Relocating Mama

:wave:Hello everyone! Relocating from the Carolina Mtns in July. Could use some help as far as "safe neighborhoods" in SoWal. With reasonable rents, of course! I'm a single mom of 2 teen-age girls and will be seeking office work. Can someone "guide" us???
Thanx!

:welcome: As someone who would love to relocate to SoWal some day, I would like to ask you...do you come to SoWal often to vacation? Did you fall in love with the area on those vacations? Do you know the cost of living in SoWal as compared to other areas? Are you planning on having a job before you move down? I believe if I had to depend on a job to live, I would probably seek that first. I would not wait to get to SoWal and then try to find a job. Jobs in the office work arena in SoWal are probably not that easy to come by. If however, you can make it awhile without a job then maybe you could find something later on.

What do you consider "reasonable rents"? If I were you I would get on the Real Estate forum here and look around at what people are charging for long term rental rates. It might give you an idea of the costs of rental homes in the area.

I am not a local (just a wannabe), so I can't give you the specifics on "safe neighborhoods", I would assume that most in SoWal are safe.

Good luck in your move. I hope everything goes well for you. Hopefully, it will be me one day. :cool:

Thanx, Kathy!
WOW! This site is REALLY hard to "navigate" thru. I cannot locate "long-term" rentals anywhere - just "vacation" rentals. We went down last summer for a vacation and drove around several areas in FL - I've lived in Orlando and Naples area years ago. No desire to go back to either. I love the 'old-time FL' feel of the Panhandle - that's why I've chosen that area.
As for reasonable rents, looking for a 2BR (or 3) w/2BA (or 1.5) for under $800. Got any connections? I worked in rentals for 4 years, and hope to find somehting in that line when I get there. I am currently on unemployment and received SS for one of my girls (survivors benefits). It would be VERY tight trying to live on those 2 incomes alone.
I am, however, going down the weekend of 6/18 to secure a place and look for employment as well. At 50, I've got quite a bit a versatile experience under my belt, and as a single mom there's not much I'm opposed to doing to provide for my family.
Any idea what the population is there? Are there many hotels, vacation resort and restaurants in the area (like PCB)? Lots of condos or more single family?
What keeps you from moving there? Thanx for responding!
Tami