Where should we live in Florida?
My husband is starting a new job in Florida, so we will be moving from NY. We would like to live on the west coast, but have no idea of where to look. Is there a quaint town? Is there a neat town near water? I am a speech therapist and will be looking for a job in the schools. Do you have any advice for me on school districts? Thanks for all of your suggestions! This is going to be a BIG change for us!
Other - United States - 19 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Orlando because of all of the sweetness of the roller coasters and tourism, u will feel like a celeberty.
2 :
tampa, naples, fort myers
3 :
Sarasota County has the best schooling sytem in the Florida state, and plus, it is one of the wealthiest counties. It is one hour from Tampa, two hours to Orlando, and it also has 17 libraries in the County. Sarasota is small, clean, and intellectual.
4 :
orlando cause disneyworld is there and nice area or miami if you like the city life
5 :
There are soo many places! I've heard Clearwater is nice as well as Napels. I would like to advise you to find a smaller, quaint little city. Somewhere that's not overpopulated like a lot of places in Florida.
6 :
There are many places in Florida , it would be more convenient to find a place more close to the job .
7 :
I hear Jacksonville is a booming area. The city is the largest in the nation (land wise) and the weather is nice. Its can get hot in the summer, yet it gets down in to the teens on some winter nights. Its also just minutes away from Ponte Vedra, home of the TPC and Bausch & Laumb.
8 :
Florida has notoriously horrible schools, and you need to be very careful with where you go. As far as the west coast goes, West Palm Beach/Singer Island areas are beautiful if you know where to go, but they are expensive and can get crowded during vacation seasons (but that will always be an issue if you go coastal). I would suggest searching in that area first and then work your way north to see if there are any smaller towns nearby that you might enjoy (I also liked Juno Beach and Jupiter Island). The most important thing you have to do is go there! Best of luck and congratulations!
9 :
Destin is a very nice little town and not too far from a lot to do.
10 :
Bradenton and Sarasota are nice cities, not too crowded. Anna Maria Island (near Bradenton) is beautiful quaint little island with white sand beaches.
11 :
Miami or Jacksonville...
12 :
TAMPA or ORLANDO!! :)
13 :
I live in Punta Gorda...west coast, you can buy alot of home fro your money....and we are not inundated with tourists all winter like many of the places in the other answers....Orlando is nightmare tourist trap....
14 :
You will find that Fl. is a huge state. I suppose it will depend a little on where his job is located. One of the nicer spots is the Pensacola-Panama City area. There are outrageous beaches that are all but abandoned and stretch for miles of white sand. There is great food and atmosphere in this part of Fl and almost all 4 seasons. This is on the gulf side, or as you put it: the west coast. The seafood is inexpensive and high quality. The shopping is very modern, but the over all feel is quite small town living along that stretch.
15 :
There is just so many variables to consider so it might be wise to put in some leg work and visit http://www.myflorida.com/taxonomy/visitor/moving%20to%20florida/ Someone already stated that the state of public schools in Florida is awful and this is very true. I can not give any real advice then the above link which you may already have but I can tell you to stay the frell away from Winter Haven.
16 :
Apparently, most of these answerers didn't read the question properly...you said THE WEST COAST of Florida, and half of them insisted on the Orlando area, and one suggested Jacksonville/Metro-Duval!...GOOD GRIEF!... I'd rather contact the Tallahassee/Leon County folks and see what's suitable for you...or even Pensacola/Escambia County! If you want the west coast of Florida, there are many small towns along there, like the City of South Pasadena(just south of St. Petersburg)...go to www.en.wikipedia.org... Good Luck!
17 :
ORLANDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE BEST CITY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18 :
Where is his job? You need to live close to where he works especially with the price of gas going up and the traffic congestion is only going to get worse. Try to live in a ten mile radius of where he will be working. Prices of houses are depressed right now so you can afford to live close to where he works. The Orlando area especially has horrible traffic jams. There are a lot of nice towns in the Tampa Bay area and the Sarasota area, many of them near the water. When you get further south on the west coast, the activities get more seasonal. Here is the link for Hillsborough county schools employment http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/portals/employees.asp?subcat=Employment Here is the link for the Pinellas County Schools http://www.pcsb.org/hr/jobs.html
19 :
Hi, just want to welcome you and your family to Florida. I have lived here for a very long time and wouldn't live anywhere else. I am familiar with much of the state. Personally, I love Jacksonville because it is the 3rd largest city on the eastern seaboard. However, Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg all have so much to offer as well as the other cities further south such as Ft Meyers and Naples. But there is one particular place that is beautiful and very country like. The town of Dunellon is really great. It's not a big tourist type place so it feels more like hometown to most. It is on the western part of Florida. Also, Stuart is nice. It's in Martin County and I really like it. It's quaint, clean,and quite lovely. If you go and google the town of Stuart, Florida you will find out more about it. The beaches are nice, the downtown area is wonderful with all the little shops that carry the quirkey little items you'll only find in Florida and the shopping is great as it also has a nice mall with theaters and such. It reminds me of a fishing town but with lots of ammenities. I'd check it out. I love it. The schools in Martin county are better than most. I hope I answered your questions. I think that you'd fit better on the east coast because if you are from NY, there are more New Yorkers here. It seems the west coast has a lot of midwesterners. That's me. I am originally from the midwest and I like either coast. I worked for 2 different school districts in Florida and I think the florida schools are fine. I really hope you love Florida as much as I do. They say if you can stay for 2 yrs...then you'll never want to leave. They must be right, because I have been here in Florida for over 12 yrs now. Welcome!
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