We have a waterfront place in Daytona. We are generally sick of the area besides ponce inlet and the race track.

Too ran down, too much crime, congestion, has looked like shit for over a decade, beaches are shit and all but gone etc etc etc.

We are thinking about relocating and I have seen lots of people talk positive about the Navarre / Destin area. I have traveled all over central Florida and the whole east coast of Florida but for some reason I have never explored the panhandle area.

Is the water super clear like ft lauderdale?
Is it more quiet and natural?
The beaches look nice and white?
I would have to guess more conservative?
Is shelling good?
Anything I’m forgetting?

It’s 4-5 hours closer and it looks better in every single way. We want super nice beaches but more rural or atleast an area that is nice and not run down.

Thanks in advance! I will be coming down Jan thru feb and want to check out your guys’ suggestions.

Water depends on how much rain, generally pretty clear, keep in mind our water is more green. Beaches are better than east FL, yes they are white and powdery. Shelling? Not really. Destin’s traffic in the summer is a bear. Lot’s of money over there.

Navr is a good ways from Destin, it’s sort of a suburb of Fort Walton... It’s “okay”, nothing special.

Jan-Feb will likey be cold, or have wild temp swings. People think FL and think of SFL, it can get pretty damn cold in NW FL.

Conservative area, but that is very slowly changing because out of towners realized the property values are/were fairly low, that is changing as well.

It's better than Daytona in every way, except it's expensive to fly in for those who don't drive down.  Beaches are much nicer, and the water is generally more clear than Daytona. Walton county is more conservative than Okaloosa. If you can afford it, I would look along the 30A area near Santa Rosa Beach, Grayton, Blue mountain beach, etc. The Sandestin resort is a desirable area too.
Destin proper is super overcrowded during the busy season, and the traffic is terrible because there's only 1 main thoroughfare going through town, hwy 98.

I live right across the bay from Destin at Eglin AFB.  Regularly drop the boat in the water and take it over to Destin.

1.  Yes the water is crystal clear and the white sand gives the shallow water a blue green/tropical look
2.  Yes, it's pretty quiet but crams full of tourists during the season
3.  Yup, beaches are white powder sand....nothing like the granulated brown sand you have in your area
4.  Okaloosa county is extremely conservative
5.  Shelling is not great, better in Navarre.  Almost no shells to be found in the Destin/Okaloosa Island area.
6.  Forgetting anything? Yes, two military bases in place so you get to see awesome F-35's, C-130 gunships, and V-22's all the time.  TONS of places to go and places to eat.  Close to Pensacola and Panama City but you'll never want to go because you have everything you need in the Destin/30A/Fort Walton area.  All the hunting and fishing you could want.  You can hunt on the Eglin AFB range which is massive.  I also duck hunt the bays in the area.  We love this place and if it was up to me, I'd never leave.  Downside is that there is almost no opportunity to get rural without going to north Crestview (don't do this).

Feel free to throw any questions you have out there.

Thanks for all the help so far. It sounds like near Navarre would be perfect. The moral rural and conservative the better. Any springs close by? That’s one of our favorite things when we come down.

I generall come down in the fall and winter when it’s much less crowded. And I do understand the weather but it’s not much different then Daytona usually. Before I leave I watch for a week when it will be atleast 80s all week. Water temp should be similar.

Shelling isn’t that great in Daytona but if it’s better then that it will be great, the kids love it.

Really want to try hog hunting. For deer I’ll just drive back up to Iowa. I live to saltwater fish and pond fish so that willl be even better!

I’m thinking like someone said from the 30A to Navarre I need to get down there and hands and eyes on. I’ve tried looking at pics and videos and so far looks exactly like what we want. Seems like great beaches like ft lauderdale or Clearwater but WAY closer and better in every other way.

Vortex springs and there is another one, I. can’t remember the name.

Navarre isn't as much a tourist trap as Destin. Of course with that comes the fact that Navarre doesn't have as much to offer as Destin. That said; I can't stand Destin. Too crowded for me.

If you're a boating man there is one thing to consider. Navarre has no pass to the Gulf so getting out into open water would require you to get to the Destin Pass or the Pensacola Pass.

Econfina is to the east by Panama City, and then there's Wakulla springs over near Tallahassee.

Thanks for all the info guys. Going to start planning our a trip soon.

Hi neighbor!  If you ever need someone to pitch in for gas and bait, let me know.  I have plenty of gear.  My usual ride is deployed until Feb.

Yeah, but Destin is an expensive and relatively classy tourist trap. Navarre really doesn’t have much to offer at all, sure your basic support system for the people who live there not knocking the place, I know many AF people who live there.

Destin is enjoyable to go to, in like October-Nov. still warm enough to enjoy, but fewer tourists. It’s a nice two day get away from Pensuckola, when you want a beach, but don’t want to run into anyone you know.

What always struck me about Destin area was not only the beauty of the beaches but also the fact that about 15 min north you're in old FL/ LA.  You also don't get the impression, even when the tourists are there, that you're in some extension of Long Island, NY.

Very important to us there! We love that classic old south feel as well as being more rural. We are Midwest parents lol we don’t need huge nightlife. We just want clean and respectful and nice to take our children to have great memories.

The Navarre area sounds like what you're looking for.

The only problem with anything between Gulf Breeze and Destin......Hwy 98. Traffic can be a bear if you're unfortunate enough to be on that road when an accident occurs since there is no other East-to-West route along the south end of the counties.

Traffic does suck but we are absolutely used it it. Traffic in Daytona is always horrible with their small ass roads and number of streets and dumb layout.

It also didn’t help being beachside on the peninsula so everything was 45mph or less no matter what.

I am thinking more and more Navarre or very near it is going  to be exactly what I am looking for. I am hoping your weather and water temps will be good in December. Should be as I have done many similar trips to Daytona in December and your water temps and outside temps were basically the exact same.

I live across the bridge from Destin and can be on the water in about 6 minutes (assuming it's not a Saturday when the rentals turnover).  Yet, when I want to go to the beach, I usually drive the 50 minutes to Navarre.  Destin is packed full of tourists and the condos think they own the entire beach.  They put up plastic chains and umbrellas side to side, right at the water line to block the public from using the beaches.  Unless you have a water front condo, you'll be confined to a couple dozen yard wide strip of sand at most beach accesses unless you pay to go to Henderson beach.  The reality is that the condos don't own the beach below the erosion control line where much of the Destin beach was renourished by the state years ago.  And regardless, ordinances prohibit vendors from putting anything within 20' of the wet sand, yet that rule too is ignored.

There are a ton of restaurants in Destin, and lots of tourist things to do, but everything is packed during season and it costs $10 to park (plus $8 to cross the Mid-Bay Bridge).

Navarre is much nicer.  Far fewer tourists, better beaches without bullies, and less traffic.  Though, 98 can be a bear at the Hurlburt gate at certain times or if there is an accident.  Navarre gives you easy access to Destin if you want to play tourist and it's not far from Pensacola if you need a day in the city.

If you have beach front house money, you may want to look at 30A around Grayton or Seaside.  Otherwise, I'd say Navarre.

If you haven't looked into Holley, I would recommend that for a rural setting that is minutes from Navarre Beach.  Traffic can be bad going to/from Pensacola or Ft. Walton, but you generally have everything you need right there in Navarre.  There are places further north that you might check out(Milton and Crestview), but in the summer time it can be a 10* difference in temps since there is no coastal breeze.  We do have freezes occasionally, even on the coast.  I would make sure your house has gas or wood powered heat as I had a $400 electric bill the first winter I lived in my house.  I currently life in Ft. Walton, because I have kids and they go to one of the best schools in the area.  When they're gone, I'll probably move out to Mossy Head to get away from all of the people.

Thanks for all the great info guys! Looks like I might have to change my vacation schedule around a little bit as it seems air temp and water temp can be much lower then Daytona Beach.

I usually spend a couple weeks down there around Christmas or around the 500 and have usually had good luck with temps in the 80s and water temps just barely warm enough to swim in. Guess I’ll have to do some changing up.

I've been in the water in Feb. here.  It really varies, but it can get cold, as in down into the 30s or even 20s.  There's usually only a couple days per year below freezing.

I live between Navarre and FWB.  I'm a retired Tanker.  I love the area, but don't move here if you want quite evenings.  Do move here if you love the sound of freedom, most evenings/nights.  The AC-130 gunnery range is right outside Navarre.  Brrrrt, thud - thud, bang-bang-bang, BOOM!

If you buy in Navarre, you buy the house and land.  If you buy on Navarre Beach, you buy the house but lease the land.  There is a movement for the Gov't to sell the land but don't count on it.  If that passes, the land will probably be sold in 500 acre blocks, the Mega developers will buy it and give you 30 days to get your house off their land.

^^^ that's a handy piece of information to have right there...