Hi,
I'm moving to Florida in October and started searching for a new house for the family of four (two kids: 7 and 11 year old). I've already got through thousands of Florida calssifieds but still dont know which area to chose. I've found more than 20k classifieds at TheFlyer.com Online Classifieds: Local ads in Florida so I dont really want a new source of houses for sale but I would appreciate some advice. I was told Sarasota was the best place to chose but I keep worrying about the schools and safety for children.

Hi,
You're vague as to WHY you NEED to move to Florida. However an essential site that should guide you out of your dilemma is CityData. You can get all the demographics on each town and county, i.e. recent home sales, home value estimator, hundreds of thousands of maps, satellite photos, stats about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment...), geographical data, state profiles, crime data etc etc etc

The link above will take you to the Florida section. When looking keep in mind location i.e. schools, health care, public transport etc. (hard to advise more as you are vague).

Once you have nailed an area, you can check out schools for your kids. That site will give you profiles for more than 10,200 public, private and charter schools in Florida. Search their site to find school's test scores, teacher/student stats and more.

You mentioned you are looking at classifieds. I would suggest you get a buyers agent. Legislation in Florida, can be easy if you know the system. However if you don't you may get burnt!

Their are also legal ramifications as to how you hold the title on any property you buy especially if you are married/ in a relationship. Who you inolve to deal with the title is also another area that an agent can advise you on!

Their are a myriad of other reasons why you should involve an agent when looking at Florida Property. That link will give you a broader idea of what I mean. Or contact me if you would like a recomendation or have any further questions. Hope this helps

Sarasota County has many beautiful neighborhoods that are safe and near community amenities that cater to children. The school district in Sarasota is probably the best in the state. Pine View School is a public school for gifted students that has an excellent reputation. U.S. News and World Report ranked it as the 6th best school in the United States. It covers grades 2 through 12. Complete information about the school district is available here: Sarasota County Schools, Home