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When we moved to South Carolina after graduating from college, we got used to beaching at Hilton Head, Isle of Palms, and Kiawah. Even after we moved to GA, we'd drive to those same places. Then when our daughter was two, we heard about the kids camp at The Cloister. That was a great idea because she had kids to play with and we could have dinner in peace. This lasted until she got too old for kids camp. All of our friends in GA went to the FL Panhandle, especially Destin. So we decided to try it because it was a much shorter drive. We loved the beautiful beaches and emerald waters of the Gulf. My family always went to PCB every year, but I had forgotten how beautiful the Gulf beaches are. We started going to Sandestin and stayed in condos there. But after a few years, we got tired of fighting for chaise lounges around the pool. The last straw was when one week the pool was closed most of the week due to baby poop. We decided to rent a home with a pool on 30A. Why 30A? Because we always enjoyed driving to Seaside to shop and eat at Bud & Alley's. We enjoyed staying in a home so much that we started looking at property. We took the plunge, bought a lot, built a house, and the rest is history. We just like how funky the 30A area is and enjoy the restaurants and most of all enjoy the beautiful beaches. We like that there are no four-lane roads.

When we moved to South Carolina after graduating from college, we got used to beaching at Hilton Head, Isle of Palms, and Kiawah. Even after we moved to GA, we&#039;d drive to those same places. Then when our daughter was two, we heard about the kids camp at The Cloister. That was a great idea because she had kids to play with and we could have dinner in peace. This lasted until she got too old for kids camp. All of our friends in GA went to the FL Panhandle, especially Destin. So we decided to try it because it was a much shorter drive. We loved the beautiful beaches and emerald waters of the Gulf. My family always went to PCB every year, but I had forgotten how beautiful the Gulf beaches are. We started going to Sandestin and stayed in condos there. But after a few years, we got tired of fighting for chaise lounges around the pool. The last straw was when one week the pool was closed most of the week due to baby poop. We decided to rent a home with a pool on 30A. Why 30A? Because we always enjoyed driving to Seaside to shop and eat at Bud &amp; Alley&#039;s. We enjoyed staying in a home so much that we started looking at property. We took the plunge, bought a lot, built a house, and the rest is history. We just like how funky the 30A area is and enjoy the restaurants and most of all enjoy the beautiful beaches. We like that there are no four-lane roads.

Paula

Beach Fanatic

We chose to buy in SoWal because of the natural beauty of the area, no high rises (well, there is one high rise), a lot of native forests, stunning beaches (and the white sand doesn't get horribly hot when you walk on it in the summer), the artsy-ness, the great restaurants, the nice weather year-round (we're from Michigan, so even 50's/60's in the winter is heavenly to us - we're hitting 0-10 degrees here this week), nice people of all ages around - lots of families, diverse architecture and nice communities to walk or bike around, good coffee shops, a much more reasonable drive from the north than the southern parts of Florida, and lots more.  We now have the new Panama City Beach Airport that's less than 1/2 hour away from our cottages.  We also like renting out our cottages when we're not using them, and our guests have been great.

We chose to buy in SoWal because of the natural beauty of the area, no high rises (well, there is one high rise), a lot of native forests, stunning beaches (and the white sand doesn&#039;t get horribly hot when you walk on it in the summer), the artsy-ness, the great restaurants, the nice weather year-round (we&#039;re from Michigan, so even 50&#039;s/60&#039;s in the winter is heavenly to us - we&#039;re hitting 0-10 degrees here this week), nice people of all ages around - lots of families, diverse architecture and nice communities to walk or bike around, good coffee shops, a much more reasonable drive from the north than the southern parts of Florida, and lots more.  We now have the new Panama City Beach Airport that&#039;s less than 1/2 hour away from our cottages.  We also like renting out our cottages when we&#039;re not using them, and our guests have been great.

seafun

Beach Comber

I would like to start a thread reflecting on why you and your family selected the NW Florida (Sowal) area as your recreation/retirement destination!  We have friends that asked us that question and we rattled off a litany of reasons; shorter drive than Ft. Myers, Sanibel, Sarasota, Naples, spectacular beaches, great real estate values, SEC country (OK - maybe a stretch there :), great restaurants.....etc.  Why did you choose Sowal??

I would like to start a thread reflecting on why you and your family selected the NW Florida (Sowal) area as your recreation/retirement destination!  We have friends that asked us that question and we rattled off a litany of reasons; shorter drive than Ft. Myers, Sanibel, Sarasota, Naples, spectacular beaches, great real estate values, SEC country (OK - maybe a stretch there 🙂, great restaurants.....etc.  Why did you choose Sowal??

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Cars of 30A At Alys Beach: Event Highlights & Photo Gallery

Sixth annual Run Watersound At Watersound Town Center October 24, 2026

Support Our Parks: The 2026 Friends of Camp Helen Pumpkin Patch Is Open

Annual Events and Festivals in South Walton