Miaandsashasmom. This is indeed a great discussion group. When I was thinking of getting property in SoWal, I had a friend bring me back several newspapers from the area to get a sense of what's available and the prices. There's a lot of variety in types of places to live, about 15 different beach communities along 30A, and a wide range in prices. I personally think there are bargains to be found if you do your research. you can also find what's available online. And why not take a week at the beach in the next month or so and look around yourself with a realtor. Supermom used to live in our neighborhood in Michigan before they moved to live fulltime in South Walton and she introduced us to a realtor in SoWal who took me around the area for about 2 days and I saw a full range of places and prices and fell in love
with the place we now have (and then bought the one next door). Actually, I was looking initially at Destin as well, and the smart realtor gently told me "you belong on 30A" and she was definitely right.
I really believe in doing as much research as you can and then, with that in mind, see the places in person and also trust your instincts. Most places are going to have trade-offs, so you'll want to figure out what's most important to you in the short term and long term.
Good luck!
