Welcome to the Emerald Coast, right smack in the middle of the 100-mile long "Miracle Strip" of Northwest Florida is the Emerald Coast, the Playground of the Gulf Coast. Fishing, boating, swimming, sunning, sailing, sports, scuba diving, riding wave runners, or just relaxing, you can have it all. No longer a well-kept secret, our natural, sugar-white beaches are the most beautiful in the world. Blue-green waters lap the white sands of the Gulf of Mexico, thus the name Emerald Coast. Bayous, lazy rivers, and green forests complement the shoreline, making this region truly a place of peacefulness and beauty.

Education

Okaloosa County School District is committed to providing safe, challenging educational opportunities to enable all students to acquire the knowledge, skills and values required for responsible citizenship, personal development, and life-long learning.

The Okaloosa County School District serves over 30,000 students from pre-kindergarten to adult education.  Each of our 38 schools is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  Okaloosa County students consistently score above the state and national averages on standardized tests including the SAT and ACT.

For more information on the Okaloosa County School District, visit their web site.

The local post-graduate schools include Okaloosa-Walton Community College, University of West Florida, the Graduate Engineering & Research Center, and Troy State University.

 

Recreation and Activities


For recreation, top quality golf, beaches, boating and fishing are some of the most popular of the year round outdoor leisure activities in Florida's Great Northwest. Golf is popular 12 months a year -- Golf Magazine has honored several courses with gold and silver medals.  Northwest has something for every sports fanatic. Whether by yacht or by paddleboat, the pristine waterways of Northwest Florida invite you to enjoy a variety of aquatic activities including sailing, diving, fishing, kayaking, skiing, riding wave runners, and more.

 

Cultual Arts

The Art Center at the Okaloosa-Walton Community College, Niceville Campus, is the cultural artistic center for all of Northwest Florida.  The 120,000 square foot fine and performing arts complex features a 1,650-seat theater, which hosts an annual series of Broadway shows.  In addition, other theaters are available along with a dance studio, music wing, and an art wing featuring the college's multi-million dollar permanent art collection as well as traveling exhibits.

Northwest Florida is home to a wide array organizations committed to the cultural development of the area.  Some are the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundations, First Arts, The Arts and Design Society, Northwest Florida Ballet, Northwest Florida Symphony Chorus, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Emerald Coast Community Band, Emerald Coast Barbershop Chorus, and others.

Quality of Life

In 1997 Money Magazine ranked Fort Walton Beach the 10th best place to live in the United States.  The ranking was based on the quality of jobs, crime rate, and easy living.

Recently, Expansion Management Magazine, one of the world’s leading business site location and facility magazines for executives, recently published its 3rd annual “Quality of Life Quotient” ratings of the 329 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) throughout the United States.  The magazine rates metro areas as a way of providing its readers—45,000 corporate and business subscribers—with a basis for comparing the type of living and working environment—livability, affordability, peace of mind, educated force, etc.—they are likely to encounter in various communities around the country.

The Fort Walton Beach metropolitan statistical area, Okaloosa County, earned The Five Star rating which represents the top 15 percent in the nation!

“If your idea of a great place to live and work is based upon a reasonable cost of living, affordable housing, low crime, excellent transportation access, good public schools, proximity to community colleges and universities, an educated work force, and low taxes then our Quality of Life Quotient is worth a look.”  said Bill King, editor in chief of Expansion Management Magazine.   (Okaloosa County EDC Press Release)

Beautiful Beaches

Attractions are splendid shopping, the beautiful sugar white beaches and bountiful fishing, there are many other recreational activities to enjoy in Okaloosa County and along the beautiful Emerald Coast. The Emerald Coast beaches have been named in the "Top 10 Best Beaches in the United States" year after year. They have been voted Best Beach in the South and Top Family Destination five years in a row by Southern Living Magazine. USA Today, Parent Magazine and Florida Living Magazine have also selected Okaloosa County beaches as the “Best Beaches” for vacationing.