[CTC]

better get going on finding a rental ASAP-especially after last years harsh Winter in most of the country. We have a vacation rental in North Port (near Sarasota/Venice area) which we list on Homeaway.com, and it is already rented out for the next TWO winters.

BTWyYour budget seems kind of low...

[tonyff67]

Anything North of Lake Okeechobee, is entirely too cold in the winter. South of that should be tolerable!

[puggle]

Originally Posted by CTC

better get going on finding a rental ASAP-especially after last years harsh Winter in most of the country. We have a vacation rental in North Port (near Sarasota/Venice area) which we list on Homeaway.com, and it is already rented out for the next TWO winters.

BTWyYour budget seems kind of low...

Crap, thanks. Can you tell me what would be realistic for a 1BR in a non-touristy area?

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by puggle

Crap, thanks. Can you tell me what would be realistic for a 1BR in a non-touristy area?

Check out Brevard and Indian River Counties. Can probably be doable for $1000. Sort of in the middle. 3 hour drive to West coast, Miami, or Jacksonville. Temps are definitely warmer than Canada with no snow. You will have a few days in Jan/Feb in the 40s but mostly warm enough for Northerners to enjoy the Atlantic waters-since our winter cold water is about the temp of Atlantic waters off NE Florida in July. We rarely can go without air conditioning even in the winter.

Also all the theme parks in Orlando are just an hour away which gives you lots of options. Downtown Melbourne is becoming quite the place to spend times with friends in the pubs etc.

Every weekend there is usually some kind of festival in the area from Art to Seafood etc which can be a lot of fun.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by puggle

Thanks guys. More info:

We're a couple in our late 20's. We don't need to be in the middle of the action, but we'd like to have a beach in driving distance, as well somewhere to hang out/shop/go for nice walks. We work from home, so we're not going to be super active during the week, but having interesting places in driving distance for weekend exploring would be ideal.

We're looking for a 1-bedroom condo, something small but reasonably well furnished and with nice amenities. No set budget, we're just willing to adapt based on availability. Is finding something for under 1000$ a month a fantasy?

Florida is, what, 90 miles across? A beach will be within driving distance regardless of where you go.
As for areas, Miami is too crowded.
Jacksonville/St.Augustine get cold/cool during winter.
Metro Orlando is nice... You might get about a week's worth of "cold" during the year.
Metro Tampa is similar to Orlando, but with milder weather during the winter, and has more beach access.

All in all, I'd vote Tampa.