Rave: Florida

 Surveys show that the neighboring state to my south is the most visited in the USA.  Nearly half the population has been here at least once.  The vast majority of these visits involve vacations to either Disney World or one of its many beautiful beaches.  I have thoroughly explored this state, including parts rarely seen by tourists, and have been a big fan since childhood.  I have vague memories of going to Disney World as a small child, but my parents took me again at the age of 10, which is just about the perfect age to go.  We also took family trips to Sanibel Island and St. Pete Beach on the southern Gulf Coast.  I also went on a Spring Break trip with my best college friend to Miami Beach.  My first foray into north Florida did not come until my early-mid 20s when I took a beach hopping trip from Jacksonville to Panama City.  Here are a couple of fun facts that may surprise my readers:  It is a 6-hour drive on I-95 from the Florida/Georgia line down to Homestead, which is the gateway to the Keys.  The size of the panhandle is even more surprising.  It is also a 5-and-a-half-hour drive on I-10 from Jacksonville Beach on the Atlantic to the Alabama line just west of Pensacola.  To put that into perspective, that’s about the same time it takes to get from Birmingham to the Kentucky/Indiana border on I-65.  Many times, I was fooled into believing that I was almost to the Gulf Coast after getting to FLA but in reality, I still had almost an hour to go. 

Geography and Climate:

North Florida has a subtropical climate.  Though snowfall is extremely rare, you do get occasional cold days.  You will get the 4 distinct seasons and though the fall foliage pales in comparison with New England and the Blue Ridge mountains, you’ll see some decent colors come mid-November.  I think it’s cool to see what I refer to as “tropical foliage,” which is a palmetto tree right next to bright yellow or red leaves.  The area along the Atlantic coast is almost dead flat but I don’t find the drive to be boring at all.  You will see live oak trees draped in Spanish moss while palmetto trees are ubiquitous throughout the region.  You may see streets lined with taller date palms, but the lush coconut trees won’t be seen until you get down to Vero Beach.  Further inland, you’ll see some hills, but the highest elevation is only about 350 feet above sea level.  I was particularly surprised by the hilly terrain in Tallahassee.   

Above pics are all from north Florida

The Gulf Coast is a great place to visit, with its beaches that rival anywhere in the world but no, I would not want to live there.   Humidity is so brutal in the summer that it is virtually impossible to run longer than 3 miles no matter what the time of day.  In terms of the volume of rainfall, this is the wettest region of the country and is often struck by major hurricanes.  In the summer, it is almost never a total washout but there is a better than 50/50 chance that you will see some rain on a given day.  However, if you go maybe 10-15 miles inland, the humidity will diminish a bit.  On the Atlantic side, you get a dry season from October through May and the overall rainfall is less.  It’s more like 50 inches of rainfall versus 60 on the Gulf.  I definitely prefer the Atlantic in that regard.

Beach season in north Florida runs from about the 1st of April through the end of November.  Yes, I've pushed my luck a couple of times with trips to Pensacola in early December and late March.  It was chilly but tolerable.  In 2020 during the worst of COVID, I went beach hopping over the Thanksgiving holiday and was surprised to find that swimming conditions were quite pleasant in both Flagler (between Daytona and Jacksonville) and Panama City.  Figure that a swim at Daytona in mid-November will feel comparable to the mid-Atlantic in early July.  

South Florida is almost endless summer with a dry and wet season.  At Vero Beach and points south on the Atlantic, you will find streets lined with lush tropical and coconut palms that just won't grow in north Florida.  I looked up the average high temperatures in Daytona versus Vero for the month of January.  Surprisingly, there was a difference of only 5 degrees with Daytona at 69 and Vero at 74 but that apparently does make a big difference.  Also, water temperatures in South Florida usually remain above 70 degrees all year long and there will be just a handful of days in which the air temp will not crack 70.  I went to Miami in January of 2019 and yes, it was warm enough for a swim.  I once looked at water temps and found that on the same day, Daytona had dropped to 62 while Miami was 76.  I've heard that the Gulf Stream and current from the warmer Caribbean allows Miami's water to remain warm all year.    

 

Culture:

A common expression is that in Florida, the farther north that you go, the more Southern it gets.  That's mostly true but there are exceptions.  You will hear distinctive southern accents in isolated rural areas even in south Florida.  This is especially true around Lake Okeechobee.  Miami has a definite Latino vibe while Fort Lauderdale and West Palm are mostly populated by northeastern liberals.  You won't find many Florida natives in Naples on the SW coast but most people there are from the Midwest and tend to be more conservative.  I really haven't seen much of the Tampa area outside of Clearwater Beach and have never been to Orlando outside of Disney World.  I do intend to change that with a Spring road trip from Miami to Tampa.  The Big Bend area is termed as "real Florida" and has an authentic native culture.  Not many tourists visit because there are not much in terms of beaches between Clearwater and Panama City.  The panhandle is pretty much an extension of Alabama while the vibe in Lake City and Live Oak, Florida is pretty much the same as Valdosta, Georgia.  

Beaches:

 You'll find a wide variety.  The Gulf is clearer than the Atlantic but the Atlantic has better and more consistent surf.  Some beaches have soft white sand while others are hard off white or soft brown.  Flagler actually has an orangish tint.  In general, on the Atlantic, you'll find softer sand and clearer water further south but the negative IMO is that it often gets deeper quickly in the south so you can't go out as far.  

Could I live here?

I'll be in Birmingham until I retire but I may consider moving to north Florida.  I'd want to be inland away from the hurricane zone but close enough to both coasts.  Maybe Lake City or Live Oak.