if your considering moving to destin its awesome but remember that huge thing called the gulf can really make your worst nightmares come true. unless you have money to burn and want a beach front property stay in the growing area of crestview and fort walton beach, fl

too many horror stories of people's houses being swiped by a hurricane or a tropical storm makes me wish they would stop building on the beach but they do.

don't let the commericals that you see here on tv confuse you (especially those on a certian channel between 21 and 24 on cox cable) it's risky as hell to live by the ocean and you can get killed. sure they tell you to leave but with the traffic jams on 98 during that period you midas well stay home.

becareful out there. if you decide to move here check out all your options before spliffing all your money to a beach side home it is not worth it.

tdtvro

As someone who is looking to purchase a second home at/near the beach (or first if the finances dictate semi-retirement that quickly), I've taken a good look at most everything from Ft. Walton to Panama City.

1. While no home can be made hurricane-proof, the new codes are going a long way to minimize damage and make buildings fare much better in storms. The Destin Log just had a recent article on this: http://olive.flacoast.com//Default/S...&ViewMode=Html

In case someone thinks "That is all propaganda to sell real estate," my family built custom homes for years. I still keep up on construction. Many of the new methods really do help.

2. Those who buy right on or very close to the beach where property values are much higher, generally can afford the insurance on the place. They can afford to rent or lease another place while their home is rebuilt. It is the trade-off they take (living on the Gulf where they can walk to the beach, see the view of the sunsets every day and know the storm risk is there).

3. No question, the Gulf along the panhandle is attractive to those who want to live on the beach. You'd be hard pressed to get the same place for the money in most other beach locations, and yet the area has very good quality of life. People can get a beachfront condo or house along the beach (within a block) for what they'd pay for a comparable place in the middle of some big cities.

4. To those who want the smaller town quality of life, and just want to be within 30-45 minutes of the Gulf, I agree that there are plenty of great options to check out. Probably not so much for someone retiring now, but for someone looking to invest, get a second place, etc. there is plenty of dirt cheap land and homes without even going as far north as Crestview.

Freeport (for example) appears poised to go nuts in a a few years. As the area and population grows, especially with the somewhat quick assess to Beaches of South Walton (especially if the new 98/30-A access road goes in) and the Bay County airport's new location.

Disclaimer: I don't have a crystal ball and I'm not from the area. I think there is tremendous investment potential and just like with stocks or anything else I invest in, I follow the area growth, news, and politics very closely. I could see myself buying a vacation home for vacation purposes and for the investment. Too late to do this in South Florida or Southern California. But still time to get in on the Emerald Coast boom at affordible prices.

Life is good on the coast. Hurricanes are tracked for weeks before they come ashore... you have plenty of time to evacuate safely. I've lived here (on the water) for 49 years. Hurricanes can be devastating to beachfront properties when they hit, but they are trackable and predictable...

I agree that you must spend big bucks on construction and insurance to live directly on the Gulf, but, as Ted says, there are affordable options.

ever think about going to crestview? the taxes there are the lowest in fl! and it's just an hour's drive to the beach (depending on traffic)

anyhow i haven't driven by old highway 98 lately but i heard that they are still adding on to it. do we need another opal to wake people up? i'm starting to really hate this area for 2 reasons 1) only one highway (and no one knows how to drive down here or they don't care) and 2) when i go to my pool at night the sky gives me a light show - not a good idea when one is in water :) but hey in a few weeks it will calm down.

right now in the florosa es (outside hurl. field) it's 93 icky degress with a heat index of 105 (hurls) my air is working double time to cool this place. luckly gulf power's rates are cheaper than nymo's (new york power/hydro) yes i'm from syracuse area (go orange!)

anyhow you people need to think more than twice before you put your $$ on to buying beach side properity - hurricane proof homes are safer but why pay the higher taxes??? do ya think our gov. really needs the extra money?

check out other booming places - don't let the "********* / beach tv real estate show" make you go ohhh ahhh where do i sign for that house by the private beach

tdtvro

Sounds like you should move to Crestview if you hate Destin so much.

I'm sure locals and visitors of Destin won't mind...

Utility bills are a trade off:

They are higher in the summer when you have to run the A/C non-stop but low in the winter when only moderate heating is needed (except on a few really cold days/nights) and super-low in the spring and fall when very little heat or A/C is needed.

In the north, high utility bills are in the winter when it is freezing (literally) much of the time. In the south, the high bills are in the summer.

I bet more people have died in Syracuse in the past 25 years from cold and snow (car wrecks, hypothermia, etc) than have died on the Emerald Coast from hurricaines.

On a side note, why do New Yorkers move to sunny places like the Emerald Coast (or my city of Las Vegas) and then just *****, *****, ***** about the heat or that it isn't like home (or anything else they can ***** about)?

We have this incredible invention called the airplane. They go far, and they go fast. And they will take you quickly to a place where you will be happier. For me, they take me on vacation to the Emerald Coast and I love it!

soon we will have something called a skycar :)