[expatCA]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

And Micanopy - about as Old Florida as it gets...

I got in trouble there. I pronounced it "My Can O Pee".

[TarHeelTerritory]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

In addition to Arcenal's suggestions, I would add Lake Wales, Auburndale, Bartow and Sebring. And the center of Florida overall has a much different feel from the coasts. Even the term "old Florida" can mean different things to different people. I love Lakeland and am actually planning to relocate back there, and that is one of the very reasons I want to do so. The city preserves all of its important old architecture, builds lots of parks, and there are many, many beautiful lakes there. The vegetation is a mix of "tropics meets the old south." It has a bit of a look that is "stuck back in time" (in a good way). Winter Haven is a junior version of Lakeland.

Lakeland sounds like a place I'd love to live in. I'm a big fan of older architecture, and the "tropics meets the old south" is the best of both worlds.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by TarHeelTerritory

Lakeland sounds like a place I'd love to live in. I'm a big fan of older architecture, and the "tropics meets the old south" is the best of both worlds.

Make a visit there some time. To me, it is a very underrated town. How can one not love a town whose nickname is "Swan City" (swan is the city mascot, they breed pairs for all over the country) There are swan and butterfly sculptures all over town. The garbage trucks have swans drawn on them! lol Lakeland invested millions to restore their small downtown years ago, and it is charming. Lakeland is also very heavily "treed", which is something that is important to me. And unlike most of Florida, has some rolling topography.

Anyway, it would take too long to describe all that I love about it - these are just a few of the things that my husband and I love.

Here is a link to google page with some nice photos:

https://www.google.com/search?q=down...w=1292&bih=665

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Make a visit there some time. To me, it is a very underrated town. How can one not love a town whose nickname is "Swan City" (swan is the city mascot, they breed pairs for all over the country) There are swan and butterfly sculptures all over town. The garbage trucks have swans drawn on them! lol Lakeland invested millions to restore their small downtown years ago, and it is charming. Lakeland is also very heavily "treed", which is something that is important to me. And unlike most of Florida, has some rolling topography.

Anyway, it would take too long to describe all that I love about it - these are just a few of the things that my husband and I love.

I agree. Lakeland is a gorgeous place. My mom and sister used to live there, and my drives there on Sunday visits were the highlight or my week. They lived in Lakeland Highlands, which is South of Lakeland itself...

[ByeByeLW]

Yep. Micanopy! I think the Phoenix family still has a big place there.

[TD*]

Tallahassee

[Fredesch]

Miami Beach has lots of Art Deco. Coral Gables has a unique Florida feel and was an early planned community. As long as you stay in pre-1970 neighborhoods, no matter what city you are in you will have a Florida feel. I suggest 1970 as a cutoff date as the mid-60's were when central AC became an option in houses.

All Florida cities are relatively new. Florida did not grow until the 1930's and trains could bring in folks from the east coast. So there are no old Florida cities.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by Fredesch

As long as you stay in pre-1970 neighborhoods, no matter what city you are in you will have a Florida feel. I suggest 1970 as a cutoff date as the mid-60's were when central AC became an option in houses.

... there are no old Florida cities.

As a previous poster mentioned, there is no strict, widely recognized definition of "Old Florida".

But I can relate to what you wrote above ... to me it means relatively small houses with crank windows that working class people could afford, surrounded by fruit trees and sand, no professional landscaping, and have survived many a hurricane over the decades.

Still plenty of those around.

Someone told me that the houses built in the 1950s-1970s are sturdier than those built in the 1980s-1990s.

[ByeByeLW]

Sounds like my old neighborhood. As developers bought up nearby property code enforcement gradually got stricter ( had to make the neighborhood look like a landscaped northeastern suburb) and people who’d lived there for generations were pretty much harassed and forced out. So sad. It was paradise. We had 5 orange trees, 2 grapefruit trees, lychees, avocados, big oaks, all kinds dof native ground cover and plants. Oh I miss it. And we could walk to the beach.

[EscAlaMike]

Not sure if any of the bigger cities have really maintained the Old Florida feel at all, though Tallahassee might come closest.

Palatka is what I think of. You have the river, moss-draped live oaks, and somewhat rustic downtown area. Don't forget Ravine Gardens State Park either, right in town.

As for coastal towns, Apalachicola and Fernandina Beach.