GRAYTON BEACH, Fla. -- Once a part of the "Redneck Riviera," the south Walton County strip along Florida 30-A has traded its jean shorts for designer labels, though pickup trucks remain in style.
Welcome to "Nashville South," a once quiet, isolated 26-mile stretch of the panhandle between Destin and Panama City that has transformed into a vacation capital for the South's rich and famous.
Among those who frequent the area: country music stars Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan; actors Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn; NFL stars Tony Romo and Eli Manning; and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Some -- like Bryan and Huckabee -- have homes here.
"The celebrities who come here are very off the radar when they are here. They come with their kids, they wear flip-flops, and they relax at the beach," said Jessica Standley, president of Rosemary Beach Cottage Rental Co. Cottages -- if you can call a 4,400-square-foot house with six bathrooms that -- in the resort community rent for up to $28,000 a week.
It wasn't always like this. When Dave Rauschkolb opened Bud & Alley's bar and restaurant in Seaside in 1986, the area was largely undeveloped. Other Floridians in more upscale areas like Miami and Palm Beach derisively called the panhandle the Redneck Riviera, a banner many in the area wore with pride.
"We had the advantage of being among the last stretches of Florida beach to be developed, and we learned lessons from Destin, Panama City and other places," Rauschkolb said.
The area enacted stringent building codes that restricted building heights and kept condominiums out.
The high-end residential development began in the mid-1980s with construction of the beachside village of Seaside. The designed community features multistory pastel beach cottages, bike paths, parks and open-air boutiques. Its serene setting made it the perfect locale for the 1998 Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show.
Other planned resort communities followed, each featuring a unique design style with multimillion-dollar houses and breathtaking ocean views.
South Walton beachfront houses on Florida 30-A routinely go for more than $1 million, according to real estate website Zillow.
Most celebrities don't want to talk about their love of the area. Representatives for singer Dierks Bentley, chef Emeril Lagasse, Bryan and others declined to make their clients available. Huckabee spokesman Alice Stewart said the former Arkansas governor and ex-Fox News host owns a home in the area.
One celebrity who would talk is musician John Oates, half of the duo Hall and Oates. He frequents the annual 30-A Songwriters Festival, where acts such as Graham Nash, Indigo Girls and Leon Russell performed in January.
"It is a great place to hang out. It has a very chill atmosphere," said Oates, who is working on a television project exploring American roots music scenes across the country.
Rauschkolb, the bar owner, said many try to compare the area to more famous celebrity gathering spots in California or New York.
"I don't know if 'Southern Hollywood' is the right description or 'Southern Hamptons' or what. I just call it paradise," he said.
Travel on 07/19/2015