[jodyj1622]

Thank you to all the people who post questions and answers here on City Data. I have spent hours reading and learning as much as I can about living in Florida. My husband and I are planning to move to Florida in a few months and the information on this site has been so helpful. We have visited both the West side, all the way down to Naples and and the East side as far down as Fort Lauderdale.
I have been told that the lifestyle is quite different on each side, can someone tell if this is true and why?
Any info is appreciated.
Thanks, Jody

[rusty78]

Originally Posted by jodyj1622

Thank you to all the people who post questions and answers here on City Data. I have spent hours reading and learning as much as I can about living in Florida. My husband and I are planning to move to Florida in a few months and the information on this site has been so helpful. We have visited both the West side, all the way down to Naples and and the East side as far down as Fort Lauderdale.
I have been told that the lifestyle is quite different on each side, can someone tell if this is true and why?
Any info is appreciated.
Thanks, Jody

The east coast of Florida is basically an extension of New the England States or as some say a direct extension of New York...it is quicker paced than the west coast and housing can be two to three times more expensive......of course...if you are young....20's to early 40's the east coast might be for you....the west coast is slow paced and you can actually buy a home/house for 200K....you can research housing on this site... REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale ...as well as other facts about the areas you are interested in....I would RENT before I bought and I would try both coasts before I made any purchase....

[jodyj1622]

Thank you for responding to my post. We are planning to rent for a few months to experience it for ourselves but not sure which side of Florida to stay in. We don't want to rent in the middle of the state and visit each coast, we want to live in the area so we get a real feel for it. Any suggestions on which side to go? Is there a big difference in temp or humidity, people, things to see? I appreciate any comments.
Thanks, Jody

[JohnVosilla]

Originally Posted by rusty78

The east coast of Florida is basically an extension of New the England States or as some say a direct extension of New York...it is quicker paced than the west coast and housing can be two to three times more expensive......of course...if you are young....20's to early 40's the east coast might be for you....the west coast is slow paced and you can actually buy a home/house for 200K....you can research housing on this site... REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale ...as well as other facts about the areas you are interested in....I would RENT before I bought and I would try both coasts before I made any purchase....

Really we need to differentiate the urban areas on the east coast.. It is much different in Vero Beach or Melbourne or even Daytona compared to the SE part which is a world unto itself.. The pace in the Tampa area is also much faster than the space coast or treasure coast on the Atlantic side cause it actually has a real economy of younger working age folks and is densely populated regardless if folks are from the NE or the midwest.. A shift ongoing out of Dade, Broward,and Palm Beach by folks from the NE who at one time primarily settled down there.. SE Florida increasingly is becoming a land of immigrants from points south of the US border instead of from the north. Housing prices have come down a lot everywhere. You can get a newer starter home in PSL for $80k again only a 40 minute commute to WPB. The pace appears to be slowest in Hernando and Citrus counties on the west coast with Charlotte County not far behind in large part because of it's average age..

Climate wise you get a nicer breeze on the Atlantic Side but it is more humid.. You get a much shorter condensed hot humid summer season the further north you go plus you get lower temperatures at night on the west coast at the same latitude . For instance 9+ months of A/C weather in Ft Lauderdale or Ft Myers might be the norm but you might get away with only 4-5 months up in St Augustine or Brooksville..

[riveree]

Originally Posted by rusty78

The east coast of Florida is basically an extension of New the England States or as some say a direct extension of New York...it is quicker paced than the west coast and housing can be two to three times more expensive......of course...if you are young....20's to early 40's the east coast might be for you....the west coast is slow paced and you can actually buy a home/house for 200K....you can research housing on this site... REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale ...as well as other facts about the areas you are interested in....I would RENT before I bought and I would try both coasts before I made any purchase....

I think it's true that the East Coast of Florida attracts more folks from the NorthEast, but it's not really an extension of NY where I am....we're more akin to Georgia than New York .

In South Florida, it may be the case, but in NorthEast Florida we get people relocating from everywhere - often from different countries - so it's a real mix here....there's no one overriding cultural group.

[TD*]

NORTH FLORIDA is where you should Move. Forget the ridiculous prices and traffic of south and central florida.

Move to Tallahassee. We get 4 seasons!

[jodyj1622]

Thank you to all who responded. I was thinking of looking around Port St. Lucie but when I drove thru that area a few years ago, it seemed to be more of strip mall than an actual town. I would like to live somewhere that has a "downtown" area, is there or are they building an area like that in Port St. Lucie outside of the one at Traditions that I have read about?
Jody

[indigo178979]

I have been to Miami, Deerfield and Tampa. Of all I prefer Tampa. If you want a nice community try Dade City in Tampa. Lake Jovita in Dade City, Tampa is great for retirees. Check out their website. LakeJovita.com

[ExNooYawk]

This was such a great topic. Wha' happened? Let's resurrect it.

Tallahasee? What's good/bad about it?