I have to agree with you on South Florida. About the Schools I can't say. Here in Santa Rosa County are schools ranks very high nationally.
I love living near big waters. Living in NW Florida along the Gulf Coast allows me to do so on a retired fixed income. I have lived near , and on some the best big waters the USA has to offer. But what made them great 40 years ago has disappeared.
Loved San Diego Calif and close by areas . GONE, Californicated by to many people who were more interested in BIG, to many cars, to many bad politicians. You want to live there bring a bag full of money and contend with beaches overrun with people and sprouting ordinance signs listing fifty beach violations .
Loved Ventura Calf. Gone Californicated worse than San Diego.
Loved 3 years living and working in Honolulu. The City and State has continued to keep the beaches for the use of its citizens. Still clean and great surf with no buttocrats to make long list of don't. You can still drive around any island and in to any beach park (no meters, few dont signs). The down side - a tourist based economy where everything is high cost and little produced locally and locals are priced out of just about everything.. Bring a bigger bag of money (Actually unless you fully loaded don't even think of living there. If you are go for it)
Seattle Wash, lovely place even thirty years ago. Nice and green , lovely clean water. GONE. Californicated by displaced Californians looking for what they helped destroy in So Calif.
San Francisco - Stinson Beach and other Northern beach locations. I don't even want to talk about it.
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My list is long, but I think you get the point. Lots of people want to live near big water. A friend of mine came down from Minnesota in our slow season April. . He looked up an down the public beach (Maybe six people looking for shells) he could see the white sand to the horizon in both directions. Looked at the clear green water. He turned to me and said "Don't tell anybody about this beach, ever". But here I've gone and done so. I'm only worried a little, It will take about twenty years to blow this one away and by then I'll be long gone.. Did I tell you that we have hurricanes and from June to September is hot and muggy and you want to leave for the high mountains. There are few good paying jobs here. That pretty much limits our growth. Our closest Interstate is fifteen miles away. That pretty much causes all Californians to lose interest.. Our property taxes are low and going lower. That pretty much discourages tax and spend buttocrats. Oh did I mention there is no Florida state income tax. I often ask my out of state relatives why their state has state income tax. They never can come up with an answer that makes any sense. Something about growth and progress, and that is exactly why South Florida has been Californicated along with some of the most beautiful places in this country. You want to sell things to a lot of people - don't come here. You want to 12 lane our roads and build those neat land grabin cloverleafs, so you can get to your job five minutes faster - don't come here. You believe that all progress and growth is what makes a place great - You love BIG, please don't even think about coming here. Go to South Florida, or better yet join the herd in So Calif.
NW Florida is a good place to live. You want a piece of it - don't wait too long. Big water places are on the indangered list.
