Where have families settled along 30A?

[vandelayweb]

My wife and 1.5 year old daughter are looking to move to the area within the next six months to a year. I have been going down to Destin since I was in high school, but haven't been to the area in probably 15 years before last weekend. 30A was a breath of fresh air, and it seems to be the perfect fit for us. We can't wait to make the move from Atlanta.

There are obviously great schools throughout Walton county, but we are having a hard time finding out where the families of the permanent residents have settled. We are looking at things along 30A as well as developments up along 98. We went through the new Watersound development while in town and liked it. There is a little concern about housing appreciation since they are 200 units into a 1300 housing development. I'm seeing lots of home listings on Zillow, but its hard to know what we should be targeting. We don't want to be in a community full of rentals.

Any thoughts on neighborhoods or general areas we should be looking at?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Bob Wells]

Mack Bayou, Point Washington, Watersound Origins

 

[nbinnings]

Preserve at Grayton Beach, Forest Lakes & Nature Walk.

 

[John G]

Stay out of Driftwood

 

[vandelayweb]

Thanks for your responses. Do you have any idea how many full time residents are in those communities? Do you live in any of these communities?

 

[Dreamer]

The Lakeplace in Grayton. 50 home community on Western Lake. No short term rentals allowed. Kayak to Grayton Beach state park.

 

[momof2kids]

Stay out of Driftwood

I'm curious why you say stay out of driftwood? I live there and I do like it. It's not any different for other neighborhoods in the area

 

[beachmouse]

Driftwood genuinely does have drainage/flooding issues, and you've got to decide if dealing with that is worth it.

Wages in Walton County often have a big disconnect from housing costs. You'll find more year rounders young enough to have kids in K-12 in areas where you can easily find sub-$400K (and preferably sub-$300K) homes. You'll find the people you're looking for in places like Flamingo Village over by Butler elementary school. Not so much in the more flagship developments- the permanent families are often there but are a minority of homeowners.

 

[tsutcli]

Seabreeze near Camp Creek Lake, east of Watersound Beach, is a short term rental restricted community. Many full-time residents including families. I have lived there for 12 years.

 

[ktmeadows]

You'll find the people you're looking for in places like Flamingo Village over by Butler elementary school. Not so much in the more flagship developments- the permanent families are often there but are a minority of homeowners.

We looked at a house in Flamingo Village several years ago..very reasonably priced