Hi,I'm 30-something (far away from retirement!) and thinking of relocating. I'd like a beach town, either coast, which is pedestrian friendly, urban style development. (Not anything south of Boca). Front porches, walk everywhere, etc. I've read about Seaside and thats the type I'm looking for. Needs to be commuting distance to a decent sized city. And affordable homes (bungalow style, under $250,000). Does such a place exist? Thanks!

First, to get an idea of what you are used to, where are you living now?

Depending on the type of work you do will really determine where you can live. I live in South Florida and the further North you move up into Palm Beach County/Martin County, the fewer jobs in my field are available. I really must stay in Fort Lauderdale and Miami because of the work I do and the companies I can work for.

Hi xxx,
I'm in S Fla too. Lucky I'm not too worried about finding a good position. And I have heard that some cities such as Tampa have high growth. Any insight into this would be helpful, thanks.

You're describing the kind of town my sister, who lives in Key West, has been looking for a long time. The only affordable Florida place that immediately comes to mind is Crescent Beach north of Daytona Beach.

Beach and Under $250,000 don't mix.
I live in Boca Raton but I am 20 minutes from the ocean. Delray Beach near the ocean is nice but once you get 10 minutes away it is not.

The farther north you go the chaeper it will be (on the whole). There may be great areas to live in Central or northern Florida but not for me.

Maybe Naples is more what you desire. You should check it out before it gets way too expensive.

I'd say Apalachicola, FL. It was a rundown fishing village for awhile, but a lots of artsy people have moved in over the last ten years and have really done a good job of reviving the town. A college freind lives there and loves it. Housing prices would easily fit in your budget. Really friendly people. Only problem is that it is not an easy commute to a large city. Panama City is about 40 minutes to the West and Tallahassee is about 1.5 hours to the East.

Just had to respond to the last post. I live in Port St Joe, which is close to Apalach/Panama City and just wanted to clarify things a little bit.... First, while Apalach is a wonderful little fishing village, and is quaint etc, the houses also START at around $250,000, and that is generally for a fixer uper - housing prices around here are exteremly inflated, esp in Apalach thanks to a boom in the tourism/vacation market. Also, Panama City is actually a good 1 1/2 hours from there, and Tallahassee is about an 1 1/2 hours from there, but is to the NW. Now for the up side, there ARE wonderful little communities around here, Apalach, Port St Joe, Mexico Beach, Eastpoint (which is up and coming) and Carabelle all come to mind.

Native: unles you want to live in the historic district or be on the water, you can get a house in Apalach for $200K or less easily. I just did an internet search and there's plenty of houses in this price range.

And ssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...don't tell people too much about this area of Florida. It'll drive up prices and I won't be able to afford a place there sometime in the future!

Just to defend myself - yes, there are places to buy that are that cheap, or even cheaper, but if you see the location, or the state that the house is in you would understand why. Honestly, we have been sort of looking for investment property, and most of the prices in that town are a little pricy for what you are getting. Just a buyer beware. Also, popular strategy for selling houses around here is "if they don't sell right away, jack the price up". Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it over here - very quiet, people are by and large wonderful, very "old south" feeling and so forth, but realty is outrageous latley - mainly thanks to the mill coming down in PSJ and tourism going up. The house that you buy today for $200,000 was only $around $30,000 - $40,000 about 10 years ago, and nothing has changed in the house, but that it has gotten worse. I'm just saying that if I was going to live/buy around here I wouldn't do Apalach, but go to one of the other towns and visit that town.

I live in Ponte Bedra Beach which is between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. You may have heard of us--the Sawgrass PGA Tournament is held here every year. Yes, we are surrounded by million dollar homes, but there are smaller homes that are in your pricerange. I live in a beautiful subdivision, less than 1 mile from the ocean, and my home is close to your pricerange. You should come give us a look.

Hi Im the original poster, just wanted to thank everyone for their input!

TO the original poster- email me direct and I will give you info on where to go-

Yes, you can live ON the BEACH in BOCA for under $250,000....

I know,a friend of mine has a 2 bed condo there--so email me--