Is Rosemary the best place for us?

Hello everyone! I am new the boards and I need some advice on the best place for us in SoWal. I am a planner and I'm looking at where to spend our summer vacation (for next summer), I've narrowed it down to the SoWal area and I'm leaning towards Rosemary Beach. We are a family of four, our kids will be 10 and 5 when we visit. We are looking for a family friendly place that's not too crowded. We will be driving from San Antonio, TX (are we crazy?) so once we're there, we would prefer not to drive too much. We will probably be spending most of our time on the beach with breaks by the pool. We will probably cook most meals in our rental, but I wouldn't mind a few restaurants around, in case I'm too tired too cook. Is the Rosemary Beach area right for us or should we be looking elsewhere? I have seen a few videos of the Rosemary Beach area and read some reviews and my main concern is that there doesn't seem to be much diversity. My husband is Mexican/Italian, I am black and our children are of course bi-racial. Are we going to stick out like sore thumbs? I only asked because we have visited some small towns where people look at us like we're aliens and we don't want to spend our vacation feeling like we're on display. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rosemary would be a good fit. You'll only get funny looks if you pay attention to them but I don't think it will be an issue. :welcome:

I don't think any area of 30-a is any more diverse than another. Lots of white folks everywhere (and we stare at them too, so please come and add some diversity).

If you come during the summer, all of the areas will also be the same amount of crowded (though our definition of crowded varies greatly from other places).

Rosemary or Seaside are your best bets if you want easy access to amenities like restaurants and stores without driving.

:welcome::welcome: You will have an excellent vacation anywhere on 30-A including Rosemary.

Rosemary Beach is perfect! Lots of great restaurants and friendly people. Keep in mind we are a resort area and the families visiting are mostly from medium to large cities where diversity reigns.

A bit west of there, Julian Bond has had a vacation place in the Destin area for years. It's a 98% white area, but my take on the Rosemary Beach, Watercolor, Seaside types of properties is there's an assumption that if you can afford to vacation there, you belong there.

If you get into Destin-FWB or Panama City, there are actually a good number of mixed race families, frequently military folks.

It's unfourtunate that in this day and age that race is still an issue. Having said that, I would think anywhere along 30A would welcome you with open arms. You are the bread and butter for the area, so don't let someone that takes a second look at you take away from what will be a wonderful vacation wherever you decide to stay.

Rec. Watercolor for a family resort vacation. Next to Seaside and close by Grayton so large selection of restarunts and activities on property and within walking or biking distance. While Rosemary is nice, it is at the extreme east end of 30a so driving is necessary to get to much else not in Rosemary. See www.Watercolorvacations.com or call 850-534-5000. Large selection of houses and condos as well as the AAA 4 Diamond Watercolor Inn.

Rosemary has so many family activities! I think it would be ideal for your family! Can't imagine you would ever feel out of place.....everyone is so relaxed, friendly and happy!

Rosemary is where we stayed while we were building our home in Seagrove. We enjoyed staying there. Liked the different pools, especially the covered pool so we didn't have to worry about sunburns. Liked the restaurants. No rental is too far from the beach to walk there (as it is in Watercolor), and there is a traffic light for crossing 30A. Didn't build there because the houses are too close together and it's too far from a lot of the restaurants we like. But if you're just staying for a week, you'll be happy just staying there like we used to.

Advantage of Seaside: It's the focal point for restaurants/shopping/activities in 30A.
Disadvantage of Seaside: Because of the above, it's too chaotic, and there's too much traffic. If I had a 5-yo, I wouldn't let go of his/her hand there.

That's why we like Seagrove. It's right next to Seaside and an easy bike ride for even a 5-yo when supervised by an adult (be careful at the 395 intersection). I wouldn't want my child on a bike in Seaside (too much traffic) or Watercolor north of 30A (no bike paths, a lot of on-street parking, so kids have to ride bikes in the middle of the street).

I think you would like Rosemary, it's very comfortable and the drive to Seaside or Seagrove or Grayton to eat, sight see, etc, is not that long, ten miles or less and it is a scenic, relaxed drive along the beach road, nothing like the trip to get here. I used to live near San Antonio - it is a long trip, but worth it. The beaches here are oh so much better than Texas beaches, there is no comparison.
Kurt is right, most of the vacationing families are from bigger cites, and the locals will appreciate some diversity. Please come!

Please come to Rosemary Beach! I live here full time with my husband and two boys ages 10 and 12. I do wish we had more diversity here and tell my kids all the time that where we live is not the normal real world. However, you will be very happy and comfortable here and very welcomed. You should consider coming here in the fall as it is the best time!! Check out our Rosemary rental home at VRBO #311322. I will give you a great deal! You can call me too.
Ronna

Thank you all for the great responses, I really appreciate your help! I'm sure I will have lots of questions between now and next summer, so bear with me.

NotDeadYet - I love Texas, but I hate the beaches! I am a beach snob who loves blue/green water, so the brown stuff in Port A and South Padre Island just don't cut it for me! My kids however love the beach so every summer we make the trek and rent a beach house. We all have fun, but I really want my kids to experience a different kind of beach.

Ronna - this is quite the coincidence, because I have already been on VRBO and yours is one of the rentals I have bookmarked! I especially like that it can be rented by the night instead of weekly like most of the rentals. Although, if I get my way (and I often do ;-)) we'll be staying for a week anyway. I was concerned about crossing 30A to get to the beach though. In fact that was one of the questions I was going to ask. The rentals on the north side of 30A seem to be a little less exspensive but I'm wondering how big of a hassle it is to cross 30A. Also, how far of a walk is it? We do have a budget we want to stick to and there will be some trade offs that need to be made. For example, do we stay on the beach side and not eat out as much and get a few less souvenirs or do we stay on the north side, eat out more and go hog wild with the souvenirs? Delimas, delimas, delimas.

Dear Fragglerock,
We are from the New Braunfels area & our close friends we vacation with are from Dallas. Both our husbands are Mexican & we are white. Obviously, our children are bi-racial. This will be our 5th year coming to the area, & we always feel comfortable. I asked my husband & children if they had ever encountered any feelings of racism or stares towards them when we go, & they said, "Never." The beaches in SoWal are beautiful, & although part of the Gulf-they are so different from any of our Texas beaches. We LOVE it in SoWal, & I really encourage you visit! We stay in the Seagrove Beach area, but go to restaurants & shops up & down 30-A & have never experienced any staring, etc.-in fact, almost always have been welcomed & treated well! Granted, there are a LOT of white people in the SoWal area, but there are a few of us families who come to visit & add some "spice" to the mix. 😉

Thank you for the response, I do appreciate it. Do you drive when you go or do you fly? If you drive, is it bearable? I'm actually more concerned about myself then my kids. They are wonderful in the car, but I hate road trips. We drove from Alaska to Texas when I was in junior high and it ruined me for road trips forever.

Thank you for the response, I do appreciate it. Do you drive when you go or do you fly? If you drive, is it bearable? I'm actually more concerned about myself then my kids. They are wonderful in the car, but I hate road trips. We drove from Alaska to Texas when I was in junior high and it ruined me for road trips forever.

I hate long road trips, too. We drive to Baton Rouge on Friday (& meet up with our friends from Dallas), we stay there & then wake up & drive into SoWal the next morning. On our way back, we stop in New Orleans (got to get our Creole food & our beignets!) These stops really help with the drive. When we lived in Midland, we had friends who would drive straight through to Destin, but I could never do that. I just cannot handle being in the car that long!

You've made the right choice. My family has been coming to sowal for about 10 years now from Austin, Tx. We have tried several places in the area and have settled on a place called Watersound. Is is just down the road from Rosemary (which we have also stayed at). The things we like about Watersound are pool, beach club, less crowded than Rosemary in my opinion and camp creek. I mention camp creek because our kids have been small age 5 an 8 right now. Camp creek forms a small waterway that travels the length of the beach and it provides an alternative for water play when the seas are a bit rough or the kids are not great swimmers. The kids use their nets to chase crabs and have a blast. I would recommend looking at www.vrbo.com to aid in your search. There is a section about each area in sowal. Also we have been able to wheel and deal a bit going directly to the owner. We are here for three weeks this year. We spent 3 days in Windmark on St Joe Bay towards Appalachacola and are headed back to Watersound for two weeks today. Every time we come we find a new special place. We are like you beach snob blue water white sand.Texas beaches are ok but not like here. You will find it in sowal for sure!

Good Luck!

NotDeadYet - I love Texas, but I hate the beaches! I am a beach snob who loves blue/green water, so the brown stuff in Port A and South Padre Island just don't cut it for me! My kids however love the beach so every summer we make the trek and rent a beach house. We all have fun, but I really want my kids to experience a different kind of beach.

😀 Too true, but I didn't want to come right out and say so.

I liked Monica's advice for the drive. When I lived there I did do it in one haul a time or two, but I don't really recommend it. I was exhausted. Stopping in New Orleans is a lot of fun.

Rosemary is easy to navigate both on foot and by bike! You can rent bikes and it is so fun to explore the area! There is a lighted crossing in Rosemary....easy to cross. Most folks are milling around on foot/bike. You would be fine staying on the north side of 30A. That's what I would do, especially if it meant we could live it up a little!

Compare the attached maps. All at the same scale.
West to East:
Watercolor doesn't have a lot of parcels south of 30A. And look how far you could be from the beach.
Seaside doesn't have many parcels south of 30A, and the traffic is crazy.
Seagrove has a lot more parcels south of 30A, yet so close to the amenities of Seaside without the chaos. That's why we built our home there.
Rosemary has a lot of properties south of 30 A, and even north of 30A there is okay because the traffic isn't crazy there. It has plenty of amenities if you don't want to drive anywhere during your week.

I didn't mention Watersound. A great place for owners who don't need to rent, but you as a rental guest would be driving elsewhere a lot to meet your needs.