Where in Florida should I move to? (Miami, Orlando: low crime, home)

[jennkarma]

Hi Everyone. I'm ready to move out of the NJ cold and know that Florida is the place for me and my growing family. I'm already familiar with the Ft. Lauderdale & Miami area, but really don't know much about any of the other areas. Before making any decisions, we are taking trips to visit each of the main places (next week we are headed to JAX and St. Augustine), in the fall we'll head to the west coast, and then next year we'll check out the Orlando/Central region. But I'd LOVE to hear from all the experts on here. I love city-data and find all the feedback to be sooo helpful!

Here is what I'm looking for:
- 4 bedroom home in the 300k-400k range
- community with pool/fitness/community center would be nice, not necessary
- a nice family town (I have a 2 yr old and another on the way)
- good shopping with maybe an organic supermarket nearby
- a cool downtown area - shopping, restaurants - within 15 min
- culture & arts (within 45-60 min driving dist. to the nearest city)

I'd love any input. I'm all ears!

THANK YOU!

[jennkarma]

I should add that my husband works from home and I am a fitness instructor making our relocation choice pretty flexible.

[GloryB]

Hard to walk away from St Augustine. What a beautiful place to live and raise a family. Low crime and very affordable.

Here's the deal though, you really have to choose an area that offers what you like to do during your free time. You've got this wide variety from coast to coast in Florida. Hunting, fishing, shopping, arts, theme parks, canoeing, boating, camping, antiques, partying.....and all those are represented in different parts of Florida. So, it is hard to say 'this area would be perfect for you' because it may not be.

I think you'll enjoy the search though....it's part of the fun of relocating.

[jennkarma]

Originally Posted by GloryB

Hard to walk away from St Augustine. What a beautiful place to live and raise a family. Low crime and very affordable.

Here's the deal though, you really have to choose an area that offers what you like to do during your free time. You've got this wide variety from coast to coast in Florida. Hunting, fishing, shopping, arts, theme parks, canoeing, boating, camping, antiques, partying.....and all those are represented in different parts of Florida. So, it is hard to say 'this area would be perfect for you' because it may not be.

I think you'll enjoy the search though....it's part of the fun of relocating.

Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it. I'm visitng St. Augustine next week and very excited to check it all out. And as you said, the whole research process of relocating is so fun! To travel and experience all the different places and envision where you'd like to be. So cool!