I have an opportunity to do some long term business in the area and might need to purchase a place there, what are your thoughts on places to live, places to avoid? I would bring my family (4 kids) along as I don't want to commute between ICT and there.

Would I be better off living in an area away from there, I don't know much about the panhandle? Is it good place to live etc.? Thanks in advance.

 

Housing is super cheap in P-Cola. You can get a serious house for 150,000. Lots of military people, many guys and gals doing flight training in P-Cola. Overall, a very nice area if you dont mind the warm weather.

 

Remember that the call this area LA (Lower Alabama) & the Rednect Riveria, so expect accordingly. From west to east you have the following major (loose term) towns: Pensacola, Pensacola Beach (not real close to downtown w/2 bridges to cross), Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Navarre Beach, Ft Walton Beach, Destin, Sand Destin, & Panama City. North of Pensacola/Navarre is Milton & North of Ft Walton Beach is Niceville & Crestview. Gulf Breeze, Destin, & Sand Destin will be your more expensive towns (Beach front aside). Navarre is mid-way between Pensacola & Ft Walton Beach's airports (approx 45 min drive). It is fairly rural north of the coast quickly, but that also gets you away from the tourists & all their issues.

Some of the facts for the area that you may not find on the tourism sites:
1. From Pensacola to Panama City, it is a military town (Navy - NAS Pensacola, Whiting Field in Milton; USAF - Hurlburt Field & Eglin AFB in Ft Walton Beach, Tyndall AFB in Panama City). That said the military ranges dominate the area between highway 98 on the coast & interstate 10 (this causes limited traffic flow north & traffic jams along the coast during peak season/day time).
2. Hurricane season hits late summer/early fall. They didn't have any last year, but you can still see the effects of previous years. Like the rest of Florida, house insurance sky rocketed the past year (if you can get it). On the plus side, housing rates fell.

I spent 11 years living in Navarre, Navarre Beach & Ft Walton Beach and still have realtives living there. The beaches are some of the best I have seen in the world, but the area is somewhat of a cultural void. PM me if you have any specific questions about specific areas/towns.

 

I also live here and all of SG's info is spot on...my first question would be where is this work located? Not there is a horrible commute compared to most big cities, but over time it has gotten to me, ie 25 mins to base got to be a horrible drive during certain hours. So if you tell me where you are working, I may be able to suggest certain areas that arent ghetto but may be affordable...also are you looking to buy or rent?

 

Looking to buy, in the 300 to 500k range, hopefully with water access. Not exactly sure on location as this is a startup. The other alternative is Tampa, I lived there for a few years in the 80's so I know it pretty well. As always, you guys are great with info, I appreciate it.

 

Not any more....Like the majority of other states and cities, Pensacola property values have gone through the roof. That said, like everywhere else the prices are coming down but not to where they were a couple of years ago. Hurricane Ivan pushed the prices up but were on their way up anyway.

Swass,
Why P-cola? Pretty depressed area. Great fishing, diving etc... but a lot of P-cola is blighted.

I live there now so feel free to contact me and I can send you some housing books, newspapers, etc...

 

Do a search for Marcus point subdivision, lots of homes in the 3-500k range.