We are considering moving to Florida, Myrtle Beach, SC or Norfolk, Virginia with our school age children. We have thought about Tampa and surrounding areas, as well as Ft.Meyers. Still looking for employment, but would like for advice on areas to look. We want good schools- elementary to college levels, would like a lower cost of living, but low crime.Need a 5 bedroom house, but can't pay $400,000. No more than 1 hour from beach. Would like to not have to pay crazy property taxes or insurance( while we are aware they will be more than other places in states!). Worried about sinkhole areas a bit also. Please, any and all advice is welcomed. This will hopefully be our last move. Retired army pilot, and have moved too much! If their are any other suggestions for places to move, please post! We want to be by water, low cost of living, great schools, good employment options for hubbie, ......you know, the dream!! But cheap!

For retirement, try Beaufort, SC.

For employment, your better bet would be Raleigh-Durham.

And limit it to one thread--you have two going.

I have a friend that I met on a train over 11 years ago.
After I met him, he founded a company called 1800GOTMOLD
His headquarters are in Oldsmar FL north of Tampa even though he lives in NJ.
If you get the dog and get trained, you can work as much or as little as you want to. http://www.1800gotmold.com/franchise...y/training.php
The Gulf Coast seems to be a little more protected from hurricanes. Jason was in the Guinness Book as the youngest licensed stock broker in the US shortly after his 17th birthday. He survived 9/11/01 by being late to work at the WTC.
If you wanted to come to the west coast, check out Portland or the northern Oregon coast.

The OP said "any and all advice" but tomfuller's post looks like an advertisement. How much do you have invested in the company, tom?

Not a cent. I don't even own a dog. Being self employed sounds like a good idea for this situation.
Jason Earle has been my friend for many years since the train trip shortly after 9/11. His dog Oreo has a Facebook page too.

I grew up in Florida and lived in three different parts of the state over 40 years. Also lived in Myrtle Beach for two years though that was about 20 years ago. Climate in MB was great, traffic was horrible even then. You planned anything you did in the summer around tourist arrival traffic on Sat. It was relatively inexpensive to live there then, can't say what cost of living is there now though I do wish i had gone ahead and bought a house there when i had the chance.

Florida overall has a reputation for poor education but like anywhere depends on where you live. In Tampa, that would be South Tampa and you would likely have trouble finding a house under $400k. You may have better luck on the east coast in terms of cost of living though the beaches aren't as pretty but the waves are better. Hurricanes are a factor throughout the state which will impact homeowners insurance rates. Many companies pulled put years ago leaving many homeowners to get insurance through the state pill.

State *pool*.

I know all that sounds negative but I did enjoy living in Florida when i was there including 12 years in the Tampa area. While I grew up going to the beach often, that was not the case in my later years in the state. Plenty of people do love living there and enjoy the beach regularly. Just wanted to point out some of the realities.

>>The Gulf Coast seems to be a little more protected from hurricanes.

I think the OP is not going to read what you wrote, it's too long ago.

I think traffic is relative. I have relatives in Naples so have been there a couple times and the traffic didn't seem bad at all to me, I'm from Wash DC.

There are a lot of civilian jobs with the military in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia because of the many military bases here but the number of openings are shrinking because there are so many vets seeking employment now.

IMO Virginia offers the best and biggest selection of state colleges of all your choices: UVA, VaTech, W&M, JMU, ODU, VMI, VCU, GMU, etc. (I just like writing all the abbreviations.)

Myrtle Beach South Carolina is not a good place to raise a family.Unemployment is very high.The crime rate is very high as well.I was not aware of the homeless problem,drug and open prostitution until I went to visit a friend during the "off season". Happy to say my dear friend has moved away from the Myrtle Beach area.

Mt Pleasant South Carolina fits the bill. Close to great jobs
in North Charleston without the high cost of living. Its not cheap,but its less than Charleston.

The challenge I've seen in Florida is good schools-low crime-low cost of living combo= expensive. The areas with the lowest crime and better schools have the highest taxes and most expensive homes. You drive 20 minutes in a differant direction and all 3 things change very quickly.

The Charleston area might fit you. SC has low taxes, and Charleston has military stuff--px, etc.
Living at the beach anywhere can be a mixed bag, in my opinion, but of course, to each his own. But MB would be the LAST place on earth I would live.
You might look at Wilmington, NC.
I would think a road trip to visit would be a good plan to start with.

"Florida overall has a reputation for poor education but like anywhere depends on where you live."

This year, Education Week ranked Florida's K-12 education system 6th in the nation.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

We relocated from the Midwest to Southern FL (East Coast) and raised our family. Love it down here and have made many friends. Seems to be a lot more transient then we were used to--but coming from the Army you would be use to that. The public education system is not the best, but there are some good ones, but housing costs are higher. There are also some great private schools. You may be able to find a 5 bedroom around $400k, depending where you want to live. Good luck!

If you consider fort myers, make sure you understand the Student Assigmnent process. We do not attend neighborhood schools. You rank schools by preference within a certain zone. You might get stuck with a school that is not your first choice. Your neighbor might attend a different school. There are pros and cons to this system, but I am not a huge fan of it.