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[Penguin]

bmccall, on 04 March 2013 - 01:46 PM, said:

Miami and Orlando are among the least "southern" cities located in the South. Or is  that what you are going for?

southern cities are ghetto as all the way around...see birmingham, NOLA, ATL...at least miami and orlando have some areas that are safe to walk around in...but yeah that's what I was going fr haha

[HFS]

@THE_KRIEG

I grew up in Naples, just south of Ft Myers and I would definitely recommend that whole southwest area (Naples, Bonita, Ft Myers, Cape Coral, Pt Charlotte, etc).

My grandparents live just outside Destin and I'd also recommend that area (Destin, Niceville, Valparaiso, Fort Walton).

Just stay away from Hialeah, Orlando, Tallahassee and pretty much all of central Florida and you'll be fine.

[A10Rebel]

Part of my territory was Tampa and Naples and I liked going to them both when I made my trips.  If I had move to Florida that's where I'd go.

[JoeGator]

Tampa or Jax are the only places I would live.

Edited by JoeGator, 04 March 2013 - 02:49 PM.

[Hothotz]

JoeGator, on 04 March 2013 - 02:47 PM, said:

Tampa or Jax are the only places I would live.

Hippy,artsy douche

[PuddingTime]

My aunt and cousins lived in Clearwater for about 20 years before moving back up here to the motherland.  It was nice down there and not trashy at all.  Of course, last time I was there was pushing 10 years ago so who knows what's changed.

[JoeGator]

Hothotz, on 04 March 2013 - 02:53 PM, said:

Hippy,artsy douche

Would you prefer Atlanta?
New York Jr?

[Hothotz]

JoeGator, on 04 March 2013 - 03:02 PM, said:

Would you prefer Atlanta?
New York Jr?

Downtown and Midtown Atlanta are great.

The new streetcar system is going to be pretty damn neat as well. I hope Marta expands it after the initial trail to encompass more of the city. I would love to eliminate some bus routes and have them replaced by the street cars.

Edited by Hothotz, 04 March 2013 - 03:06 PM.

[JoeGator]

Hothotz, on 04 March 2013 - 03:04 PM, said:

Downtown and Midtown Atlanta are great.

Eh, that's just trading different types of douches.

[Hothotz]

JoeGator, on 04 March 2013 - 03:06 PM, said:

Eh, that's just trading different types of douches.

Atlanta is really cleaning up. I love spending time in-town. If I could convince my fiance we would live in the city in a heart beat.

Just stay away from the Georgia Tech campus.

[SheLuvsBama]

Krieg, I used to be just like you. I traveled the world trying to get away from B'ham, then one day I realized after all is said and done, that it was the place I loved the most. NYC is my 2nd favorite, then Seattle and anywhere in Montana. But never to stay, only to visit.

[Fidy8]

I would live to live in the Destin area. We go 4 or 5 times a year, me and the wife will retire their one day.

[GatorUnvrsty]

Depends on what you like to do and what you can afford; but there's something for everybody, and despite stupid rumors, it's not too expensive or overpopulated with senior citizens most places. Complete myths that it's expensive, hot, and overrun with old people. It never gets as hot, even in Miami, in Florida as it does in Georgia or Alabama. It's just warm longer, not actually hotter. And in the North part of the state, Gainesville and above, you get very real winters with temps freezing and below for long periods of time.

There are a lot of exemptions on things like property taxes in Florida, like the homestead exemption. If you make Florida your home, as opposed to just buying property for seasonal/vacation purposes, you get a pretty good break, and that's statewide. Also, no state income taxes and no tax on food.

Even with 20 million people, there's plenty of property available; and in most of North Florida, both the climate and land is very similar to Georgia and Alabama. Slb and I have been going up and down the West coast looking at the different cities and towns for a potential future move too.

I've lived in lots of cities and towns all over the state; so I'll try to give my best advice.

I was born in Tallahassee; it's a dump. Always has been and always will be; just like most (but not all) places in the panhandle. They have all the problems of a big inner city without many of the features people like in an urban environment. We stayed there a year after I was born, and my folks told me it just wasn't a place fit to raise a kid... moved back to Gainesville. Native Floridians like to joke that folks swimming in the Gulf from the panhandle (Tallahassee, Panama City, Pensacola) leave a ring around it... you know, like the folks up there are so dirty they leave a ring around the Gulf similar to the one found around a toilet bowl rim.

Lived in Gainesville for 5 years as a child, and lived there again as an adult for another 3 years. Outside of the school and affiliated businesses, it's just a small town, but with some nice downtown attractions. The further away you get from the school, the more rural it gets; so if you like the country, but like to have access to some decent shopping and a mall once in awhile, it's a pretty good place to live.

My mother was born in Miami and all my maternal family is from there. I lived there during summers for my entire childhood. Grandparents lived in Coral Gables; and just about every place other than Coral Gables and surrounding Coral Gables is dangerous as shit. Let me put it this way, of the 30 or so relatives I had living in Miami, only one aunt still lives there, and it's in a secure lockdown condo with security personnel on the premises.

My paternal family is from Orlando, and I lived there some during summers too, and lived there from age 18 into my 20's. Great city if you like attractions, restaurants, bars, and a lot of nightlife. Crowded as hell, though. For most of the late '80's and '90's it was the fastest growing city in the nation... I think it was even the fastest growing city in the world a few years. I loved it as a young man, but wouldn't consider it as an older guy.

I've also lived in a lot of places around Orlando in central Florida, including Haines City (dump), Davenport (tiny), Winter Garden (nice but retirement oriented), and Auburndale (nice). Most of the cities in Polk County (largest county in the state) are smaller communities, but most are nice places to live.

I haven't lived in Jax, but I know a lot of people that have, including a long-time family friend who has a place right along the St. John's River right now. Great place to live as long as you stay outside the inner city. Lots of amenities and attractions for just about every like and hobby.

My dad lives in Tampa/Sarasota. Also a great place to live, but a bit warmer climate for longer periods during the year. Essentially every thing you could wish for exists in and around Tampa/St. Pete. It can be pricey depending on where you end up; but I'll give you an example of those exemptions I mentioned earlier. My father just sold the condo they paid $255,000 for to build a house; and his property taxes on that quarter mil property were only $1,700 a year.

I've also lived in Daytona, Kissimmee/St. Cloud, Cape Canaveral, Melbourne, Lake Worth, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton.

I liked each for different reasons, and again, despite those places being right along the beach, most were quite affordable.

I had a nice little apartment 2 blocks from the water in Cape Canaveral, and walked barefoot to the beach every morning. This was just 10 years ago, and the apartments were renting for less than $400 a month. Most folks in that area don't even drive their cars very often; they bike or walk.

Delray Beach and Boca are high dollar for the most part, if you want to be close to the water; but several blocks back toward town and in most of West Palm Beach, very reasonable places can be found.

Slb and I are looking for a spot that's a little isolated with a small town close by and maybe some decent shopping and restaurants not much farther away. But we also want to have a climate that actually changes some, so we are looking at places along both coasts, but no farther south than Ocala.

If you're a beach bum, you can still have that inexpensively. If you're an outdoors enthusiast, you can have that too, and not necessarily at the exclusion of the beach. Many places in North Florida (but not the panhandle) have communities 3 or 4 miles from the beach, and they're undeveloped and right in the middle of the woods with no neighbors in sight. The beach is a short drive, and otherwise you're living out in the woods. 5-10 miles in the other direction, inland, and you start running into small towns and cities to do your shopping and errands.

So again, it all depends on what you want. If you're looking for an all-around great city, I'd say it's hard to beat Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota/Bradenton.

If you want a little more rural place with less people, just get a few miles out into the county of just about any of the big cities... there's still ample real estate outside of the biggest cities like Tampa, Orlando, and Jax.

I avoid Miami like the plague it is. The only family members who've ever even gone back to visit their hometown were my mother, her sister, and my cousin to see the 1 aunt who's still there when she was sick. Neighborhoods where I used to play in the street with other average families and kids are now war zones. It's a shame, really, because Miami has so much to offer visually that is unique; things you can't see or experience anywhere else on Earth... but it's such a crap shoot getting in and out of the city, I'm just thankful I got to see all of it when it was still habitable... I have very fond memories of old ('70's, early '80's) Miami.

Hope that helps some.

Edited by GatorUnvrsty, 04 March 2013 - 11:02 PM.

[GatorUnvrsty]

Hothotz, on 04 March 2013 - 03:12 PM, said:

Atlanta is really cleaning up. I love spending time in-town. If I could convince my fiance we would live in the city in a heart beat.

Just stay away from the Georgia Tech campus.

Eh, I just moved from Chamblee. The crime rate is lower than it has been in recent years; but most of Atlanta, primarily downtown Atlanta, is great as long as the sun's up... after it goes down, all bets are off, and not just around GT.

Of course, all cities, including Atlanta, have nice pockets of places and expensive neighborhoods amongst or around less desirable communities; but I wouldn't want to live right downtown at all. Great for a museum visit during the day or dinner and a show or game at night, but then we're headed back outside the perimeter.

[Herschel Talker]

If I had to recommend living in Florida, I would suggest a place just to the north. It's called Georgia.