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Hello,
I would appreciate any advice as this is a huge move for us. I am a single mom of two looking to relocate to Florida this summer.
The following are important:
- not more than 30 min from the beach, we are nature lovers so parks are imprtant too
- good schools
- we are vegetarian so it would be awesome to be able to live near farms and buy fresh organic veggies
- with easy access to kids activities (my daughter swims, my sons plays the piano)
- most importantly, we'd like to live in a safe place with friendly, educated people as our neighbors.
Which areas do you think I should consider?
Many thanks for your input.
Florida in general is very below-average when it comes to local produce, and isn't even in the top 15 of states with organic farms. During the winter (growing season) you will have to hunt down local produce, and most of it will NOT be organic. During May-October local produce is almost non-existent.
Most people move here for the right-wing politics, the weather, the beaches -- not for the availability of organic local produce or educated populace.
Also, if you are a beach lover, make sure you Google "gulf coast red tide". I don't go anywhere near the beach (yuck) but according to others, it's a frequent problem.
Hello,
thank you for all your replies. Much appreciated!
So, I am going to look closely at Jupiter, Boca, Jensen Beach, Weston, Hillsborough County (keeps coming up) and Sarasota. Those are all the places you mentioned close enough to the beach.
Should I add/remove any from my list? Would the cost of living be roughly the same in those places? If I need to get a new job in the future, would I have similar job opportunities in those places?
Anna.
The cost of living would be about the same in each area. The area from your list with the most jobs probably would be Hillsborough County (Tampa). Weston is in Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) so lots of job prospects there and Jupiter and Boca are in Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach) which is a smaller metro area, but still lots of jobs. Jensen Beach is in Martin County—job opportunities are not as great as in the other counties listed.
Florida in general is very below-average when it comes to local produce, and isn't even in the top 15 of states with organic farms. During the winter (growing season) you will have to hunt down local produce, and most of it will NOT be organic. During May-October local produce is almost non-existent.
Same goes for vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Florida. Let's just say that the major food groups here are fried chicken, BBQ and cuban sandwiches.
Pero Farms is decent for local organic produce, but unfortunately, most of their products available in stores are pre-packaged, so if you're looking for a whole head of organic broccoli, you might have to make a trip to Delray Beach and buy directly from them.
I get their organic peppers. They're good enough.
As for vegetarian/vegan, I've noticed that Florida has a bizarre lack of options. My youngest son is vegetarian, and it's always a pain trying to find restaurants where he will be able to find something decent to eat. Even mid-higher end restaurants seem to only have "mushroom ravioli" or some other nonsense as vegetarian main course.
Do you know of any good spots? The restaurant itself doesn't have to be vegetarian/vegan, but at the very least needs to have good options for vegetarians.
Look into Vero Beach. There are a few good schools, plenty of educated people, and less crowding than some other areas. They have a farmers market: https://www.verobeachfarmersmarket.com/
and a good selection of restaurants that include vegetarian fare. Plenty of parks and nature, and many public beaches with ample free parking.
The western edge of Tampa can be under 30 minutes from the beach. That said, there’s a big difference between driving 30 minutes in Tampa and being there in 5 minutes like you could from Sarasota for example. It’s the difference of being able to go on the weekends or every day basically.
I agree northern Pinellas is great. I was just in Safety Harbor a few days ago and it’s just such a unique and charming community. There aren’t many places like it any more.
St. Petersburg doesn’t have good schools though…
It's improving....St Petersburg Collegiate High School is well regarded and St Petersburg High School now has an IB program that's improved their standing considerably.
Pero Farms is decent for local organic produce, but unfortunately, most of their products available in stores are pre-packaged, so if you're looking for a whole head of organic broccoli, you might have to make a trip to Delray Beach and buy directly from them.
I get their organic peppers. They're good enough.
As for vegetarian/vegan, I've noticed that Florida has a bizarre lack of options. My youngest son is vegetarian, and it's always a pain trying to find restaurants where he will be able to find something decent to eat. Even mid-higher end restaurants seem to only have "mushroom ravioli" or some other nonsense as vegetarian main course.
Do you know of any good spots? The restaurant itself doesn't have to be vegetarian/vegan, but at the very least needs to have good options for vegetarians.
I've been vegetarian for most of my life (my parents are so . . . ). The veg scene in Orlando is as good or better than most other places I've lived (NYC, Philly, San Francisco). The only place that Orlando really lacks is at the top of the market/fine dining but that goes for the restaurant scene generally speaking. Vedge in Philadelphia is arguably one of the best vegan restaurants in the country but the casual end of the market in Philly is relatively weak compared to Orlando. San Francisco has plenty of veg friendly items on most menus but vegan restaurants are surprisingly lacking at any price point.
I'm just saying, I've been here 5 years now and dining out has never been a problem - not even going out for lunch in Kissimmee. My biggest disappointment food-wise was when Seito took the vegan ramen off their menu but it's not like other places don't have vegan ramen or vegan pho so I'm not really at a loss. There's a weekly vegan night market in Thornton Park, there's an annual festival just for vegan food trucks in Festival Park. We even have a vegan ice cream shop that's been successful enough to have locations downtown and in Sanford. Winter Park Biscuit is some of the best vegan chicken sandwiches anywhere and Plantees is a vegan burger joint on Mills (I was just there last night). I'm not even vegan - I love me some real pizza and real ice cream and Sundays ain't brunch without a real egg frittata. I just know these places exist because I visit them on occasion.
For the OP, the vegan scene is pretty strong here with plenty of casual options. We used to have two places that were mid level (Sanctum) and more refined (Proper & Wild) both owned by the same people who got "me too'ed" out of business two years ago but the restaurant scene here is evolving so quickly that I suspect that niche to be filled again in the next year or two. Most places that aren't veg specific that are worth going to in the area have solid vegetarian options and even when they don't everyone knows the drill, "can I get that without the bacon?" There are also a lot of ethnic options, places like Z Asian, Mamak,
The biggest cluster of veg and very veg friendly restaurants are going to be in the area between I-4, Curry Ford Rd., and 436 (Semoran) and there are also a lot of good schools there. It's also where you'll find multiple farmers markets (Winter Park, Maitland, Audubon Park, and multiple supermarkets that aren't Publix - Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and I expect Earth Fare to make a return any day now ) And a ranch for $400k-$500k is doable. The problem for you, OP, is that the area is generally 45-60 minutes from the beach.
I think no matter where you end up it's going to be a tradeoff. South Florida has proximity to beaches and great restaurants but lining up good schools with $500k will be an issue. Pinellas/Hillsborough might be easier to match home prices/schools but I think your proximity to the beach will suffer. I'm not that well versed on Tampa's food scene but it seems to be on par with Orlando.
A lot of the rest of the east coast, while close to the beach and with cheaper homes, you'll probably find the schools and food scene lacking. Same goes for Jacksonville.
I've been vegetarian for most of my life (my parents are so . . . ). The veg scene in Orlando is as good or better than most other places I've lived (NYC, Philly, San Francisco). The only place that Orlando really lacks is at the top of the market/fine dining but that goes for the restaurant scene generally speaking. Vedge in Philadelphia is arguably one of the best vegan restaurants in the country but the casual end of the market in Philly is relatively weak compared to Orlando. San Francisco has plenty of veg friendly items on most menus but vegan restaurants are surprisingly lacking at any price point.
I'm just saying, I've been here 5 years now and dining out has never been a problem - not even going out for lunch in Kissimmee. My biggest disappointment food-wise was when Seito took the vegan ramen off their menu but it's not like other places don't have vegan ramen or vegan pho so I'm not really at a loss. There's a weekly vegan night market in Thornton Park, there's an annual festival just for vegan food trucks in Festival Park. We even have a vegan ice cream shop that's been successful enough to have locations downtown and in Sanford. Winter Park Biscuit is some of the best vegan chicken sandwiches anywhere and Plantees is a vegan burger joint on Mills (I was just there last night). I'm not even vegan - I love me some real pizza and real ice cream and Sundays ain't brunch without a real egg frittata. I just know these places exist because I visit them on occasion.
For the OP, the vegan scene is pretty strong here with plenty of casual options. We used to have two places that were mid level (Sanctum) and more refined (Proper & Wild) both owned by the same people who got "me too'ed" out of business two years ago but the restaurant scene here is evolving so quickly that I suspect that niche to be filled again in the next year or two. Most places that aren't veg specific that are worth going to in the area have solid vegetarian options and even when they don't everyone knows the drill, "can I get that without the bacon?" There are also a lot of ethnic options, places like Z Asian, Mamak,
The biggest cluster of veg and very veg friendly restaurants are going to be in the area between I-4, Curry Ford Rd., and 436 (Semoran) and there are also a lot of good schools there. It's also where you'll find multiple farmers markets (Winter Park, Maitland, Audubon Park, and multiple supermarkets that aren't Publix - Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and I expect Earth Fare to make a return any day now ) And a ranch for $400k-$500k is doable. The problem for you, OP, is that the area is generally 45-60 minutes from the beach.
I think no matter where you end up it's going to be a tradeoff. South Florida has proximity to beaches and great restaurants but lining up good schools with $500k will be an issue. Pinellas/Hillsborough might be easier to match home prices/schools but I think your proximity to the beach will suffer. I'm not that well versed on Tampa's food scene but it seems to be on par with Orlando.
A lot of the rest of the east coast, while close to the beach and with cheaper homes, you'll probably find the schools and food scene lacking. Same goes for Jacksonville.
Wait wait wait.
Are you actually saying that the veg scene in Orlando is "as good or better" than the veg scene in San Francisco, birthplace of veganism in the US? And NY? Birthplace of the Moosewood restaurant? And Philly? Birthplace of vegetarianism in the USA?
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I'm not even gonna comment on the Tampa food scene, because it doesn't even deserve a comment
I've been vegetarian for most of my life (my parents are so . . . ). The veg scene in Orlando is as good or better than most other places I've lived (NYC, Philly, San Francisco). The only place that Orlando really lacks is at the top of the market/fine dining but that goes for the restaurant scene generally speaking. Vedge in Philadelphia is arguably one of the best vegan restaurants in the country but the casual end of the market in Philly is relatively weak compared to Orlando. San Francisco has plenty of veg friendly items on most menus but vegan restaurants are surprisingly lacking at any price point.
I'm just saying, I've been here 5 years now and dining out has never been a problem - not even going out for lunch in Kissimmee. My biggest disappointment food-wise was when Seito took the vegan ramen off their menu but it's not like other places don't have vegan ramen or vegan pho so I'm not really at a loss. There's a weekly vegan night market in Thornton Park, there's an annual festival just for vegan food trucks in Festival Park. We even have a vegan ice cream shop that's been successful enough to have locations downtown and in Sanford. Winter Park Biscuit is some of the best vegan chicken sandwiches anywhere and Plantees is a vegan burger joint on Mills (I was just there last night). I'm not even vegan - I love me some real pizza and real ice cream and Sundays ain't brunch without a real egg frittata. I just know these places exist because I visit them on occasion.
For the OP, the vegan scene is pretty strong here with plenty of casual options. We used to have two places that were mid level (Sanctum) and more refined (Proper & Wild) both owned by the same people who got "me too'ed" out of business two years ago but the restaurant scene here is evolving so quickly that I suspect that niche to be filled again in the next year or two. Most places that aren't veg specific that are worth going to in the area have solid vegetarian options and even when they don't everyone knows the drill, "can I get that without the bacon?" There are also a lot of ethnic options, places like Z Asian, Mamak,
The biggest cluster of veg and very veg friendly restaurants are going to be in the area between I-4, Curry Ford Rd., and 436 (Semoran) and there are also a lot of good schools there. It's also where you'll find multiple farmers markets (Winter Park, Maitland, Audubon Park, and multiple supermarkets that aren't Publix - Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and I expect Earth Fare to make a return any day now ) And a ranch for $400k-$500k is doable. The problem for you, OP, is that the area is generally 45-60 minutes from the beach.
I think no matter where you end up it's going to be a tradeoff. South Florida has proximity to beaches and great restaurants but lining up good schools with $500k will be an issue. Pinellas/Hillsborough might be easier to match home prices/schools but I think your proximity to the beach will suffer. I'm not that well versed on Tampa's food scene but it seems to be on par with Orlando.
A lot of the rest of the east coast, while close to the beach and with cheaper homes, you'll probably find the schools and food scene lacking. Same goes for Jacksonville.
You were doing well up to there. The best public schools in the state by density are in the Jacksonville metro. St Johns County is #1, Clay County is #4 and Nassau County is #10. Jacksonville also has Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sprouts, multiple farmers markets and green grocers. All in all for a coastal area its the better buy in FL.
It's improving....St Petersburg Collegiate High School is well regarded and St Petersburg High School now has an IB program that's improved their standing considerably.
It always surprises me how you sound like a local but you’re in Orlando.
Anyway, the schools are improving but still bad. I can’t recommend it for that reason alone.
It always surprises me how you sound like a local but you’re in Orlando.
Anyway, the schools are improving but still bad. I can’t recommend it for that reason alone.
This ^^
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) And a ranch for $400k-$500k is doable. The problem for you, OP, is that the area is generally 45-60 minutes from the beach. 
