Moving back to FL, need some recommendations plz...?

I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL, and my husband is from Brooklyn, NY, but he's lived in FL for years, and we met and got married in FL. We are currently in SLC, Utah, and we just have to get back to FL. We are hoping to be able to move back around August 2010. We originally just assumed that we were going back to Jacksonville, and while we love Jacksonville, after several talks about this, we both think it might be nice to move somewhere completely new. We have both been to south FL, and many years ago I stayed with someone in Plantation for about 6 months. We both like south FL and we are thinking that we might like to live somewhere around the Miami area.



I know Jacksonville very well, like I said, I was born and raised there. So, if we do decide to move back to Jacksonville, I know the areas that we would be looking for a house in. But, when it comes to south FL, I don't know much at all. I do know that Miami/Dade has a "pit bull" ban, and my husband and I own and love American Pit Bull Terriers! My dream is to one day open a "pit bull" rescue, if that's ever possible for us, so we cannot actually live in Miami/Dade. So, here is some of what we are looking for in an area..



1 - Like I said, we own and love "pit bulls", so it has to be a "pit bull" friendly area.

2 - We would like to stay fairly close to the coast. If we can stay within a 30 minute drive to the beach, that would be great.

3 - We would like to stay close to shops, restaurants, etc. We definitely don't want to be out in the middle of no where.

4 - We do not have children yet, but we do plan to have children in the near future, so we would like to be close to a good school, or good schools.

5 - We are not millionaires.. we haven't figured out what our price range will be for sure yet, but I know for a fact we will be looking for something around $200,000. I know that definitely won't get us much, especially not in south FL, but it's our first place, and we don't need anything big. Also, we don't have to have a single-family/detached home. Thought that would be nice, we are fine with condominiums, duplexes, etc. So, we can't be looking in more expensive areas.



Anyway, like I said, we have a while before we move (we don't have to move in August 2010, if we need more time we can do that). Right now I am just starting to really get into this and start looking at different areas. And again, because I am from north FL and know nothing about south FL, I am already feeling a little overwhelmed. Basically I just want to see if anyone has any cities/areas/neighborhoods they would recommend that fit what we are looking for. Obviously I will have to check into more things than what I listed above, but I just need somewhere to start, then I can start really doing some research and narrow everything down. I don't want to just look at a map and pick out random areas if I don't have to, I'd really like to see if there are any nice areas that people think might fit what we are looking for. Sorry this was so long, but any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!Moving back to FL, need some recommendations plz...?
Tampa Bay area. We are Pit Bull friendly over here, my dear. There are many Pit clubs and social events in this area. And there are many foreclosed houses. Take advantage of that.



Welcome when you get here.