would want to visit there….

In the Panhandle, I have distant family as well as college sorority sisters! And since I am originally from from Mississippi, it is closer to my old hometown. We also have friends from Tennessee that have summer properties in the area.

Lots of reasons to consider the Panhandle, but which area…..

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by GolfMomTN

Yes, we thought about Tallahassee (and Gainesville) but no family members would want to visit there….

In the Panhandle, I have distant family as well as college sorority sisters! And since I am originally from from Mississippi, it is closer to my old hometown. We also have friends from Tennessee that have summer properties in the area.

Lots of reasons to consider the Panhandle, but which area…..

Have you looked around the East Hill neighborhood of Pensacola? It's the most beautiful part of the city with lots of mature trees and big beautiful homes (mostly older but well maintained). The Scenic Hills area is similar but with newer housing stock.

You may also consider the area of Warrington, south of Barrancas and near the water, though the properties tend to be smaller/more dense. Flooding may also be a concern being that it's near the water, though I'm not sure about that.

Outside of Pensacola proper, Milton is a nice area with a bit of a small town feel. I particularly like Bagdad. Again, like East Hill, the homes there are generally older but well maintained.

[GolfMomTN]

Originally Posted by EscAlaMike

Have you looked around the East Hill neighborhood of Pensacola? It's the most beautiful part of the city with lots of mature trees and big beautiful homes (mostly older but well maintained). The Scenic Hills area is similar but with newer housing stock.

You may also consider the area of Warrington, south of Barrancas and near the water, though the properties tend to be smaller/more dense. Flooding may also be a concern being that it's near the water, though I'm not sure about that.

Outside of Pensacola proper, Milton is a nice area with a bit of a small town feel. I particularly like Bagdad. Again, like East Hill, the homes there are generally older but well maintained.

Thank you. This is the sort of info we were hoping to receive. Neighborhoods and cities only known to locals to explore. May I ask, what are your views on the different personalities of the three cities?

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by GolfMomTN

Thank you. This is the sort of info we were hoping to receive. Neighborhoods and cities only known to locals to explore. May I ask, what are your views on the different personalities of the three cities?

Of the three, Pensacola is the most "normal". Though both Pensacola and FWB have a large military presence, it's much more noticeable in FWB since Pensacola is quite a bit larger. Having military bases nearby means that a good chunk of the population will be transient with lots of rental housing. Again, this is much more pronounced in FWB.

Panama City was devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2018 and the area is still recovering and will be for quite some time. While all three cities get their share of tourists, Panama City is much more of a touristy area in the sense that tourism dominates its economy more so than it does for Pensacola and FWB. Of course everyone knows about Panama City Beach as being party central, a spring break beach town.

I asked you earlier about Tallahassee, but is there any reason you haven't considered Baldwin County, Alabama?

[GolfMomTN]

Again, you are sharing excellent information about your neck of the woods. Much appreciated. I just don’t know much about the Alabama coastline as compared to the Florida panhandle and you know the Mississippi-Alabama rivalry goes way back! What areas do you like?

[slduvall]

Niceville has some homes in your price range, that might not fit all your needs, as we have lousy shopping, just a Walmart, but we do have access to the shopping in Destin. The Swift Creek neighborhood is probably the nicest in the area with what I would call space, not zero lot lines. We have many single-story homes, and some with basements that give you more living space, but you don't need to use if you don't want to.

But we do have the noise from both the AF base and the EOD training facility. Lots of bombs going off...literally.

Having grown up in FWB, then moving away for military I'm very familiar with the entire area, and I also lived in Panama City while stationed at Tyndall AFB. I would never move back to PC area...ever. Gentility and Bay County don't go hand in hand.

When we left the military we decided to move back here, and Niceville HS had the best school in the county so we landed here. Is it my 1st choice to live out our retirement...no, but there are many that feel it is paradise.

My neighborhood is filled with retired military, lots of drs, etc but aside from a few neighborhoods along the water (flood zones) there are limited "nice areas" and limited upper middle-class activities...for lack of a better term. Destin has more of those opportunities, but much is in flood and evac zones.

[jlud]

I’ll throw in my 2 cents having almost bought in the Destin/30A area a couple months back, moving from TN ourselves. The prices were much higher and slower to reduce than any other area we looked at here. We offered a place that had been on the market 9 months well under asking, they flat out rejected, then sold it 3 months later for 16k less than we offered. I say that to illustrate many there are pricing at peak 22 or well above peak, and haven’t come down. Those that do price well sell quickly, so there is demand yet. We looked primarily at Kelly Plantation in Destin as well as Watersound Origin. We found Watersound to be extremely overpriced for what you actually get, couldn’t figure out the draw there to pay so much to be honest.

There are a lot of vacation/2nd homes which I think keeps prices high, but many short term rentals might mean new neighbors every day in an area without rental rules as you noted. In the end, price for what you got in these areas just seemed too far detached from what you can buy elsewhere. Even west Panama City was much cheaper with some nice areas that seemed clean and quite nice, that is where I would look.

Insurance costs are much, much higher in this area than the east side of the state. The house we offered on would be around 8,000-10,000 per year from quotes i got…one even came in at 15,000. East side in Ponte Vedra area is what I would call close to normal pricing, well under 2k. We settled on St Johns county for the schools.

Flood insurance….realtors tell me even if don’t need it to get it. They say it’s worth having for the small cost, and I hear it consistently so I tend to believe it.

Good luck!

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by GolfMomTN

We are in retirement mode, upper middle class and like gentility.

Originally Posted by GolfMomTN

I just don’t know much about the Alabama coastline as compared to the Florida panhandle and you know the Mississippi-Alabama rivalry goes way back! What areas do you like?

I think Fairhope may be exactly what you're looking for. Check it out. It beats anything the FL panhandle has to offer.