Santa Rosa Beach, or 30A, comprises several smaller villages along a glorious 26-mile stretch of the Emerald Coast. Watercolor, Seaside, Grayton Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, and even a few other towns fall under the umbrella of Santa Rosa Beach. But each small community has its own personality and charm, and the locals wouldn’t have it any other way.
When you start searching for Santa Rosa Beach luxury homes for sale, there are some essential things you’ll want to consider before deciding what kind of home you want and where you want to live.
Lifestyle and location
Take a look at your priorities and decide what is important to you, your family, and your lifestyle. Some of the factors you choose will determine whether you are a better fit for a house on the beach or the bay.
Living on the beach
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When you have a house along the beach, you have the opportunity to enjoy an early walk along the ocean in peace with your toes in the sugary white sand to start your day. The kids have a short walk to tote their games, toys, and towels down to the water, and sometimes you may even be able to keep an eye on them from the house.
As the day closes, you can watch the sunset from your deck with a chilled bottle of white wine.
In late fall, keep the windows open at night and let the serene-sounding ocean and crisp panhandle night breeze lull you to sleep. That sounds relaxing, but remember, the beach is where almost everyone wants to be. That means you’ll deal with more people, traffic, and sometimes more noise.
However, beach access is often limited in many areas because there is a shortage of beach parking, and there are even some private beaches. These factors can significantly reduce the volume of beachgoers visiting for the day.
Still, tourists, traffic, busy shopping malls, and crowded restaurants are something to keep in mind when searching for the perfect Santa Rosa Beach home.
Living on the bay
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The bay has a different atmosphere than the hustle and bustle of the beach. Perhaps you’re more interested in boating and fishing than lying on the beach. The atmosphere is tranquil, and it’s not unusual to catch glimpses of bald eagles soaring in the sky and dolphins swimming next to your dock.
Living along Choctawhatchee Bay is like living in the country. Properties have more land and offer much more privacy than beach living. The panoramic water views are spectacular, and in many areas, the waters are protected and deep, offering safe passage for large yachts.
There are also several parks close to the bay where you can hike, bike, and explore nature. Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park is a favorite among Floridians that love the outdoors. This former WWII bombing practice range has been transformed into a prime destination for nature trails and watersports like canoeing and kayaking in the Rocky Bayou Aquatic Preserve.
Find your community
Once you decide on your location and lifestyle, you’ll want to choose the right neighborhood. The area might be called Santa Rosa Beach, but each community that makes up the Santa Rosa Beach area has distinctive features that give them a character and personality of their own.
Grayton Beach
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Grayton Beach is one of the original towns in South Walton County, and locals often describe it as the last great Florida beach town. It’s surrounded on three sides by Grayton Beach State Park, with the Gulf of Mexico on the south side.
Rich in history and untouched for many years, many locals who have spent their lives in this town can remember when you could go for miles walking or riding a horse along the beach and never see a structure—only pure white sand and crystal clear ocean.
Much of that history and tightly knit community atmosphere sticks with Grayton Beach today. Residents are proud and often in awe of the unique community that they are lucky enough to call home.
Watercolor
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Watercolor is a vast area that spans 499 acres and wraps around some of the other communities of 30A. The better part of Watercolor is located to the north and west, behind Seaside. Watercolor is a planned urban community. Hence, residents never have to leave Watercolor for work, school, shopping, or entertainment.
There are over 1100 homes already built, including residential, apartment, and senior living communities, and many more are still in the planning and initial building phase.
The Watersound Club is a private resort and beach club whose members have access to golf, private swimming pools, dining, and private beaches.
Children and active families are a perfect fit for Watercolor living.
Blue Mountain Beach
There isn’t a mountain anywhere near Blue Mountain Beach, but it does have the highest elevation in South Walton County at 65 feet. It’s hardly even a hill, but there are plenty of steep wooden stairs on the way to and from the sensational Blue Mountain Beaches.
The “blue” in Blue Mountain comes from the Blue Lupine flowers spread throughout the landscape around the beach houses. At one time, though, they completely blanketed the undeveloped gulf-side hills.
Today, Blue Mountain Beach consists of private residences surrounded by the protected Point Washington State Forest that offers solitude away from the bustle of the beach town.
Seaside
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Seaside is a small town, which some liken to a New England type of village. It has around 300 homes, all within walking distance to shopping, dining, art galleries, and offices. The architects designed Seaside as a New Urbanist destination, where streets are narrow to slow traffic for pedestrians, and all homes are only a short ambling stroll from the town center.
The houses of Seaside are built to look different from one another, but the building materials used for construction are the same. The landscaping is unique but uniform; there are no private lawns, and only indigenous plants are used in yards. No fertilizer or herbicides, no sprinkler systems, and no lawn mowers make it environmentally friendly and non-intrusive.
As you can see, there are many different areas and aspects to consider when searching Santa Rosa Beach real estate. That’s why consulting with Hillary Farnum-Fasth and Jacob Watkins at Corcoran Reverie Realty can assist you in finding the perfect home in a community that suits your lifestyle and personality. Reach out to them today to find the home of your dreams in the Santa Rosa Beach real estate market.
*Header photo courtesy of Shutterstock