moving to south walton?

This is tough. Everyone I've ever known from San Diego always say it's the most perfect place to live! The climate is perfect - - no humidity, etc. I'll let someone else handle this one. So. Walton is beautiful tho, and not as fast paced as San Diego.

I grew up in DeFuniak Springs, spent a lot of time on the South Walton beaches as a young person. It is a much more developed and sophisticated area now than it was then (1960s). We now live in northern CA and have a second home at Grayton. Even though my family still lives in Walton County, we will not be leaving CA as residents. The pluses of South Walton are that, even with the recently inflated real estate values, it is still far less expensive for homeowners than practically any nicer part of CA. It is definitely a slower-paced and simpler lifestyle. On the minus side, it is very hot and humid down there much of the year. And then there are the hurricanes to consider. They are a fact of life there, like earthquakes here. That area will not offer the kind of urban advantages you have in and around San Diego. Utilities will be very high in the warmer months, if you have a/c (and you have to). My sense is that the public schools are probably on a par with what you would typically see in the San Diego area. There will be fewer private school opportunities than you have in San Diego, but I understand the Seaside School is good.

Our experience, having lived in several of the western states and in FL, is that if you like living in CA, you may not be satisfied living elsewhere. We tend to think of other coastal states as "CA with cheaper housing." This isn't so. You may welcome the slower pace in South Walton or you may miss the progressiveness of CA, which we tend to lose sight of until it isn't there. Also, there are a lot more things to do in CA than there.

Wages are lower and job opportunities are far more limited than here. In fact, most of the new job growth in South Walton is in the lower-paying services industry (resorts, hotels, restaurants, etc.). The closest major city is Atlanta, some 350 miles away. I would urge you to talk to many people before making a permanent move, maybe even rent for a few months or a year before investing in real estate there. It is just great for a second home and the beaches are unequalled in all the world, for our nickel. However, vacationing somewhere and actually living there are often worlds apart. Good luck, whatever you decide.

i currently live in san diego. i have been married for 2 years and am 29 years old. we are thinking of moving down to so. walton. is south walton a safe and pleasant place to raise a family? are there activities (sports/social) for a young couple who live an active lifestyle?

Why are you thinking of moving here? Have you spent any time here? What kind of activities do you like and would miss if they weren't available?

Utility costs really aren't that bad if you've got a well-insulated house. We heat and cool with an electric heat pump, and my CHELCO bill runs about $100/month Spring and Fall, and about $150/month in the summer when we run the AC and the winter when we turn the heat on. 1700sf house, no pool.

Sports for active adults- adult softball and basketball leagues in Destin, tons of running races in the immediate area, and a bunch of marathons close enough to make a nice weekend trip of it during the winter (Pensacola, Mobile, Tallahassee, New Orleans), local cycling groups and a number of decent bike routes on your own, good local triathlon scene including Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach and a bunch of shorter races, swimming and kayaking in the Gulf (though unless there's something tropical kicking up down by Cancun, you've got to go to Jacksonville to get decent waves for surfing) running and hiking routes through some interesting areas.

The job market- it's an hourglass. There are some really good DoD-related opportunities out there if you're a programmer or engineer or rocket scientist or involved in certain parts of the tech sector, or have previous experience blowing sh!t up for a living. Ft. Walton metro area is in the top 20 in the country in terms of highest percentage of engineering jobs in the local workforce. There are a ton of service industry jobs. There isn't much in between.

School quality is inconsistent, but there are some good to excellent ones if you know where to look, as well as some interesting specialty programs. (Seaside school, Ballet Academy in Ft. Walton Beach, Plew and Destin elementaries, OWC Collegiate High School, and a couple more come to mind)

I don't have the FBI stats, but it seems like a much safer place than San Diego. Not all that much in the way of violent crime involving strangers, and property crime doesn't seem to be much of a problem. The thing that weirded me out about Southern California was that everyone there (or at least everyone in Mr. Mouse's kin's part of Point Loma) seemed to feel like they had to have an alarm company, and you just don't really see that here for primary residences.

I'm female, and I've got no problem running at night and alone in my neighborhood.

Give us some more specifics of reasons for wanting to move and what your wants and needs are, as well as your willingness to change lifestyles. What does active lifestyle mean. The only part of San Diego with which I am familiar is Mission Beach. I think San Diego has many great things there, but you must be aware that SoWal will be a shock in comparison -- the good or bad interpretation will be for you to decide. Again, feed us more info regarding your change, expectations, wants, and needs, future plans, and we will gladly tell you if SoWal may or may not be the right move for you. 😀

SJ...is the baby's name FRANK?

SJ...is the baby's name FRANK?

Yes, and you must also know his brother, Stein?

Yes, and you must also know his brother, Stein?

Frank 'n Stein...brothers for life!!!

SouthWalton versus San Diego (I lived on Garnet Street)

Jeb Bush versus Swarznegger - Govenor

rednecks versus whackos - same thing more or less

Hurricanes versus rain

hot gulf water with no waves versus surfable waves of cold water

white sand versus light-light beige sand

sargassum weed versus kelp

peat versus rocks

relatively nobody versus everybody and their 2 brothers

6 hours to mountains versus 1 hour to mountains

alabama border versus mexican border (xatr-fm! baha!)

climate change versus climate sorta-change

maybe it is Gov. Swarznegger - trolling for where to live after the next election!

there's probably a management position available in seaside!

AB...I loved your pro/con list!!!!

If you believe less is more, you will love the move from the SoCal antfarm. That's easy to figure, but the reality of the job situation is that you are walking into an economic desert for jobs relative to your current area. I would hedge my bets and come for an extended stay for any period of time that bridges busy to quiet season/ hot to cold weather, that is, if you can afford to do this. The devil is the employment situation as always, unless family can underwrite your forays.

so, i'm an attorney, my wife is an elementary school teacher. the major reason for our move is family. my parents are in miami, florida, and her family resides in lower alabama. we were both born and raised in those respective areas. family is very important to us. as we contemplate starting a family of our own, we desire to be closer to the grandparents.
we love san diego. we love our friends and our jobs. however, we are willing to sacrifice all that is great out here so we can be closer to the family. we enjoy all outdoor activities... surfing, golfing, tennis, hiking, playing adult organized sports through the ymca (soccer), and taking our dog to the park. we enjoy good food, good climate, and good people.
we both are sports fans and enjoy going to sporting events. we also enjoy seeing live concerts and shows.
hopefully this is enough info to give me an opinion on whether or not south walton will be a good fit for us. but, if you want more info, let me know.

Sounds like a perfect fit to me. Just not so sure about the schools tho.

One thing you may want to consider is the people.
My wife and I were originally looking to build a second home in La Jolla. After taking many trips out, and spending a lot of time in the area we changed our mind.
It's a beautiful place with a lot of fun things to do. But the people are cold and have an attitude.
We have since bought property and a house in South Walton. The area is breathtaking and the people are friendly and fun loving.
There certainly is not near as many things to do, but the friendships you will make will more than make up for it!

so, i'm an attorney, my wife is an elementary school teacher. the major reason for our move is family. my parents are in miami, florida, and her family resides in lower alabama. we were both born and raised in those respective areas. family is very important to us. as we contemplate starting a family of our own, we desire to be closer to the grangparents.
we love san diego. we love our friends and our jobs. however, we are willing to sacrifice all that is great out here so we can be closer to the family. we enjoy all outdoor activities... surfing, golfing, tennis, hiking, playing adult organized sports through the ymca (soccer), and taking our dog to the park. we enjoy good food, good climate, and good people.
we both are sports fans and enjoy going to sporting events. we also enjoy seeing live concerts and shows.
hopefully this is enough info to give me an opinion on whether or not south walton will be a good fit for us. but, if you want more info, let me know.

I cannot imagine that you will ever regret it. You will love the people. Everyone smiles because they are happy to be here. Just do it!

so, i'm an attorney, my wife is an elementary school teacher. the major reason for our move is family. my parents are in miami, florida, and her family resides in lower alabama. we were both born and raised in those respective areas. family is very important to us. as we contemplate starting a family of our own, we desire to be closer to the grangparents.
we love san diego. we love our friends and our jobs. however, we are willing to sacrifice all that is great out here so we can be closer to the family. we enjoy all outdoor activities... surfing, golfing, tennis, hiking, playing adult organized sports through the ymca (soccer), and taking our dog to the park. we enjoy good food, good climate, and good people.
we both are sports fans and enjoy going to sporting events. we also enjoy seeing live concerts and shows.
hopefully this is enough info to give me an opinion on whether or not south walton will be a good fit for us. but, if you want more info, let me know.

here's the mindset you made need to have, people may argue this, but SoWal is more parts resort area, and fewer parts town. Things that you now have close at hand may be more of an effort in your new neighborhood , but, in my opinion, the incredible beauty of the area make up for those shortcomings. the climate issue may be another thing to think about, as hurricanes now make summer/ early fall high maintenance[worry]. I think the quality of people in SoWal is very high, and crime is much lower.

here's the mindset you made need to have, people may argue this, but SoWal is more parts resort area, and fewer parts town. Things that you now have close at hand may be more of an effort in your new neighborhood , but, in my opinion, the incredible beauty of the area make up for those shortcomings. the climate issue may be another thing to think about, as hurricanes now make summer/ early fall high maintenance[worry]. I think the quality of people in SoWal is very high, and crime is much lower.

Sorry to read that you are an attorney. (just kidding) I second that. If you want to see sports in SoWal, turn on the TV. If you want to play adult league sports, you want find it here. Perhaps in the future when the Boys and Girls Club is built. Hiking - 40% of SoWal is State Forest with more miles of hiking trails than most people will ever hike. Hiking in SoWal is flatland. If you want to hike, drive to western NC. Seriously, regarding cultural to-do stuff, Pensacola has some stuff, but I have been to Pens. only once for the afternoon. If you are looking for museums, pro-sports, etc, Atlanta is full of these things and is only a 4-5hr drive depending on who is driving. SoWal is a bit rural in many respects, but there are several nice restaurants, although nothing in number like SanDiego. We are a small community. Our neighbor to the west, Destin, has a bit more people and big box stores. I am sure that with time, we too, will see them here. Okaloosa and Walton Community College is building a branch here, but I think it will be nominal. Plenty of Golf, and even more coming in the near future in neighboring Freeport. Tennis league- you will find in Destin. Surfing- during storms only. Good people and warm weather are here, and the Dog Park is in the works. WaterColor has a great park to take the dogs (on leash). There are plenty of Lawyers who have moved to this area. Some who now deal primarily with real estate, and others who have changed careers, and are very successful in business.

The demand for teachers in the Panhandle in general is pretty strong right now because even in districts with relatively stagnant student population, they're having to hire more teachers because of a statewide class size reduction law passed a couple years back.

Though that first teaching job within the state might involve commuting to Navarre, since Santa Rosa County seems to be the district needing to hire the most new teachers right now.

There are also more outdoor recreation opportunities up on Eglin Reservation land. $7/year and a willingness to sit through a brief film on "Unexploded Ordinance and You" (don't worry, it's just Air Force-wide policy, it's not really an issue here) and you get access to bay and ocenfront parks, Timberlake Trails mountain bike area, and a bunch of areas mostly used for hunting, fishing, and off-roading.