My only caution as a flight school student living all the way down in East Hill is consider that you'll have some really early briefs - occasionally 0430. If you go to HT's, that means you're doing weight and balance at 4 in the morning, which means you're leaving your house at probably 0300-0315. Also, consider that the "party" scene being a bit far away may be a good thing. Pace is good enough to go party once in a while, but also a deterrent enough to not do it all the dang time. If you're just looking for restaurants and a bar here or there, Pace and Milton are fine nowadays. Just drive through Hwy 90 and you'll see - the place is growing - fast. It's not going to have the quality of bars in Pensacola, but it's good some halfway decent restaurants and a watering hole here and there.
Milton is as unexciting as promised, however, there is (was?) a pretty solid Po' Boy place. Other than that, can't really recommend it unless you
really hate commuting.
FWIW: I lived at 'Park on the Square' (500' from Governor's gate), my buddy lived in East Hill, and my girlfriend lived in Pace. Due to the impending aneurism/case study in highway engineering that is Davis Hwy, it took my buddy
maybe 7 minutes longer to get to work - even less if I left at the wrong time. IMO, the difference between 35 minutes from UWF and 42 minutes from East Hill is a wash given the required NE Pensacola traffic slop factor. Took me 22 minutes to the squadron from her place in Pace (Avalon/90). I used the drive to review flashcards /chill out (technique only).
If I had to do it again, I'd think real hard about East Hill, but I admit that's largely because I liked to study downtown and hangout with my NFO buddies in Perdido.
In defense of Pace, they just did add a Tin Cow, a Panera Bread, a Jersey Mikes, a Five Guys, and there's even a Target with a Starbucks in it. It's highly livable, but probably not lovable.