Fort Walton Beach : Florida

The City of Fort Walton Beach, “The Emerald Coast”, is a popular beach and fishing community of 20,000 on Florida’s extreme northwest coast, almost in Alabama.  The busiest time of the year is summer, although it is also a popular destination for spring breakers. Many of its residents are active adults using it as a retirement community. Some of those retirees were formerly connected with the U.S. Air Force, which has 2 huge bases in the area. With its 24 miles of sandy beaches it is also very popular spring break destination.

This town has a reputation as a low key beach and fishing town. Part of the city is on a barrier island, the rest is surrounded by Santa Rosa Sound and Choctawhatchee Bay.  The resort of Destin is nearby. Fort Walton Beach has a mild climate in the winter, although not as warm as in south Florida. Fort Walton Beach is located in Okaloosa County, Florida. Here are more resources and information on what is like to retire in Florida

Fort Walton Beach has a wide variety of living choices. You can live on the beach, in a development, or near town. There is at least one retirement community in town.
The National Association of Realtors reports the median price of a home to be $295,000 in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area during the third quarter of 2019.

24 miles of great beaches and 4 beachfront parks; Fort Walton Beach Golf Club has two public 18 golf courses; AVT Pro Women's Tennis Tournament; many residential options for retirees; the Affordable Housing program; The City of Fort Walton Beach Heritage Park & Cultural Center; and the Destin and Okaloosa Island are popular local tourist destinations

Hurricane and spring break seasons can be turbulent.  The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf was of great concern to the beaches and wetlands in the Fort Walton Beach area. 

Fort Walton Beach is in the north west side of Florida's Gulf coast. Barrier islands connect to the mainland across a very large Choctawhatchee Bay.