[ragingtulip]

What is the warmest, most progressive city in Florida for night owl freelancer?

There are a few components to my question and all of them are highly important to me.

I am planning on moving to Florida, but I don't know which cities to target.

I am a 40-year old single woman, closer to college than retirement in my mindset . I am freelancer, so "no income tax" is appealing. I want to go somewhere warm, but I have family in Florida, so that means Texas and Arizona are out, and Florida is in.

Now I need to pick a city.

I guess I need to go south, because I need someplace warm. I medically cannot handle cold very well; this is beyond preference for a beach . So I am looking for someplace very warm, with acceptably low humidity.

I am liberal and open-minded (I spent seven years in San Francisco, and that was a good place for me, albeit eventually to expensive to stay.)

I am a severe and chronic night owl. So cities that shut down at 9pm won't work, and I need to have a 24-hr Walmart or Meijer or something. Some nightlife would be nice. (Just human activity at night, NOT hard-core partying or anything like that! ) I am female, so safety at night is a significant consideration as well.

I am a native Michigander and don't speak a word of Spanish, if that matters. And I am a freelancer in a bad economy, so nothing extravagant.

Okay, those are all my special needs. Does an appropriate city exist in Florida for me?

Please tell me your ideas and suggestions

[jambo101]

Miami sounds like your best bet,South Beach to be more specific..

[kyle19125]

I'd recommend Fort Lauderdale. It's quite a bit less over the top than South Beach and neighborhoods like Coral Ridge, Victoria Park and Imperial Point will place you well within nice residential areas that don't shut down at 9pm....and without feeling like you're in the middle of an MTV reality show.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by ragingtulip

So I am looking for someplace very warm, with acceptably low humidity.

--Buzzer Sound--

No such thing as low humidity for a good portion of the year in Florida.

And then there is the entire progressive thing. Florida is far from San Francisco in more than just miles.

Due to your criteria I see a few red flags for Miami as well, plus it is back to that whole "acceptably low humidity" thing.

Sounds like somewhere in the Southwest is going to be a better bet for you, even without the family. Either that or you are going to move to Florida because of family and nothing else.

[jambo101]

I must have missed that requirement for low humidity on my first scan of the post,
Florida doesnt have low humidity,if thats what you are looking for Arizona to west Texas might suit your need for the heat without the humidity.
Checking a few locales around the Tampa bay area for todays weather comes up with temps highs around 90 and humidity levels at about the same mid 80's to low 90's.heres the current temps for 7;30am
http://tampa-weather.tampabay.com/US/FL/Tampa.html

[HarryWho?]

Another suggestion, Key West, but pricey and humid.

[ragingtulip]

Thank you everyone!!

Hiknapster,

Thanks for especially for your candor. . I was afraid of the humidity thing, but just hoping that there was some pocket of Florida that might be drier than the rest.

Okay, so how about I start giving up things and see if the fam is still worth it

New goals:

Warm, and forget humidity restrictions.

No place is like San Francisco. Michigan certainly isn't, and well, I don't really like it here, but nothing is perfect. So how about places in Florida that are at least a little progressive? Has some culture, doesn't shut down too early.

I'm thinking that Miami, South Beach is not for me, so we can rule that out. I think I would like Tampa, but think there will be warmer options even farther south?

And I'd love to hear more about the Fort Lauderdale option as well. Thank you Kyle.

[jambo101]

As cold is relative just how cold does it have to get before what ever ails you about the cold kicks in, as Savannah GA and Charleston NC have very mild winters and warm summers,still have the humidity but not for as long as Florida gets it.
I'd say your best bet is to focus in on the ideal locale,do as much research as possible on the place then take a 2 week vacation (Preferably in Summer)to the place to see if reality is on the same page as Google makes it out to be..
Tallahassee might be worth a look,still humid but fits the bill on many other aspects of your search criteria.

[Chester Foster]

To OP: You're asking the Billion Dollar Question .... As a Florida Native we're in the same Boat. I chose Ft. Lauderdale ( Downtown ) ... I'm 46 and single, no children. Also the Night Owl type. However, we have other negatives where I reside that I can elaborate on later ..... Long term I might relocate to California, SF or SD ... LA is a great night owl city with lots to do. An old amigo of mine is a famous Skateboarder and he loves skating at night. he's been skating all over LA after midnight since the late 1980s.

- Dazed and Confused ( still ) .....

[doggiebus]

I second the Ft. Lauderdale advice. Broward County as a whole might be a good place to start. The tri-county (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) Tampa/St. Pete and maybe Key Wets are probably your best options. The rest of the state with the exception of Orlando (which will be the hottest and most humid) will be a little too sleepy for you. Have you thought about Southern California, I know its expensive, but it might fit what you are looking for. It's dry, inland it's warm and its a progressive state.