What are the best things about living in Florida?

[AliciaMaria]

Originally Posted by acegolfer

Beautiful.

(that's a lot of leaves to clean up. It was a chore when I live up north.)

Agreed!! Fortunately for us, it's across the street from our house and not on our property.

Rock Newman was spot on with the neighborhoods.. Good luck in your searches, Graceful!

[Graceful2]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

You might actually want to look further south. There are not many "woods" in South Florida, but there are a few state parks as well as Everglades and Biscayne National Park. If you like city but prefer to be around greenery, and like a more upscale community, I would actually look around the Coral Gables area and some of the surrounding communities south of downtown Miami and east of US1. This would include some of Coconut Grove, some of South Miami, and maybe Pinecrest or Palmetto Bay. You would probably want to zero in on the Old Cutler Rd corridor. These areas put you in somewhat closer proximity to Everglades National Park as well as other natural areas in South Florida, while maintaining a more cultured/urban feel compared to the Broward County area. There are many things to do in this area, but it is not really a night life centered area. Another area that might be worth looking at is the Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens area, which is much newer and somewhat less "cultured" than the places I named towards Miami, but also less congested. If you like Fort Lauderdale, I would say neighborhoods like Rio Vista Isles, Victoria Park, and Coral Ridge are the places to check out. Keep in mind that Fort Lauderdale is somewhat distant from the state and national parks that are in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County, but not unreasonably so. Broward County also has some parks that are good for hiking and cycling, but probably not places that someone in Coral Gables or Palm Beach Gardens would take a special trip for.

Thank-you for your suggestions...a lot here to consider. I am so grateful to everyone that has offered input. It's such a big decision to consider. Do you know anything about the job opportunities in these areas? My day job has been in healthcare marketing with seniors. Not sure if I want to stay in this but I've worked for Assisted Living communities.

[Georgia1113]

A friend of mine lives in Lake City and it's a nice small town about an hour from Jacksonville. Beautiful springs and rivers and countryside. Sante Fe river is very pretty. Probably not many jobs.

[heydade]

good men here are a very small few. Its all about image and getting to the top here...all about instant gratification and temptation lingering everywhere you look. Very few good men....very good few women. We live in SIN CITY