Florida Question

For anyone who lives in Florida or knows anything about Florida:
Can someone tell me what the best, affordable towns are? good school districts, nice neighborhoods etc. Thank you for your help!!
I don't kow much about Florida but my FH and I might end up there some day so I want to be prepared.

Re: Florida Question

I have friends in the Tampa area. They really like it and they are teachers and think that the schools are okay.

Re: Florida Question

I have recently starting my FL search again

and in terms of affordabilty- the whole state is affordable now- IMHO

I did a serach of realtor.com of 1 town- Boca- b/c they do have some of the best public schools

my search was for homes under $500K and 1300 came up- starting at under $200K

I will most likely be moving there next year- I have family in PBC (Palm Beach County) so that is why I want to move there - plus for my field it's offers the most job oppertunity

where my inlaws live in pennescola is VERY affordable- however the job market is not as good as the job market in South FL- which is what i am most concerned about

Re: Florida Question

One of the things about Florida that makes it tricky is a few areas are consistently strong, good areas but a lot of Florida goes through cycles & changes. Areas will be on an upswing, schools will be labeled as "the best in Florida" & then some event- a hurricane, a large business leaving the area, a real estate crash-any catalyst can cause extreme shifts there. It is a state with a greater transient population than most.
99% of DH's family lives on the east coast, between Ft Lauderdale & Wellington. Several of my relatives lived in west palm beach, but moved back to NY & I have tons of relatives on the East Coast near Cape Coral.
DH & I also bought & flipped houses in Florida a couple of years ago.
Some of these areas are or were considered great, some have been on the brink of "greatness" but have never gotten there.
So IMO its hard to plan too far ahead with a move to Florida unless you are choosing an area that has a long history of being a solid community.

Message edited 5/31/2008 8:47:25 PM.

Re: Florida Question

Re: Florida Question

I am in a simliar situation, all of my father's side of the family live in clearwater, and love it there and my DH and I are contemplating moving down, but are nervous about jobs, and leaving our families here.

Re: Florida Question

Re: Florida Question

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Not sure if you mean affordable in terms of housing as mostly everything else from property taxes to food is the same or higher than NY.


first - the term affordable is very subjective - which is why I included the cost of homes I was searching for

I was only reffering to the price of homes- of course food costs the same every where, gas is the same, car insurace in less as well as basic things like electric and cable (I live in NYC and con-ed is the most expensive electric in the country- and it's going up 10-30% this summer)

however- there are parts of FL where the property taxes are cheap and unfortunately where we are buying they are not - they are 2% of your purchase price- less $50K for being homesteaded

however- for about $350K-$400K I can buy a newer 3500 sq foot house with a pool

my taxes will be about $6000-$7500

and that's alot cheaper then a house I would have bought in NY and cheaper taxes that Nass County- where I would have bought

but I am not moving there to live cheaper- my family lives there and I love the lifestyle

you can't put a price tag on that- I am in the opposite situation of most people on this board- I have no family left in NY and can't imagine having a baby with out my Dad with in 1 hour of me

Re: Florida Question

I haven't been on in a while..just wanted to thank everyone for their response!