Destin / Santa Rosa Beach / 30A too cold? (Sarasota, Jupiter: condo, construction)

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

Give it 2-3 winters and you too will break out the winter coats when it's 50F out. (I think it's the flip side of acclimating to summer heat, which doesn't seem nearly as bad as it was when we moved here.)

Ha! I am not parting with the coats that's for sure. Now the snow shovels and ice scrappers I unpacked yesterday might need to find a new home! I'll keep one or two for insurance.

That said growing up here I didn't own anything warmer than a jean jacket. Nobody did. Didn't see the need. Didn't buy my first pair of boots till I moved to Ohio in my late 20's!

[OptimusPrime69]

My thought is...if you're going to move to FL to get away from cold winters.... why move to the coldest part of FL?

You're moving to enjoy your winters and be free from winter, so commit to that idea....move further south.. Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Naples.... or Palm Beach, Broward or Dade...Sarasota too.

Why bother moving when it's regularly 55 and cloudy?

I know here in Miami between Dec and March...there are days where it reaches the 80s....days where it reaches the 70s and I believe there was like one or two days that made it to the 60s..... by and large tho...it'll be in the upper 70s in the winter time in south FL....with some low 80s days in there as well

[beachmouse]

In our case, we ended up here because the spousal unit had a good job offer in hand.

[southernnaturelover]

Most of the time cold fronts will quickly come sweeping through, and the rain and cold won't last very long. Sometimes however, a cold front will "stall" over the area, and this is what causes clouds and rain to linger for several days.

For me, the cooler weather in the winter gives me an opportunity to do things that I don't like doing in the heat. I like to go hiking the nature trails in the area, but it's unbearable to do it during the summer because of the heat, snakes, and mosquitoes... winter temps are just right for that. Any type of outside chores like yard work or house maintenance I try to also do during the winter when it's comfortable and I'm not saturated in sweat. It's not like the winters here trap you inside, most of the time all you need is a pair of jeans and a light jacket and it's plenty comfortable to get outside and do things.

[EscAlaMike]

Trust me, the panhandle gets plenty of sunshine, especially compared to the Midwest.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by FSUMike

Trust me, the panhandle gets plenty of sunshine, especially compared to the Midwest.

It is all relative isn't it. Since I was raised here, and my husband fell in love with it, we chose it. We could have gone anywhere in the whole US, literally. We chose Panhandle and Niceville in particiular for the schools and small town feel. We can get our fill of tourists if we want or can avoid them.

Unlike some other areas of FL, you don't have that kind of seperation, the bay provides. In our search we found is you have pockets of locals, sure, but you also get neighborhoods full of second homes and snowbird houses. Since they are going just for those mild or non winters. We are just cold enough to keep them at bay (pun intended) those that come stay in the condos or beach houses, not in the neighborhoods across the bay.

[crmac]

We have spent two winters here now since moving to SRB in 2013 after many years vacationing here. I keep asking my husband if we really moved to Florida? I've previously also lived in St. Louis, Kentucky, and Virginia so have had my share of snow in the past, but we even found ourselves ready to escape 30A this winter, so we went to the Caribbean in January to get a blast of heat. We came home to ruined landscaping that succumbed to freezing temps while we were gone. Even had a pipe burst last winter. There have been several nights in the 20s this year that we thankfully had 0% precipitation in the forecast. Until the last week or so, the winter did feel cold and gloomy about Nov-March. We hit 70 for the first time within the last two weeks. I recommend this area May-September/October, but I still dream of spending Jan/Feb elsewhere if we can swing it. We have family 3-4 hours north, and there are many times - like today - when they are warmer than we are. My mother-in-law reported 80s vs. our 71 this afternoon.

Good luck with your move, but if you like a mild winter, you may be looking in the wrong place. We are always shocked at the rates tourists pay to stay here in March, and while the kiddos get in the water and teenagers bike around in swimwear, they are lucky of we stay in the 70s during this Spring Break month.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by FSUMike

Trust me, the panhandle gets plenty of sunshine, especially compared to the Midwest.

I lived in Kansas for way too long, and believe me, there is plenty of sunshine there AND it gets damn hot.

[PapaNatural]

Just want to add a follow up.

We did move to Santa Rosa Beach Florida (30A area) and LOVE IT. Beautiful winter, and we came to really appreciate the cooler days in January. February was magical, 65 and sunny the whole time. The weather widgets are always misleading, as when they say rain it's usually a mix of rain and sun.

We did still have some nagging thoughts about "should we go further south," so we checked out Jupiter FL... and decided we love Santa Rosa Beach all the more. There's just no place like it in the country. The fact that Walton County and much of the panhandle were developed decades later than South Florida it really cool, and sprawl/mini-mall/condo towers are definitely at a minimum.

40% of Walton county is state forest. The beaches are just nutso beautiful. A paradise for kids. Super easy to meet people. Really a special place.

[jamary1]

I like the Panhandle in the spring and fall, but the summers are too darn hot and humid for me (and I have spent 38 years in the Orlando area). Give me the mountains in the summer and Orlando in the winter.