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I'd echo a couple of other cities folks are suggesting, and I would add a few:
*Atlanta: tons of opportunities for jobs, great emerging more walkable neighborhoods in the city, pretty close to many outdoor activiies in the north GA mountains.
*Tampa: would keep you in Florida but on the western gulf side I've heard St Petersburg is really becoming nicer with lots of things to do for younger adults/young professionals.
*Nashville: tons of young professionals are moving here and there is a wealth of entertainment options, outdoor fun within less than an hour and the city has a very strong economy and is growing fast. Super vibrant and exciting.
*Chattanooga: Smaller city but a wealth of outdoor activities within half hour of downtown (or less). The downtown has so much to do for all age groups and has a wealth of restaurants and bars. Chattanooga has a growing digital/creative gig scene, and their network is one of the fastest in the US.
*Austin: Booming city, tons to do, incredible young professional scene. You really can't go wrong here, but the rents are rising very fast, that's the downside.
*Pittsburgh: An older city but loaded with young professionals and many walkable neighborhoods. Lots of vibrancy and density in Shadyside, Squirrel Hill neighborhoods with many more gentrifying and growing.
All of these give you access to mountains and ocean within a reasonable drive. They also have jobs, and keep you in the SE to be somewhat close to home.
But also keep in mind the old adage "wherever you go, there you are." I'm not denying that Jacksonville might be a bit sleepy, that certainly matches my stereotype. But it's good to keep in mind that wherever you land.... making friends takes a lot of effort, time and intentionality. Best of luck to you
The Northeast has endless Florida flights. Once you’re 3 hours away from Florida, it’s the same travel time.
Philly is the most affordable urban place in the Northeast. Plenty of software job opportunities. You can get by without a car so that increases your housing budget and discretionary spending budget. You’re young and unattached. This would be a good time to try something completely different.
I completely agree! Moving back home would not help me an any way. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into those cities. I am a bit worried about the cold weather though.
A few years back I moved from Florida to Vermont, of all places. I had never lived anywhere else, and had viewed even places like Tennessee as "way up north", with scary winters.
I ended up really loving Vermont - the culture here is a much better fit for me. There are probably very few places in the US with harsher winters but I adapted just fine. I just learned to dress differently. Summers here are gorgeous - rather than 6+ months of extreme humidity and heat, it's months with the windows open and high 70's with moderate humidity.
I'm not suggesting Vermont in particular, but the experience of moving somewhere entirely different was very positive for me.
Ideal Place
Apartments - Rent price between $1000 - $1300. I'm hoping to live alone, so I'd be uncomfortable spending any more than this on my own.
Neighborhood - Hoping for somewhere that's on the walk-able side, nice nature, low crime rate.
City - Fun things to for a young adult (indifferent on clubbing/nightlife), nice outdoors, would prefer nice beach or mountainside nearby within a few hour drive. Somewhere that would allow for good dating scene and social life. Would prefer a more liberal city.
Location - Prefer somewhere in east or central side.
Past Life
I've lived in Florida my whole life and my family is having a tough time accepting me moving elsewhere, so that's also a whole other problem. I never had a fun time time in college because of my degree and graduating into a pandemic also made it hard for me to make friends/date, so I'm hoping to "start fresh", move to a lively city where I'll love, have it easier making friends, somewhere where I'll have a lot of fun but not feel overwhelmed since I'll be moving alone.
I'm thinking of moving to Dallas, but like I said, the office there will not be opening anytime soon, and I've never had much of a desire to live in Dallas. A really big pro, though, would be meeting some co-workers for the first time, so potentially guaranteed social life?
I also have a few other cities in mind like Tampa, Orlando, Austin TX, Atlanta.
Any advice on what to do?
You could do NYC on this budget but you're going to get studio in a bad area of a boro. But ... NYC is great for jobs, you got the beaches super close, great nightlife, you don't need a car ... and if you do want a getaway there are so many options for trains, buses ... 3 airports in proximity. It's liberal. Mountains/hiking are about an hour, 2 hour drive, lots of nature (Central Park is one) or go out to Westchester or Long Island or upstate ...
If you don't mind not living in a luxury apartment, NYC could be your place. And as someone else mentioned, the weather is, IMO much better than the humid heat of FL. 4 distinct seasons is amazing and it doesn't get like unbearably cold or snowy either.
I don't see any good reason to move to Dallas if you don't have to be there.
If you had to pick between city and outdoors, which wins?
Since you can be anywhere, in general, you're going to get more bang for your buck in a smaller city than big ones and smaller cities mean less traffic and a quick shot to outdoor activity. I'm in far suburb Atlanta and I have a lot better outdoor options than people downtown, but the nightlife is less ideal. It's still not cheap though, I'd get a lot better deal for housing in any of the other cities in Georgia. There's lot's of good outdoor activities everywhere people mentioned. I'd save a bit of money on rent and get a mountain bike and a kayak, as you could use those basically everywhere!
Macon and Columbus have military bases which means a better M:F ratio for dating, but that means a military person potentially. It's sometimes easier to meet people in smaller places since it's more likely your new acquaintances know your other acquaintances you met.
A sleeper in terms of its tech industry in the Northeast is the Albany NY area. Currently has a growing video game sector in nearby Troy, with other IT jobs and a semiconductor sector in Malta near Saratoga Springs as well.
Plenty of mountains, lakes and nice smaller communities nearby. Can get to NYC by rail within a few hours or less. Boston and NYC are 2 and half hours by car. Cape Cod and Montreal are about 3 and a half hours away. Cost of living in relation to pay would allow you to find what you are looking for in multiple communities in the area(Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Cohoes, Scotia, Ballston Spa, etc).
If you're interested in getting up early and getting off early by moving to an MST or PST region, look into cities with a big tech sector. Some people might not agree with my choices , but going by Indeed, LinkedIn, and other job boards, it says otherwise. Phoenix AZ and surrounding metro, Sacramento CA, Portland OR or nearby areas . All of these areas have great outdoor recreation nearby , thought Oregon will actually be cold and complete opposite weather than the other 2. I moved out to Phoenix this past December after living on the east coast my whole life . I wouldn't want to move back east . There is more opportunity out here for my lifestyle and the way of life is just different.
I'm also in IT but on the hardware side. Phoenix has alot of tech jobs here if you want to stay in tech.
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I've heard St Petersburg is really becoming nicer with lots of things to do for younger adults/young professionals. 
