I have to disagree with you about the eastern coast. The east coast of Fl is a beautiful beach. Where we are is like the Caribbean. My opinion

Freedom has a good point, and Navarre makes Pensacola look like fun. I love it here, but I come here to let go and relax, and back to Georgia to work and stress out. Pensacola does have a couple of good restaurants now . :). All depends on what you want. Hey, the Gulch was pretty dull! Except for the people, which is all that matters in the end.

Tennessee is next door to NC and has no income tax, but no coast. If mountain scenery is equally attractive to you then TN might be a viable option. I have not lived there but have relatives who love living in Nashville, so much that they moved back there after employment in NC did not work out to their satisfaction. I trust their opinion but I want warmer winter than either NC or TN- and I can tolerate long hot summers better than most.

No cultural attraction/events (dramatic theatre, concerts, museum,etc) no decent restaurants not requiring a 3 hour drive in heavy traffic, no unique grocery (e.g. Trader Joes, Aldi), no decent baked goods, no farmers market. (Not enough demand from residents for any of the above as most appeared to be satisfied with Piggly Wiggly and the latest propaganda from wHollyweird.) It wasn't designed by Howard Rourke either. It's possible it has changed in 13 years, but it is still full of humidity, mozzies, and sand flies compared to the east coast.

What do you think makes it boring versus not boring ? Do you mean like bars, restaurants, local theater, or something else? Because my husband and I don’t really go out a lot here, where there are many options.

Our first criteria is to have no state income tax. I do not believe NC is on that list, unfortunately.

I was looking for a place near the coast with mild weather and some friends had positive things to say about Pensacola- but they had only been there as tourists. Day to day life there is extremely boring compared to some other smaller coastal towns, e.g., Wilmington, NC.

Before you make a final commitment to FL, check out western NC. It would not be too much of a detour on your way to or from FL. Hendersonville is particularly attractive to many retirees. It has four seasons - winters are short, spring and fall quite long and the summers mild compared to FL. There are a few Objectivists here about, too. Happy travels.

Well, with any luck for us, the area has changed significantly in the last 13 years. I know the area that we are living in has. I'm curious to know what drew you to move there in the first place ?

Yikes, that sounds even more dire than I thought it might be. But I appreciate knowing that it is something we will have to factor in. And yes, getting out of our very liberal county is a big incentive to going to Northern FL !

I lived in Pensacola for 18 months (about 2004) and its one of the least interesting places I have ever lived. If there was a good restaurant in Pensacola we couldn't find it. (Yes, you could drive 40-60 miles one way for an overpriced tourist dinner.) The best part of being there was being close to fresh farms across the state line in Alabama. I'd be bored silly living there. We we lucky in one way though. A hurricane came through and we could legally break our lease since the landlord refused to make adequate repairs. Never been so glad to leave a place.
I had property in Tampa in the 80s and JB is correct, the property taxes are far too high unless you have had a homestead exemption for years.
However, if I was looking to live in Florida and cost of housing wasn't a big issue, I'd choose the eastern seaboard, not the Gulf Coast. Mossies and sand flies and humidity are less of a problem with Atlantic Ocean breezes than the lower speeds off the Gulf in many parts of the panhandle. The Gulf is ugly compared to the Atlantic, too, imo. Maybe you should look at the area near St Augustine, too?

Our realtor was Amin Delawalla. You can google him. He was a hardworking man who made it work with a difficult seller. Good luck! The gulf coast is gorgeous. Also the panhanle might have been responsible for us dodging a bullet named President Hillary

Yes, if you are gulf front, the insurance is a killer. You have to have homeowners, wind, flood, yes r. Also the taxes. Even if we owed nothing on this house, we would not be able to pay insurance and taxes upon retirement. But moving a bit inland would make it work.

Thanks Mama ! We are taking a scouting trip down to the area end of next month. Any tips, or by any chance, any realtors you recommend ? And with ocean front property, is insurance one of the biggest expenses associated with living down there (since there is no FL income tax) ?

Bethesda-gal,
I live in South Georgia but we have an ocean front Home in Navarre, Florida, which is on the panhandle, about 30 miles east of Pensacola, Florida. We are there right now! We love it here, and I would love to retire here.
As a lady born and raised in the Deep South, I love the small town and deeply southern atmosphere of Navarre. It might be worth it for you to give it a look.
And you’re right- the panhandle is totally different from the rest of Florida!

You're a great salesperson J !! But the peninsula is not for me. (long story) Do you know anything about any area of the panhandle ?

While the Florida panhandle is nice, the area just north of Melbourne where I live is much better. I like to tell people that I live in the best house in the best neighborhood in the best county in the best state in the best country in the world. Prices have gone up considerably this year, up to around $140 per square foot. I pay about $2900 in property taxes on my $350 K house. The homestead exemption limits the assessed value to increase by no more than 3% per year, so my house is only being assessed at $240 K instead of its true value. Thus I would expect a new buyer to be paying about $4500 in property taxes.