Moving to Crestview Florida (1 Viewer)

[Nightshade]

Anyone live in the area?

 

[Saintman2884]

Anyone live in the area?

I don't live in the Florida Panhandle, but I live about 100 miles away in Mobile, Alabama. So, we're kind of neighbors, albeit in different states. I think you'll love Crestview/Okaloosa County, its population a little over 27,000, so its a small, beach, tourist-friendly city among others like Ft. Walton Beach, Pensacola, Navarre Beach, Panama City, and Destin. The population is growing steadily so you're likely getting there at still a good time.

Eglin AFB is nearby and its importance can't be emphasized enough. The economic impact and affluence it brings to many of the small towns and cities on the Florida Panhandle is very significant. The Blue Angels always have wonderful, awe-inspiring air shows so try and get tickets for you and your family to see one of their shows. Panama City is still somewhat recovering from Hurricane Matthew hitting in 2018 but its made major strides Ive been told over the past 4-5 years.

I would also highly recommend visiting Pensacola and if you enjoy minor league baseball and hockey, the Blue Wahoos and Ice Pilots are a must-see seasonal attraction.

 

[where yat brah]

I live in Navarre and my brother is in Valparaiso (Valp to the locals).
Lots of military moving into Crestview. Stay away from FWB and Destin from May to August if possible.
Even Navarre traffic is getting ridiculous. Check out Blackwater River State Park very close by.
The Matahorn if you are so inclined is close by as well.

 

[efil4stnias]

I live in Navarre and my brother is in Valparaiso (Valp to the locals).
Lots of military moving into Crestview. Stay away from FWB and Destin from May to August if possible.
Even Navarre traffic is getting ridiculous. Check out Blackwater River State Park very close by.
The Matahorn if you are so inclined is close by as well.

I dont know how locals do it there.

I have been going to Sandestin for 20 years, every June, for convention. Widening 98 did little....just allows 3 lanes of bumper to bumper instead of 2.

Few years back, i started going Defuniak/Freeport - the back way into Destin because i cant take the Mid Bay Bridge traffic.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Anyone live in the area?

Good luck...

 

[superchuck500]

I dont know how locals do it there.

I have been going to Sandestin for 20 years, every June, for convention. Widening 98 did little....just allows 3 lanes of bumper to bumper instead of 2.

Few years back, i started going Defuniak/Freeport - the back way into Destin because i cant take the Mid Bay Bridge traffic.

That part of Florida along I-10 between Defuniak and Tallahasee is really cool. Out of nowhere, in between long expanses of sandy, flat agriculture land, there's these beautiful rolling hills, rivers, and springs. I always think "wow, this landscape is cool for this area".

 

[Bill]

Anyone live in the area?

No... but I once landed a Cessna Skyhawk there on my way to Destin after my alternator went out and I didn't want to lose radio contact going through the Eglin Airforce Base corridor. Too many fighter jets buzzing around that area to take a chance at having no electrical power.

 

[where yat brah]

No... but I once landed a Cessna Skyhawk there on my way to Destin after my alternator went out and I didn't want to lose radio contact going through the Eglin Airforce Base corridor. Too many fighter jets buzzing around that area to take a chance at having no electrical power.

The Destin airport or Hwy 98?

 

[Snakehead]

I lived in Crestview for a year, 2021-2022 and moved down to Shalimar in 2022. What questions do you have? Most of my coworkers still live in Crestview.

 

[Bill]

The Destin airport or Hwy 98?

Destin Executive was my destination airport. It's just north of Hwy 98, and it is walking distance to the beach. (Which is just what our group did once we were finally able to fly in there.)

Flying south from Montgomery, AL I was approaching the Florida state line when it was apparent that I had lost the ability to keep my battery charged. Since the engine runs using the spark from two magnetos and two sets of spark plugs, there was no concerns about the engine. However all air traffic through the airspace of the Air Force Base was required to be in radio contact with Eglin in order to be vectored around the jet traffic (which is fairly continuous throughout the day). I didn't give it a second thought and chose to land at the Crestview airport before entering into Eglin's airspace.

Good thing I did because when lowering the (electric) flaps for landing I only managed to get them down about 15° on my final approach. The maintenance facility there said that it was likely the voltage regulator rather than the alternator, but that there was no use checking it because (unless I was sticking around for a day or two) they had neither of those parts nearby. Since I was renting the airplane, I chose to have them charge my battery and return the airplane to the FBO where we started. The bad part is that we didn't get to play on the beach that day. However, the FBO did not charge me for the flight and they had the parts on hand to repair the Skyhawk late that afternoon.

I told them if everything was good we'd be back the next morning to give it another shot at getting to Destin. Sure enough, the airplane was fixed, the next day was even more beautiful than the previous day, and I got to log some free hours of PIC time. And getting to fly through the Eglin airspace was pretty awesome! All's well that ended well.

Note: The area on the map with the red rectangle is where the Destin Executive airport is located.

 

[Nightshade]

I lived in Crestview for a year, 2021-2022 and moved down to Shalimar in 2022. What questions do you have? Most of my coworkers still live in Crestview.

Hole in the wall restaurants, a nice place for just me and the wife to go. I already know about the traffic.

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Destin Executive was my destination airport. It's just north of Hwy 98, and it is walking distance to the beach. (Which is just what our group did once we were finally able to fly in there.)

Flying south from Montgomery, AL I was approaching the Florida state line when it was apparent that I had lost the ability to keep my battery charged. Since the engine runs using the spark from two magnetos and two sets of spark plugs, there was no concerns about the engine. However all air traffic through the airspace of the Air Force Base was required to be in radio contact with Eglin in order to be vectored around the jet traffic (which is fairly continuous throughout the day). I didn't give it a second thought and chose to land at the Crestview airport before entering into Eglin's airspace.

Good thing I did because when lowering the (electric) flaps for landing I only managed to get them down about 15° on my final approach. The maintenance facility there said that it was likely the voltage regulator rather than the alternator, but that there was no use checking it because (unless I was sticking around for a day or two) they had neither of those parts nearby. Since I was renting the airplane, I chose to have them charge my battery and return the airplane to the FBO where we started. The bad part is that we didn't get to play on the beach that day. However, the FBO did not charge me for the flight and they had the parts on hand to repair the Skyhawk late that afternoon.

I told them if everything was good we'd be back the next morning to give it another shot at getting to Destin. Sure enough, the airplane was fixed, the next day was even more beautiful than the previous day, and I got log some free hour of PIC time. And getting to fly through the Eglin airspace was pretty awesome! All's well that ended well.

Note: The area on the map with the red rectangle is where the Destin Executive airport is located.

Spent too much time watching the Voltmeter, didn’t you.

 

[Bill]

Spent too much time watching the Voltmeter, didn’t you.

My instructor would likely have said, "not enough time watching the voltmeter".

 

[Snakehead]

Hole in the wall restaurants, a nice place for just me and the wife to go. I already know about the traffic.

What kind of food do you like?

 

[Nightshade]

What kind of food do you like?

Pretty much anything, my wife is Filipina so any Asian, seafood, Mexican,