Pensacola, Florida...been here for 22 years.. (University, Crestview: rentals, insurance, condo)

[turtlebabe]

If you have any questions, I will be glad to help you out in any way I can. If you are planning to visit or stay and need to be in the know...just ask. Or if you just wanna chat...talk about Pensacola, or anythingthing else.

[Alatex]

Any idea when the beach road will be open again all the way from Navarre Beach to Fort Pickens ?

A couple years ago, I heard that the zoo at Gulf Breeze wasn't doing too great financially. Has its situation improved ?

What kind of reputation does Pensacola Christian College have ? Although I've visited the Gulf coast for years (and am aware of University of West FLorida), I had never heard of PCC until recently, when an acquaintance mentioned that his kid was considering going there for college next year.

Thanks for starting this thread. Pensacola is a city that I've passed through a gazillion times, but don't really know very well. I've been to the naval air museum, and to McGuire's restaurant, but other than that, I usually drive on to the beach.

[turtlebabe]

Hello,
I know the road to Fort Pickens is opened up now. The one to Navarre I believe isn't opened up yet, but if you have 4 wheel drive and are very brave you can drive it. I know cause I have done this before. We saw a few abandoned cars along the way, but that was pretty close after Ivan.
I love the zoo and hope it is doing well, but haven't heard anything about the financial situation.
My Dad went to Pensacola Christian College. It's an excellent college if you are going into the ministry, it's also very expensive, and lots of rules.

As far as Pensacola's economy overall is not the best...it is hard to find a good paying job here. If another hurricane hit's it will improve the economy..go figure. Rent triples in value, and lots of construction/insurance jobs.

[Alatex]

I know what you mean about the construction jobs. I own a small, off-beach rental condo in Gulf Shores, and a lot of the rentals in our building were construction people. Since construction has mostly dried up, our rentals have been hurting.

As far as Pensacola's economy overall is not the best...it is hard to find a good paying job here.

I've noticed that over the years, which is always kind of weird to me, given Pensacola's long history, military money, proximity to beautiful beaches, and status as the largest of the panhandle beach municipalities.
By contrast, Mobile seems to have had much more luck diversifying its economy. I hope Pensacola proper gets things rolling, because I think there's a ton of untapped potential.

[new_florida_resident]

I worked as a law clerk in the area during the summers in between law school. Hoping to work at the same location after law school, I recently moved to the area. However, due to state budget cuts, I can't work where I did before.

I have submitted applications for any available attorney position I could find & also sent resumes out to a group of firms. No luck.

Any suggestions?

No negative reminders about the economy please; I'm in dire need of a job, so any positive advice is greatly appreciated.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by turtlebabe

Hello,
I know the road to Fort Pickens is opened up now.

You sure about that. Every source I've seen has indicated otherwise.

From the Santa Rosa Island Authority
"Construction on the road to Fort Pickens is scheduled to begin fall 2008 and to be reopened to the public in the spring of 2009."
Gulf Islands National Seashore - Explore Pensacola Beach (http://www.visitpensacolabeach.com/explore/seashore.asp - broken link)

From NPS (National Park Service, the people who operate Ft Pickens)
"The Fort Pickens Road on Santa Rosa Island in the Florida District is closed. Road design work is scheduled to begin 2008 and reopened to the public in 2009. "
Gulf Islands National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

[turtlebabe]

The road to ft. pickens is opened for bikers & hikers, which makes since I heard this from a fellow cyclist.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by turtlebabe

The road to ft. pickens is opened for bikers & hikers, which makes since I heard this from a fellow cyclist.

That is correct....

[oceangaia]

I have some buddies who took their boat to dive the Pickens jetties. There were a couple of cyclists there in great shape but looking half dead from exhaustion. They had had to push their bikes through a half mile of soft sand. They offered my buddies $40 to give them a ride back in their boat. The pavement is not complete.

[lokahi]

New FL resident - have you looked into Contract Attorney work? I don't know if they have it in P'cola, but it is a growing field. Special Counsel is a big firm for this. Work is best in places like DC or NY, but you might be able to find work in P'cola as well.

I would also contact your former law school and ask for a list of alumni who live and work in the areas of P'cola, FWB, Crestview, Navarre, Destin, etc. Typically your career services office can help you with this.

Also, you can ask you career services office if you can get reciprocity with any of the other legal career services offices, i.e. FSU, UF, or Florida Coastal School of Law. This way you can log in and look at their job boards (since the job boards are vast and typically include all areas of FL and the US).

Best of luck!