Advice Needed for Move

[supermom0726]

Hey everyone, I'm sure there's plenty of "We want to move to Florida" posts. But here goes mine, just the same. Me, DH, and our 2 daughters (7 and 11) are contemplating a move. We currently live in SE Texas so the weather, hurricanes, and home insurance costs are the same here as in Florida. We've been through many a hurricane and 100% humidity days here where we live now, so that's nothing new to us. Here are my questions/concerns.. We want to move to either North or Central FL in a suburb of a larger city that still has a "small town" feel. My husband manages night clubs so we need to be close enough to a larger city that has lots of nightlife for his profession, but not in one. My girls currently have schools with about 400 kids in their graduating class. We like knowing everyone at the high school football games, and I want somewhere that my older daughter can easily find a clique of friends like she has at home. I feel if we're in too large of a place she may not be able to fit in as wonderfully as she does where we are now. Both kids cheer and dance so I'm sure that'll help them make friends as well. We also would like an area where we can purchase a nicer home in what's considered a nicer neighborhood for around $200K. I've looked online around Tallahassee, Tampa, and Pensacola but I just can't get a real feel for what they're like. ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!! And does everyone suggest to rent first? I don't want to switch schools after our move, so I'd rather get it right the first time. :-( So nervous!!!!

 

[supermom0726]

I meant to say that I'm sure they'll make friends at whatever cheer gym/dance studio we enroll them at. Not that they'd make friends because they do those things.. LOL ;-)

 

[sonnyjane]

My mom lives (and I used to live) in Destin which is 60 miles from Pensacola. There are bars and maybe one or two night clubs but nothing huge. It's more of a "small town" than Panama City or Pensacola. Tallahassee in my opinion (and sorry if anyone lives there) is a college town and kind of a dump. My brother went to FSU so we visited him a lot there. If you're going to move to Florida I wouldn't pick Tallahassee - no beaches (closest one is an hour away), still gets cold in the winter - what's the point of living in Florida then lol.

 

[gwynne]

Another thing to consider if you travel-airfares. Tallahassee has very high airfares.
If you're thinking about Destin for work, just across the bridge is Niceville. Their school district is highly thought of.
Pensacola is another option. Nice town, you'd need to research schools. UWF is there, pretty campus. They offer some nice summer camp classes for kids in all sorts of interest areas.

 

[minkydog]

Another thing to consider if you travel-airfares. Tallahassee has very high airfares.
If you're thinking about Destin for work, just across the bridge is Niceville. Their school district is highly thought of.
Pensacola is another option. Nice town, you'd need to research schools. UWF is there, pretty campus. They offer some nice summer camp classes for kids in all sorts of interest areas.

Another vote for Niceville. My in-laws live there and I really like this little town. Niceville itself has good services and good schools. There is a nice little hospital there, restaurants, pharmacies and Walmart. Across the bridge is Destin and all the touristy stuff (clubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, condos, outlet shopping, etc.) There is an airport nearby but it's expensive. We prefer to fly AirTran into Pensacola--much cheaper!--and it's only abut 70-90 min away from Niceville.

DH grew up in Pensacola and we lived there for a bit after we married. I did not like it.

 

[kidshop]

Niceville is wonderful place, but housing is expensive there. For military their housing allotment went up by quite a bit this year. Rents are high too.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Since you mentioned your husbands profession, which means to me he will need a job in that field, the ONLY advice I can give you is check out the job situation in FL first

IF he can land one, then that will determine where you're going to move to Not trying to throw cold water on your plans, just being realistic I could tell you our story since we moved here ( 2008 central FL ) that would curl your hair but this is your thread

 

[supermom0726]

Thank you guys! So, if we looked into living in the Niceville area, what would be the bigger city nearby for my husband to look for work? Is Pensacola's nightlife seasonal? He would commute up to an hour away, he's done that here in Texas and it wasn't a bug deal to him.

 

[supermom0726]

Any thoughts on the Tampa area? I know that would give him plenty of options for work.

 

[gwynne]

Thank you guys! So, if we looked into living in the Niceville area, what would be the bigger city nearby for my husband to look for work? Is Pensacola's nightlife seasonal? He would commute up to an hour away, he's done that here in Texas and it wasn't a bug deal to him.

If you opted for Niceville, the easiest place for work would be Destin. Pensacola is somewhat seasonal, but but it also has plenty of business from year round residents. If he's thinking of working in Pensacola, I've heard good things about the schools in Pace. ( Near P'cola)
Niceville has new, fancy areas, but it also has older established (and more reasonably priced) neighborhoods. If you want to start reading more about the area, Northwest Florida Daily News has some content online.
As you start learning more about the area, here are a couple of area schools-Niceville High School, Ruckel Middle School.

 

[supermom0726]

Since you mentioned your husbands profession, which means to me he will need a job in that field, the ONLY advice I can give you is check out the job situation in FL first IF he can land one, then that will determine where you're going to move to Not trying to throw cold water on your plans, just being realistic I could tell you our story since we moved here ( 2008 central FL ) that would curl your hair but this is your thread

Oh for sure!! Definitely the number one thing for us!!! We know he can actually make more money than he does currently if he works in Orlando, or the Tampa area. He's looked into jobs already and has gotten great feedback but we need somewhere our kids will be happy too. In his industry, you make more money the higher volume clubs you have. So a larger city is a must. I don't think Pensacola will be that for him, and I won't move with a pay decrease because I prefer to stay home.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Oh for sure!! Definitely the number one thing for us!!! We know he can actually make more money than he does currently if he works in Orlando, or the Tampa area. He's looked into jobs already and has gotten great feedback but we need somewhere our kids will be happy too. In his industry, you make more money the higher volume clubs you have. So a larger city is a must. I don't think Pensacola will be that for him, and I won't move with a pay decrease because I prefer to stay home.