Just a vacation or a home??

[cooleydog]

Okay, I have a sort of crazy question for all of you locals of South Walton. We've been coming down here for a couple of years and have spent all of our time on the west side. But we took a drive to the east side of south walton yesterday and fell in love all over again. We've never thought about this area as more than a vacation but it got us thinking!!

We live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta where people seem to move in and out every two to three years. It gets old - having your kids make friends then seeing their hearts break when they see their friends moving away - always seems so transient. So my question is this.... is South Walton transient? Do people with young families come here to live and stay awhile? Or is it as transient as Atlanta? Is it more of a place for retirees to come and live? If people do stay awhile, where do they call home? (I assume south of 30A is mostly rentals/investment properties and second homes).

Just curious....

 

[Kurt]

Our core of permanent residents is growing slowly. A lot of peole came in chasing the market the last few years. Some will stay and some will go. Its been pretty unstable because of what happened in the market but we'll go back to a slow and steady rise in residents. Once a certain amount of infrastructure gets completed we'll probably rise sharper.

It's more like a small town here than a suburb, even with the seasonal visitors. We have a lot of people and families here that will never leave.

 

[Allifunn]

Cooleydog, I lived in the Atlanta area for 8 years and it is VERY transient. But then, almost every where I have lived was transient (Ft. Lauderdale & Orlando)
I have found SoWal to be the most relaxed, inner peace giving place that I have ever found. I do not consider it to be transient at all, because even if it is touristy during the summer...the people that love it come back every year, and those that live there love it and do not leave! I hope to be one of the permnants soon!
The key to leaving a place like Atlanta and moving to a place like SoWal...is leaving your big city woes behind and enjoying the serenity that moving to such a place can bring. It is all in the attitude! (just mho)

 

[FL Dawg]

I moved my family here from Lawrenceville in 2004. I was a native Atlantan and was ready to get the heck out of that rat race. My children have really blossomed since relocating to Sowal. In the gwinnett county school system they were 1 of thousands of students in a school. Here they are recognized for their achievements. In fact my daughters students/peers elected her to give the commencement speech at Sowal graduation, Sandestin lions club gave her a $1000 scholarship & she got the bright futures scholarship courtesty of the FL lottery. The GA hope scholarship pales in comparison!! We moved down here on a wing and prayer, built our own house (which was a very stressful time) and have no regrets. The nice thing is I still get the local Atlanta TV channels on my satelite dish, so I get to see all I left behind in ATL on a daily basis (murder, rape, other crimes, traffic, corruption) and then I cruise along the beach every morning to work making it a point to pull off and watch the waves roll in as I reflect on how blessed I am to live in paradise.

 

[Kurt]

I moved my family here from Lawrenceville in 2004. I was a native Atlantan and was ready to get the heck out of that rat race. My children have really blossomed since relocating to Sowal. In the gwinnett county school system they were 1 of thousands of students in a school. Here they are recognized for their achievements. In fact my daughters students/peers elected her to give the commencement speech at Sowal graduation, Sandestin lions club gave her a $1000 scholarship & she got the bright futures scholarship courtesty of the FL lottery. The GA hope scholarship pales in comparison!! We moved down here on a wing and prayer, built our own house (which was a very stressful time) and have no regrets. The nice thing is I still get the local Atlanta TV channels on my satelite dish, so I get to see all I left behind in ATL on a daily basis (murder, rape, other crimes, traffic, corruption) and then I cruise along the beach every morning to work making it a point to pull off and watch the waves roll in as I reflect on how blessed I am to live in paradise.

Your is a very nice story. I humbly recommend ENDING the news watching and replacing it with even MORE wave watching. ;-)

 

[BrownEyedGull]

We are trying to become a paradise resident as well!!! We've made our decision to just take a leap and make the move. Our house is on the market here, Northeast Atlanta, and as soon as it sells, we will be relocating. I was so glad to read your post about the schools and having your child recognized for their achievements. I just feel like my children get lost or overlooked here. Schools are so populated. I was just watching the morning news which lasts for about 3 hours, running same stories over and over - Thinking to myself, we've got to get out of here. All you ever hear about is murder, crime, etc. There's never anything positive or encouraging or celebrating anyone's accomplishments on the news!!!

Gotta go make beds, etc, etc....Hopefully the perfect buyer will visit our house today!!!

.

 

[Hop]

an amazing place to live...very blessed

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

Most of the families that I know with young children are here to stay. Since moving here 6 years ago, my kids have had very few of their close friends move away. Once you're here, it is hard to think of a place you'd rather be.

There are some adjustments to living here, but its a trade-off. We're still a rural community (and hopefully will alway be) so living in SoWal is as different from Atlanta as any small town.

SoWal for our kids is like how growing up in the suburbs in the 70's and 80's was for us. It is still possible for kids to maintain a degree of innocence and enjoy just being a kid.

 

[Beach Boy]

Along those same lines......is there an area (or subdivision) along 30-A where more permanent residents live versus areas where tourists visit........or are they interspersed throughout the area?

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

Most full-time SoWallers don't live along 30-A but are concentrated more North of 98 in Point Washington, Santa Rosa Beach, Mack Bayou area, and in Miramar Beach. Just to give you and idea, Butler Elementary has 700+ students and its boundaries are HWY 393 (Gulf Place/Santa Rosa Beach) west to the county line. Bay Elementary has less than 200 students and its boundaries are HWY 393 east to the Bay County line. Of course, families can still choose either school, but that give you a general idea of where the population is.

Along 30-A, locals are quite spread out. There are a few large neighborhoods that don't allow short term rentals such as Sea Breeze in Camp Creek. Sea Breeze has a few families, but is mostly older couples. Escada had lots of families and those that live there love it because it is a real neighborhood with tons of kids. The most popular place for families to live seems to be Watercolor (lots of locals are building there). There are tons of activities for kids and other kids to play with. It is also centrally located in SoWal so is close to the schools and the ballpark. Rosemary also has many (maybe 30) full-time families. However, when you live in one of these developments, you trade private space for community space so you have to decide if you really want your own yard or if you don't mind walking to the park. Also, there are many rules and covenants that some people may find annoying.

There are many families who don't live in the big developments--but as I said they're just a little more spread out. Lots of families prefer this lifestyle to living in a big development (we're one of them). One drawback it that it is uncommon for 30-A kids outside of the big developments to have a pack of neighborhood buddies to run around with and it takes a little more effort to arrange playdates, etc.