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?
moving to south walton?
- Thread starter dfrank651
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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.
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.
dfrank651 said:
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.
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.
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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?
Yes, and you must also know his brother, Stein?Sueshore said:
Smiling JOe said:
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
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