I have a question, Floridians -- Spouse and i are thinking of buying a house in Florida

[CherokeeDem]

5. Lived in Naples and Miami...

and spent many summers at the beaches on the panhandle. I'll admit to loving them all.

For excitement, the east coast is wonderful. Access to the Keys, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach... great areas.

I prefer the beaches on the west coast, lots of public access, calmer water, a bit slower pace unless you are in the Tampa/St. Pete area. Naples is Redder than Red, expensive but gorgeous.

The panhandle... great beaches... gets colder there and there is the issue of being a very Red area other than Tallahassee.

Most liberal areas are Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Orlando's still Red but some areas are trending Blue. Huge Puerto Rican population there is boosting the Dems. The rest of Florida Red to Redder.

If you want really warm but also a bit slower pace... look at Homestead... there are some really nice planned communities there. When I lived there, the housing prices were reasonable... not like what you would find in Miami. You would then have Miami and the Keys close by.

I relocated to Kentucky because my parents were in need of help. I only have my dad now and he's 88.
When I'm no longer needed here, I'm planning on returning south, Charleston, Beaufort, Savannah, and maybe near New Orleans... love that place and I love Beaufort.

There are a lot of wonderful reasons to move to Florida and a lot not so good. The increasing population is creating traffic issues (well, traffic's been a problem for years) and it's very expensive to live in some of the higher populated areas.

Good luck and stay warm.

Oh... and did I mention if you move to Florida, you'll have the Publix grocery store to shop at. I miss Publix.