Where would you rather live? Florida edition

[JA]

Drawing inspiration from Del Techi's thread, "Where would you rather live? South Carolina edition," I created this one to poll where Atlasians would want to live in the state of Florida.

[MasterJedi]

Better option, Southwest, Ft. Meyers/Estero/Bonita Springs area, where my parents live half the year.

[Santander]

Redneck Riviera

[Dereich]

As a Floridian I'd rate it:

5>4>2=Leon/maybe Escambia in 1>>>3=Rest of 1

Five is clearly the best; its a good mix of cheap, cultured, and good weather.

Four is expensive and crowded. It has Miami which can be a plus or a minus. I'd put it below two myself, but I know most wouldn't so there you go.

Two is cheap and it has its charms. I also live there which colors my opinion a bit...Anything you can find somewhere else in the state you can find a slightly worse and cheaper version of in region two. Jacksonville is budget Tampa, Gainesville is budget Tallahassee, the rural areas are Southern but not QUITE as Southern as the Panhandle. The only area that specifically leaps out at me as unique is St. Augustine, which is lovely.

Three is hot, expensive, and insane. When you hear about Florida Man it's usually someone from this area. Orlando is crowded and fake. The coastal areas on the west coast are mosquito-infested and without beaches. All around terrible.

Tallahassee is nice. Pensacola and Panama City are...ok. Everything else in one is empty space and full of people Atlas despises.

[JA]

The only area that specifically leaps out at me as unique is St. Augustine, which is lovely.

St. Augustine is, arguably, the best city (albeit a very small one) in the entire state. It makes me so glad I've lived in this city nearly all my life.

[Lechasseur]

North Florida

[The Govanah Jake]

5

[RINO Tom]

4 for Key West!

[vanguard96]

Given the hurricanes probably North Florida - though no area of the state is a place I would really want to settle in at any time. Gator chomps, Da U, or the tomahawk, no, no, and no.

[SATW]

Southeast, of course.

Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach are all FF areas.

[Mr. Smith]

Panhandle.

[Lechasseur]

The only area that specifically leaps out at me as unique is St. Augustine, which is lovely.

St. Augustine is, arguably, the best city (albeit a very small one) in the entire state.

Agreed. It seems like the one really nice place in the state that's affordable to normal people (Palm Beach is great but you need a lot of money to live there).

[JA]

The only area that specifically leaps out at me as unique is St. Augustine, which is lovely.

St. Augustine is, arguably, the best city (albeit a very small one) in the entire state.

Agreed. It seems like the one really nice place in the state that's affordable to normal people (Palm Beach is great but you need a lot of money to live there).

It's getting pretty expensive here too, honestly. It's not at South Florida levels (yet), but it's getting there. If you're looking for a 3 bed/2 bath home here for rent, almost all decent ones are at least $1,500 per month and most are over $2,000. To buy they usually start around $250,000, but most are over $300,000 at this point. Considering the Jacksonville metro has chronically low wages, that's not cheap. I remember when this county was all woods, swamps, and farms, and most houses were quite old and everything cost at most half of what it does today.