[Hawaii900]

With a population between 10,000 - 80,000 and not an extension of a major city? I'm looking around and finding some in that population range, but they don't look like very nice places to live..

It should be relatively safe and hopefully not ultra conservative/ religious.
St. Augustine looks alright, but too touristy..

[logybogy]

Live oak is a nice little small town in North central Florida.

[dothetwist]

We love Gulfport. Liberal, brick streets, dozens of restaurants, pet-friendly.
About Gulfport Florida | Gulfport Florida

[TransplantedFloridian]

Originally Posted by dothetwist

We love Gulfport. Liberal, brick streets, dozens of restaurants, pet-friendly.
About Gulfport Florida | Gulfport Florida

Gulfport is nice, but OP doesn't want an extension of a major city. Gulfport is basically an extension of St. Pete/Clearwater.

I would say Lake Placid. It's basically in the middle of nowhere, extremely safe, and has a fairly large liberal population. Niceville in the panhandle might fit the bill, but I haven't been in a few years, so I can't say for sure. Also, Port St. Joe, and Mexico Beach, but they both suffered tremendous damage from Hurricane Michael that they're still recovering from. Video taken by drone of PSJ.

Good luck.

[logybogy]

One thing that is really going to limit your options is finding a liberal small town not connected to an urban area. Rural areas in Florida, like the rest of the country are predominantly Republican except for African America areas. And rural African Americans are not like San Francisco liberals or msnbc resistance types. They are religious and tend to be more socially conservative and tend not to follow politics as closely.

[gypsychic]

You might try Dade City. It is somewhat conservative but not like it used to be. Very beautiful area and lots of charm; we lived there for many years. Lakeland is nice, we also lived there a couple years, a little larger than you specified but not by much. I guess you need to clarify what you mean by places not looking like nice places to live. What are you looking for exactly????

As others have noted, you will NOT find any small towns here that are "liberal." And "liberal" is really overrated in my opinion. And you are correct, St. Augustine is a tourist trap - traffic there to me is unbearable.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by Hawaii900

It should be relatively safe and hopefully not ultra conservative

Doesn't exist.

[bmw335xi]

Sarasota might work for you

[FLKitties]

What kind of housing are you looking for and what is your budget for such? Will you need to be near employment opportunities and/or major airports? Good schools for children a consideration?

[beachmouse]

Is Mount Dora too much of an Orlando extension? It could be a possibility