[Florida Paul]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

But are they GOOD areas though? I used to live in Naples and Naples Park you could just walk to the beach but it was a dump and lots of drugs and white trash despite being so close to the beach.

New Port Rich has some really horrible areas near the Gulf as well.

Yes........Satellite Beach has been rated one of the safest towns in Florida. Cocoa Beach, South of the Kelly Slater statue(where A1A splits) gets more tourists than Satellite Beach, has a great vibe, and has a lot going for it. Definitely worth checking out.

[JeanMilburn]

I think Naples and Palm Beach.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by JeanMilburn

I think Naples and Palm Beach.

Not for 2500 you won't in Naples unless it's the crappy place I posted about above. Heck even 2 miles from the beach in Naples that would be hard to find.

[JeanMilburn]

Alright

[1insider]

Originally Posted by Florida Paul

Yes........Satellite Beach has been rated one of the safest towns in Florida. Cocoa Beach, South of the Kelly Slater statue(where A1A splits) gets more tourists than Satellite Beach, has a great vibe, and has a lot going for it. Definitely worth checking out.

Agree. Cocoa Beach is an underappreciated little beach town with a mistaken identity. I think most people's impression of Cocoa Beach is of the tourist scene north around the Pier and Ron Jons. Like Paul said, south of the statue, it becomes a different town altogether, lots of good restaurants, coffee shops and bars downtown and the beach and the Banana River are never more than a few blocks away and the highest speed limit anywhere in town is 35 MPH. Our population is the same that it was in 1970, somewhere around 12,000 residents and it ain't gonna get any bigger, no vacant land.

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by JeanMilburn

I think Naples and Palm Beach.

A 22 year old single male would not enjoy life in Naples.

22 years old and $2,500/month for rent? Sheesh. Sounds like a bad decision to me, no matter how much he's making.

Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater, and Tampa have lots of young singles.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by EscAlaMike

A 22 year old single male would not enjoy life in Naples.

22 years old and $2,500/month for rent? Sheesh. Sounds like a bad decision to me, no matter how much he's making.

Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater, and Tampa have lots of young singles.

Agree with everything here.
And... frankly, regardless of income, I also see no reason for a 22 year old single person to pay that much in rent. You can get a perfectly fine, modest $1,500/month apartment or condo in most places.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by EscAlaMike

A 22 year old single male would not enjoy life in Naples.

22 years old and $2,500/month for rent? Sheesh. Sounds like a bad decision to me, no matter how much he's making.

Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater, and Tampa have lots of young singles.

I agree. It's full old people and jobs pay less in SWFl.


Manatee County southward is mostly older folks here in Southwest FL. I lived in Naples for 10 years before moving back to St. Louis and moved back, this time to Punta Gorda.


Southwest FL isn't the place to be if you're younger and single. I'm 37 and it sucks. Online dating within a 60 mile radius in any direction is terrible choices as well. The few dates I went on from online with women here in Southwest FL also agreed they hated dating here because of the older demographics it was hard meeting decent young people.


Tampa metro area would be much better I think. Heck even pasco County is getting older. I have relatives up there and notice more older folks moving there too.



Sarasota, Bradenton, Naples, Punta Gorda, Lee county mostly older folks.


I posted a map here once of median ages in FL and Manatee county down to Collier county the median ages are at least 50!


Hillsborough County I believe the median age is 37 while Manatee County shoots up to 49, Sarasota county is 56 years MEDIAN age.


And the single women here in southwest FL many are gold diggers too I've encountered.


IMO stick to around Tampa, Orlando or Jacksonville. SEFL younger too but it's more expensive. Southwest FL you will be miserable being single.


Now if you're 60 and single in SWFL you would do just fine!!

[gatorlyn]

Not entirely sure if we are allowed to link Youtube channels here. I'm not promoting it, but just giving someone like the OP a good reference:


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTn...Wu6z4VA/videos

^
This guy does a lot of videos of different cities around the US.

He is based in Florida, so I assume because of the pandemic he focused on a lot of Florida towns in his recent uploads.

Really cool and interesting, it's like a 20 minute video tour of an entire FL city

[grad_student200]

I don't know if you speak Spanish but South FL is heavily Latin American or Caribbean. This includes mostly Metro Miami and many parts of Broward County. If you are from the midwest or upper east coast, the "I-4" corridor would likely be more realistic. That is in Central FL and is a popular destination for recent in-state graduates in your age range. This is the stretch of freeway going from Daytona Beach to Tampa through Metro Orlando. Tampa or a far outer suburb of Orlando may be more realistic: Clermont, St. Cloud, Lakeland, etc. Some parts of Orlando suffer from urban sprawl. Others have more dense neighborhoods.
In general, the I-4 corridor is very popular for recent college graduates from FSU, Florida, Miami, FAU, UCF, etc. The "catch" is the job market. It had been strong prior to the pandemic, but it varies now depending on the field. There are many software engineering jobs in that area. I know because I still get contacted by recruiters along that stretch even though I haven't lived in FL since 2017 - lol.

South FL in Broward and Dade are very expensive. The "Groves", Boca Raton, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, etc. are not cheap. And Spanish is a must the closer you get to Miami. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale for a year and eventually just got tired of the traffic jams. At first, I was real excited but then got overwhelmed with congestion and the culture gap. I am Native American from AZ and do not speak Spanish. I speak English and my indigenous language in rural AZ.

North FL is the "Deep South" and very bright red - Trump's base. The FL Panhandle is similar in demographics, political affiliation, and religion (Bible Belt) to nearby AL, MS, and GA. There are many actual descendants of Confederates in that region.

So, you may not fit culturally with far South FL or North FL but the I-4 corridor is likely a better fit for your age group.

This video is about a decade old now, but it was very realistic. Note the student journalist was Cuban from the "U" and felt comfortable there despite all the "cons" she noted - lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVRBfEtpBuU