[ZeroOne]

Anyone from the Atlantic side of Florida? Near the beaches? I would REALLY appreciate some advice! Read a lot of discouraging information about Florida on here recently, but have decided to post anyway for some direct answers.

I'm looking to relocate. Somewhere coastal, between St. Augustine and Palm Beach, possibly. (I know, quite an area to cover.)
A little background; currently living along the beaches of Delaware ("slower-lower-DE" Rehoboth/Dewey/Bethany area, if anyone is familiar) and have grown up here. I love the feel of being a local in a crowded tourist beach town with a mile-long boardwalk and lots of events, along with all of the fun outdoor beach activities like surfing, bodyboarding, and kayaking on popular and busy (yet, clean) beaches. It is a very pedestrian oriented area as well. (Very much like Duval street and surrounding areas in Key West. Loved that.) The ocean and beach are a real way of life here, for the locals and tourists alike, who show a high level of appreciation for it.
Here is a google street view to get a feel for it:
Google Maps

It's just hard to wait 8 months out of the year for those 4 good summer months here in DE when things liven up. Previously, I've lived in Redondo Beach, CA for a couple of years (coastal Los Angeles) and worked in Santa Monica. It was nice, but LA was a bit TOO big to have for a backyard. Also, it wasn't hot enough! Was nice that there was quite a bit going on though.

I realize it is difficult to directly compare places, but it would be nice to find a beach area where people appreciate their surroundings, with lots to get out and do. Otherwise, what's the point? It's funny because where I am now is what many people (from outside of FL I guess) would think of when they picture cliche FL beaches, dotting the coastline. Seems that may not be so common down there...?

Which areas would be best for someone who is looking for a nice (possibly touristy) beach town with very active pedestrian areas to walk around, and with a decent population or city nearby? I'm trying to balance being far enough south for warmer weather, and far enough north for some kind of activity besides bay-flat ocean waters.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any advice. There's only so much you can learn, pouring over census data, crime rates, etc, on the internet before just asking.

[WanderingImport]

Maybe Daytona Beach or Cocoa Beach? Nice small to mid sized beach towns with Daytona having more activities and being larger. Cocoa being more beach bum/low key. Cocoa being within 30 minutes of Melbourne and both Daytona & Cocoa being within an hour's drive of Orlando.

[riveree]

St. Augustine fits that description.

Downtown Historic St. Augustine is filled with shops, restaurants and tourist attractions (not cheesy ones, historic ones). The original cobblestone streets and even some original buildings still stand. It's very walkable with some of the streets blocked off from cars. The city is on the bayfront, so you have a water view from the town square. The ocean is a short distance away (about 5 minutes by car).

Jacksonville is the nearest big city and is about an hour's drive from downtown St. Aug to downtown Jax. Orlando is the next biggest city and it's about a 2 hour drive. Jacksonville has just about anything you could need.

Check out the Jacksonville forum if you want to learn more about St. Augustine and good luck in whichever city you choose .



p.s.: No boardwalk on St. Augustine Beach. NorthEast Florida is really big into conservation, so most of our coastline is protected. To give you an idea of what I mean:

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM Research Reserve) | CAMA | Florida DEP

[ZeroOne]

Thank you both for the suggestions!

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

Maybe Daytona Beach or Cocoa Beach? Nice small to mid sized beach towns with Daytona having more activities and being larger. Cocoa being more beach bum/low key. Cocoa being within 30 minutes of Melbourne and both Daytona & Cocoa being within an hour's drive of Orlando.

Does Melbourne have more going on than Cocoa? Seemed a little dead in Cocoa and surrounding areas.

Originally Posted by riveree

St. Augustine fits that description.

Downtown Historic St. Augustine is filled with shops, restaurants and tourist attractions (not cheesy ones, historic ones). The original cobblestone streets and even some original buildings still stand. It's very walkable with some of the streets blocked off from cars. The city is on the bayfront, so you have a water view from the town square. The ocean is a short distance away (about 5 minutes by car).

Jacksonville is the nearest big city and is about an hour's drive from downtown St. Aug to downtown Jax. Orlando is the next biggest city and it's about a 2 hour drive. Jacksonville has just about anything you could need.

Check out the Jacksonville forum if you want to learn more about St. Augustine and good luck in whichever city you choose .



p.s.: No boardwalk on St. Augustine Beach. NorthEast Florida is really big into conservation, so most of our coastline is protected. To give you an idea of what I mean:

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM Research Reserve) | CAMA | Florida DEP

A lot of our areas here in Delaware are protected as well... the majority of our coast line has been designated as state park beaches. Nice, in my opinion, as it protects it from over development. Still fun to have one spot that everyone goes to play!

I love the idea of St.Augustine... it seems like a beautiful area. I had my sights set quite a bit lower along the coast to stay south of the seemingly quick change in temperatures, below Orlando. (For me, the hotter the better, all year.) The more I read about south Florida though... I don't know. Perfect temperatures and beautiful water... but at what expense? Guess I was hoping to see something like St.Augustine further south...

Is Jacksonville a good walking-city? I will check out that section of the forum. It'd be great if it were Boston-esque, but I try not to put TOO much of a template on new areas to be considered.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by ZeroOne

Thank you both for the suggestions!



Does Melbourne have more going on than Cocoa? Seemed a little dead in Cocoa and surrounding areas.




A lot of our areas here in Delaware are protected as well... the majority of our coast line has been designated as state park beaches. Nice, in my opinion, as it protects it from over development. Still fun to have one spot that everyone goes to play!

I love the idea of St.Augustine... it seems like a beautiful area. I had my sights set quite a bit lower along the coast to stay south of the seemingly quick change in temperatures, below Orlando. (For me, the hotter the better, all year.) The more I read about south Florida though... I don't know. Perfect temperatures and beautiful water... but at what expense? Guess I was hoping to see something like St.Augustine further south...

Is Jacksonville a good walking-city? I will check out that section of the forum. It'd be great if it were Boston-esque, but I try not to put TOO much of a template on new areas to be considered.

We do get a "winter" here in St. Aug/Jax. Compared to Delaware, it's nothing, but we usually get frost.

Is Jacksonville walkable? There are some small sections that are walkable. Primarily the historic/older neighborhoods surrounding downtown are the walkable ones - San Marco and Riverside are two of them. Jacksonville beach has a walkable section with restaurants and bars. You can have dinner and then a walk on the beach. There is a stretch of bars all in vicinity to each other, so there is sort of a "scene" there. There also is technically a small boardwalk, but it's tiny. Awesome big pier though .

The vast majority of Jacksonville is just like the rest of Florida - suburban. Strip malls, parking lots, new development after new development. 80% of Jacksonville has no character. My advice is to stick to the beaches or the first ring neighborhoods surrounding downtown (sometimes known as the "river neighborhoods" since they border the Saint Johns river).

Downtown, by the way, is walkable and has potential. They are working on our Riverwalk to make it more of an attraction and make it more walkable. So....we're heading in the right direction at least.

[WanderingImport]

Melbourne, while a decent populated metro area (536,000), is still a small area compared to Florida's other metro cities (I would pretty much consider Cocoa part of that metro area..Cocoa-Titusville-Merritt Island-Melbourne). I mentioned Cocoa because it was more low key and assumed it might be more to your liking. As far as development, yes, Melbourne has more going on than Cocoa.

[ZeroOne]

Thanks again for the responses! I really apreciate being able to talk to people that are from the state, that can give their perspective having actually lived there.

Originally Posted by riveree

We do get a "winter" here in St. Aug/Jax. Compared to Delaware, it's nothing, but we usually get frost.

Is Jacksonville walkable? There are some small sections that are walkable. Primarily the historic/older neighborhoods surrounding downtown are the walkable ones - San Marco and Riverside are two of them. Jacksonville beach has a walkable section with restaurants and bars. You can have dinner and then a walk on the beach. There is a stretch of bars all in vicinity to each other, so there is sort of a "scene" there. There also is technically a small boardwalk, but it's tiny. Awesome big pier though .

The vast majority of Jacksonville is just like the rest of Florida - suburban. Strip malls, parking lots, new development after new development. 80% of Jacksonville has no character. My advice is to stick to the beaches or the first ring neighborhoods surrounding downtown (sometimes known as the "river neighborhoods" since they border the Saint Johns river).

Downtown, by the way, is walkable and has potential. They are working on our Riverwalk to make it more of an attraction and make it more walkable. So....we're heading in the right direction at least.

Thank you for the info on Jacksonville and St.Augustine. They look very nice.

The more research I do, there is one big thing that is boggling my mind...

As you mention, it seems that a lot of the places in FL are strip malls and new developments, (which we have A LOT of here, not judging) but I guess it seemed like there would be more "coastal towns" as well, given the amount of coast in FL! Areas that have a community feel, as opposed to that being only within a suburban gated (or not) development. Living along the coast (where winter shuts us down every year), it's naturally assumed that FL is similar... (appreciation for the beach and the culture that brings) only... better... and year-round. I guess it is a bit surprising to an outsider that it might not even exist there in the same way. Not negative or positive. Just hard to "get" in a way. Its even hard to explain. I find myself looking on maps, trying to find that "main street" but see nothing but residential grids of houses, right up to the water.

Main streets being, an area that everyone seems to congregate... decorated for holidays, events on weekends. Areas typically crowded on Friday night through Sunday. A very family feel. Places where you go, park, and walk around with that "in-town" feel all day. (Or, if you're a tourist, you park your car on a Friday evening, and forget about it until Sunday.) The attraction/city that brought the developments in the first place. I guess THAT is the confusing part. In the mid atlantic, we couldn't even HAVE the developments and strip malls if there weren't a draw to come to this area. It would still be farm land.

Duvall street in Key West is really the only FL example I have without referring to the north east. Places like Newbury street in Boston, Ocean City Maryland, Wildwood, Cape May, and Atlantic City in NJ. The coast here is dotted with these attraction type areas... but lacking a decent climate to allow them to flourish any more than 4 months out of the year.

It's interesting to use Google-Earth (the downloadable program, not google maps) and see the amount of user-photos taken and tagged to the map. Seems to be a good way to find these areas. (Density of blue dots & hotel markers.) St.Augustine has quite a few, as well as Daytona, comparable to coastal areas from South Carolina to Maine. Scrolling down the coast, you don't really see that density again until Miami Beach.

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

Melbourne, while a decent populated metro area (536,000), is still a small area compared to Florida's other metro cities (I would pretty much consider Cocoa part of that metro area..Cocoa-Titusville-Merritt Island-Melbourne). I mentioned Cocoa because it was more low key and assumed it might be more to your liking. As far as development, yes, Melbourne has more going on than Cocoa.

Thank you for that! I do like low-key as in safe, but definitely am looking for a busy area, for jobs and recreation. I will check that area out more. Lots to learn.

[daytonadewd]

You would definitely like Daytona Beach!

It's a beach tourist town (directly on the beach), has many special events and has a good local scene (compared to other cities mentioned which are predominately tourist based or suburban only). You can eat dinner after 10pm, where most other beach towns roll up their sidewalks by 9pm. Daytona gets occasional frost warnings, but rarely freezes (i.e. decades).

Daytona is a walkable, bikeable city with great bus service too (late also).

Your biggest challenge in FL right now will be finding employment. If you can find a job in DE and TRANSFER to FL, that would give you a start until you can find something else. I don't think people realize that in most of FL, the economy is MUCH DIFFERENT now than in other states. In most cases, you can't just show up and expect to even find work flipping burgers until something else comes along.

Not being negative or discouraging -- you just need to be aware -- and have a plan to cover it.

Also, I highly advise renting a place for a while so you can "try out" your new town first. If it doesn't work out there, you can "try out" another one.

Good Luck!