Moving to Pensacola? Read this!

Is it in a Good (or Safe) Neighborhood?
Resources to help you with your move in & around Pensacola.

We get asked this question more than any other! And unfortunately, the answer is "We don't know and we couldn't tell you if we did!" Fair Housing does not allow us to make comments on the neighborhoods- to say it's a good, or bad, safe, or unsafe neighborhood. It doesn't allow us to say if we would live there, or if we think you should live there, or who we think lives there now!
Watch this short video on our broker Pam Keen discussing this topic.



The definition of good / bad is subjective ( opinion based ) and different for everyone! Plus, we don't have the proper facts and statistics to provide specific information, therefore, we definitely can not provide our opinions on the neighborhoods or areas you are interested in renting or purchasing in. The basis behind this is to prevent steering steering and discrimination.

However, we can provide you with the information you need to draw your own conclusion! If you are moving to Pensacola, Florida, especially if you are renting a home sight unseen, use these resources to help you find your new home to buy or rent.

1. Drive by in the day time & at night time. See how you feel. Park and walk around. Talk to the neighbors. If you are renting a home sight unseen- ask your friends and families for their opinions on homes you are interested in, or ask them to do a drive by and take some pictures of the surrounding areas for you. 

2. Do your Research! If phyiscally viewing the home is not possible (or to save on gas money before you start driving around!)- use the power of the internet!
 Here are our favorite websites and what they can do for you:  
Google Earth Aerial View
A. Use Google Earth or Bing's Birds Eye View to view aerial photos of the home and surrouding areas. You can easily zoom in and out. Look at the route you would take to go to work or school. Make sure you are comfortable with everything you see.
http://www.google.com/ and http://www.bing.com/
Bing's Birds Eye View- Can zoom in and out but can not see street view
B. Google Street View- Google's  newest mapping system allows you to virtually walk down the road by using 360 degree technology.  This allows you to virtually walk your whole neighborhood!Very cool and free of course.  http://www.google.com/

3. Research potential dangers- There are free websites you can use to locate sexual predators and felons. Use them!

A. FL Sexual Offenders and Predators-  Very resourceful website run by The Florida Department of Law Enforcement website which offers a plethora of information including:
1) a search function with 5 mile radius of a specific address with predators mapped and details available for each
2) Sex offender/ predator search by name
3) Email and IM addresses belonging to sexual predators
4) Ability to sign up for email notifications if a sex offender moves into your area.



B.  FL Watchdog Sex Offender Search- This is a nationwide sex offender search with a simliar mapping system. It has a different coding system that proves useful to me. It also allows you to click on the offender/ predator and get moreifnormation.  You can also sign up for notifications to be emailed when new sex offenders/ predators move into your area! It's of course, free as well!

My favorite thing about this website is that it provides very informative articles on sex offenders and keeping children safe.

Florida has over 50,000 sex offenders- so make sure you do your research prior to signing a contract on a home for rent or for sale!

B. Felon Spy- This is a relatively new website that I have been using which claims to track (for free!) felonies and maps them similiar to the maps above. It's got a search feature which allows you to type in an address and shows felonies nearby. I tried a search and found a lot of felons living in the water, so I'm thinking the mapping is not 100% accurate. However, if you type in an address and find 100 felons and type in another and only find 10...

4. Call the Experts: If you'd rather get the most accurate information on crime, gang activity, theft, homicide, and other serious felonies, we suggest you call the Escambia and Santa Rosa County Sherfif's Office.

We are so happy with the Escambia County Sheriff's office for adding an Interactive crime map for Escambia & Santa Rosa Counties to their website. This interactive map reflects recent crime in Pensacola, Milton, Pace, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Perdido Key and Cantonment, FL.

You can search by address and view the following offenses:
  • Breaking & Entering
  • Homicide
  • Robbery
  • Theft
  • Vehicle Theft
  • Theft from Vehicle
  • Sexual Offense
  • Assault
  • Property Damage
  • Quality of Life including Drugs, Alcohol, & Other Disturbances
Crime Map showing recent crime in Escambia & Santa Rosa Counties
Screen shot showing new Interactive Crime Map for Pensacola area from Escambia County Sheriffs Office

This is a great way to keep up with criminal activity in your neighborhood. This map can also be used as a reference for those moving to Pensacola or house hunting within the Pensacola area. To use this map, visit the Escambia County Sheriffs Office website here: http://www.escambiaso.com/index.php/crime-prevention/crime-map/

Escambia County Sheriff's Office - Call them at 850-436-9630 with your favorite house or apartment and they will be happy to assist you with crime data. Feel free to ask them the age old question- Is it in a good/safe neighborhood? Escambia County includes Pensacola, Perdido Key, Cantonment, Beulah., Molino.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office- Call them at 850-983-1100 with your favorite addresses and they can provide you with crime statistics and neighborhood information. Santa Rosa County includes Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Pace, Milton, Jay.

5. Research School Districts!  This isn't a reflection of a neighborhood as much as it is important for your children's education.

You can easily search and view both Escambia and Santa Rosa County School grades (middle through high) using this link! through the Department of Education.  Sample below of results- easy to read, plenty of information- definitely the best route to go when researching schools!


Escambia County School District- Visit the school district website to view each schools website.
Santa Rosa County School District- Visit the school district website to view each schools website.

6. Community Profiles- Other websites run community profiles, and give opinions on many different aspects of an area/ zip code. For example, Trulia.com allows users to rate the areas/ locations. Search the address you are interested in on Trulia and check out what they say about the potential areas you are interested in.

We hope this information helps you on your home search in the Pensacola, FL area. Feel free to call us with your questions at (850) 473 3983 or visit our website to view over 65 rentals available in the Pensacola area! 

Until next time!
 - Pam Keen Brantley & Nicole St. Aubin
Realty Masters of FL    #1 in Pensacola Rental Homes!  (850) 473 3983
4400 Bayou Blvd. #58B, Pensacola, FL 32503
     Over 65 rentals available          Follow us on facebook
www.PensacolaRealtyMasters.com