It’s no wonder I turned out to be the Awesome person I am today.
According to Business Week Magazine, my hometown of Niceville, Florida, the little town on the bay where I was raised, is the best place to raise kids in Florida.
Best Place to Raise Kids in Florida: Niceville
Nearby city: Fort Walton Beach
Population: 11,874
Median family income: $71,888
Avg. school math score: 89.71 (State avg.: 68.43)
Avg. school reading score: 89.71 (State avg.: 65.91)The town of Niceville, once known as “Boggy”, is in Florida’s panhandle along the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay. It has parks, a youth center, and sports fields and is home to the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival (mullet the fish, not the hairstyle), which attracts thousands of attendees each year. ~Business Week
Home of the Mullet Festival! What better way to be presented to the business world than to promote the annual dirt-covered-feet, beer-guzzling, port-a-potty hovering, creepy-clown-show, fried-fish-baked-beans-and-grits eating, Billy Ray Cyrus-performing, windchime-selling, funnel cake-eating festival for a bottom-feeding fish.
And these folks:
This is MY town. I share it with ~12,000 other Nicevillians, most of whom are related or were transfered there by the military and stayed. Because according to my dad, “This is paradise.”
But I have to pick at the photo used in the Business Week article. That’s not Niceville. I hope it was taken in Destin, the beach town across the Bay, but there is no Gulf beach in Niceville.
Our “beach” on Choctawhatchee Bay looks more like this:
Heavenly.
Our dream is to move in with my parents back to Niceville, but until either my dad kicks off and leaves us his money or the tech job market grows, we’re here in Orlando, 7 hours away from the best place in Florida to raise kids.
I’m jealous of my friend Tara whom I found not because she lives in my town, but because she’s a blogger who happens to live in my hometown. I’m jealous of my high school friends who either “got stuck” or “got to go back,” depending on who you ask. I’m jealous of my parents who have lived and worked there since 1979.
And, yes, it is nice. Just don’t call it “Nashville.”
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My dream is for you all to move back to Niceville too. We need to start working on that.
An Awesome post on Tara R.´s blog … No swimming
1978. I should know. I was Paige’s age when we moved! I remember it like it was 33 years ago…
Dear God, I hate when people say “Nashville? Nashville’s not in Florida” and then proceed to ask me “Is it Nice there? He He He”. Yeah, buddy, I haven’t heard that one before.
I can feel the pride in your post for your hometown!! I also grew up in a town that sounds very similar to this. Although I don’t consider myself a very religious person, when I go back to visit my hometown, the [fairly progressive] church community I grew up with always embraces me and I truly feel “home” there. Something special about small-towns.
An Awesome post on Kelli @ Momma Needs a Beer´s blog … The Single Momma Experiment.
Don’t be jealous that I live here… with Andy.
An Awesome post on Lori´s blog … What CAN you do? What WILL you do?
*Love* I would not move there at this point in my life, but can totally appreciate the value of growing up there. Maybe if my parents left us the house in their will…
I grew up (intermittently) in Niceville and I hold it very dear. As an Atlantan, when people ask where I’m from, I tend to say, “the Destin area.” Then, if they nod in recognition, I’ll narrow it down from there…”Ft. Walton, Shalimar, Niceville.”
And I do miss BBQ sandwiches and fried mullet from Doris’ Restaurant. There’s a little piece of real estate in my heart where my hometown will always reside…
An Awesome post on Tamara´s blog … patience is a virgin
Good explanation. I enjoy read it Martha
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