Florida residence

[bthomps33]

I'm fortunate to have a job that lets me live pretty much anywhere. I've been contemplating moving to FL for a couple of years now. If you could live anywhere in FL, where would you live and why? I'm excluding central FL; it must be along the coast so Orlando, Gainesville, Ocala, etc. are excluded.

[MadGolfer76]

Which coast?

[bthomps33]

Which coast?

 

I'm open to either coast, just looking for something within 15 miles of the coasts.

[Jagpilotohio]

Which coast?

 

I'm open to either coast, just looking for something within 15 miles of the coasts.

 

If you happen to enjoy beer and/or cocktails, there’s nothing quite like sitting at a bar on the beach on the gulf coast having a drink and watching the sun set over the water.

 

Last fall at Fort Meyers:

 

 

 

[OffTheDole]

For me it's either Jacksonville or the Tampa Bay area.

 

Both have solid airports, so travel isn't difficult to or from. Both have plenty of good golf courses.

 

I prefer Jacksonville for cost of living and traffic.

 

Tampa gets the edge for weather, though it's a ways down the state which makes road trips outside of the state an extra four hours or so.

[Mkodzis]

Palm Beach/Jupiter area for sure....

[bthomps33]

Palm Beach/Jupiter area for sure....

 

Why Jupiter? I think that's about as far south as I would want to go on the Atlantic coast.

[KCCO]

Palm beach, as I mentioned in a similar post earlier....reason being you are within an hour of all of this, (and there is an international airport in town):

[dcfas]

Jupiter on the east coast; Naples Gulf side. Trying to make that decision myself, but not making the move for a while.

[adizero]

Don’t you guys find it way too hot to play often. I have been down to Ft Myers/Naples October, November, December Jan, Feb May, August. 90 degrees and humid plenty of the time. Do I need to stay north of Tampa to have 2 1/2 or three seasons. I cannot take the high heat and humidity. I have family in SW Florida and doubt that I could live their.

[OffTheDole]

Don’t you guys find it way too hot to play often. I have been down to Ft Myers/Naples October, November, December Jan, Feb May, August. 90 degrees and humid plenty of the time. Do I need to stay north of Tampa to have 2 1/2 or three seasons. I cannot take the high heat and humidity. I have family in SW Florida and doubt that I could live their.

 

I'll admit that there were some days last summer that left me on the verge of heat exhaustion despite my best efforts with ice cold towels, sunblock, 2 x 32-ounce Gatorades, trail mix, light clothing, and over-hydration. The extreme temps along with the humidity is not for people with that tropical blood.

 

Still better than snow IMO.

[alfriday]

What about the panhandle? I have a winter home in Destin and really like the area. One big draw is that it is only really crowded for the summer months of June, July and August. The rest of the year, when it is cooler, is the off season, so courses are cheap and playable. 30A (Seaside, Water Color, et. al.) are beautiful and all is close to the water. Plus the beaches are some of the most beautiful anywhere.

[RichieHunt]

Depends on what type of golf you're looking to play. If you want to play top quality, private golf I would recommend Jupiter. Palm Beach is nearby and there are plenty of excellent private courses from Vero Beach to Palm Beach. Jupiter works because it's more in the middle and you don't have that awful Palm Beach traffic. If you're looking for more public golf you may want to consider the west coast. Tampa really doesn't have a lot of great courses and it has issues with the rain in the Fall making courses unplayable. But, it's an excellent big city and a lot of fun.

 

Naples is beautiful, but very expensive..particularly for private golf.

 

If you're looking for a cheaper alternative I would recommend either Jacksonville or the Space Coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[dcfas]

Don’t you guys find it way too hot to play often. I have been down to Ft Myers/Naples October, November, December Jan, Feb May, August. 90 degrees and humid plenty of the time. Do I need to stay north of Tampa to have 2 1/2 or three seasons. I cannot take the high heat and humidity. I have family in SW Florida and doubt that I could live their.

I would only be there from December through March.

 

To the OP, RichiHunt above is spot on. Very different vibe from east to west coast. Naples on the west coast is like out of a dream. But the Jupiter, Palm Beach area is younger.

[Hybrid]

For the record, I’m a full-time resident of FL. Since you have a great deal of flexibility with your job, I would find a nice rental near the coast of your choice during the entire hurricane season. This will test your mettle when a storm rolls off the coast of Africa and seems to be heading to Florida. Since you’d be in a rental you could just leave it and not have any of the concerns that property owners have when a hurricane hits. If you have the stomach for all of the potential heartaches, you can base your plans on fact and purchase a home. Irma passed over my home as a cat 2. I’m thankful it wasn’t a cat 3 or higher. This winter was mild and pleasant. Florida was very nice, but we all know what may be around the corner.

[mcadenhead]

Jupiter on the east coast; Naples Gulf side. Trying to make that decision myself, but not making the move for a while.

 

We have seasons in Tampa....Summer, Spring, and Summer

[RichieHunt]

I grew up in upstate NY. When to college in South Carolina, then moved to Atlanta before heading to Florida. I had some preparation for the Florida weather, but the heat and humidity is something you get used to for the most part. June and July it gets the hottest, temperature wise. Usually low 90's with about 60% humidity. However, it's only really bad from 10 am to 6pm. Since I work in an office all day, I'm not outside during that time. Before and after that time, it's usually beautiful out. Warm, but not unbearable.

 

August is the worst. The actual temperature dips a couple of degrees, but the humidity raises to 80%. And it sticks there 24-7. And with the rain and that high of a humidity, the courses are in bad shape...they can't mow the rough because of the rain and it's a total nightmare. The first couple of weeks of September are the same as well.

 

But from October-December, usually the weather is perfect. The weather isn't perfect from January-March, but it's likely better than any other place in the US not named Hawaii. April and May the temp picks up, but still a lot of pleasant days to be had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[MadGolfer76]

What about the panhandle? I have a winter home in Destin and really like the area. One big draw is that it is only really crowded for the summer months of June, July and August. The rest of the year, when it is cooler, is the off season, so courses are cheap and playable. 30A (Seaside, Water Color, et. al.) are beautiful and all is close to the water. Plus the beaches are some of the most beautiful anywhere.

 

I lived in Tallahassee for a few years. It was kind of meh in terms of golf. That was a while ago, so maybe things are better.

[1Dumbscreenname]

Palm beach, as I mentioned in a similar post earlier....reason being you are within an hour of all of this, (and there is an international airport in town):

 

This area here is where all the angry horn honking, New Yorkers, boston, northeast I’m wealthier than you heart attack alley folks reside. Anyone that wants to live a relaxed lifestyle should stay TF outta here.

 

Jax is nice but not as much golf as one would think considering it’s called the Golf coast.

 

St Augustine is pretty and quaint but again, not enough golf to keep me intrigued even though the hall of fame is here.

 

Tampa has a ton of great golf within 45 minutes and obviously the Intl airport that’s undergoing a 1.7 billion dollar expansion will make travel even easier. St Pete Clearwater is Easy access but gets super crowded on weekends. Plus, not a far drive to Gainesville for Gator Games!

 

Naples is expensive, older but has good golf course, but dead in summer/fall

 

Ft Myers beach is a tough spot to gain access as there are only 2 bridges to the beach and it gets busy. Plus the town is very spread apart.

 

Pensacola is full of beach side condos, and growing, lots of golf and not far from the RTJ trail.

 

Tallahassee is where the FSU is. I stay outta there. GO GATORS!

 

I live in Sarasota. Tons of golf, amazing beaches, I can go anywhere in flip flops.

 

 

[third-times-a-charm]

Outskirts of West Orlando.

 

Tampa sucks, avoid it.

 

South Florida sucks, avoid it. Though - if you continue to the Keys, thats ok.

 

North FL sucks, too.

[jerebear21]

being able to play privates in orlando and tampa I would suggest either sarasota/bradenton area or ocala area

 

There's also north tampa area.

 

I don't think there's a club in orlando I would want to join and I have friends that are members of nona, bH and cypress. The issues are not the club but rather the area; It can get so crowded in orlando that I HATE it. I have a home in Dr. Phillips. It's the worst level of tourist traffic.

 

one of my best decisions is to relocate back to the tampa bay area and joining a private here; we have reciprocals to Copperhead; I'm an hour-ish from streamsong; There's the exclusive old memorial and concessions within an hour that's caddy only

 

there's old school donald ross at palma ceia and belleair; an hour north is World Woods; Pete Dye's Southern Hills; Lake Jovita has the rolling terrains;

 

And IMHO the quality of good public courses in bradenton/sarasota >>>> orlando area

 

The west coast of Florida is a delight. The traffic is picking up and it's becoming a hot bed for real estate and retirement. But it can never be as bad as orlando.

[markheardjr]

No hurricane has made landfall from like Miami to Jacksonville ever. They come across from the keys/gulf side all the time, but its weakend by the time it hits mid-atlantic side.

 

I moved to Melbourn 16 months ago from Los Angeles. Adjusted well. We have a lot of options for public courses within a 30min drive. We're 12min from the ocean, 50min from Orlando, 75min max from Disney. Melbourne has an international airport and multiple daily flights on Delta to Atlanta or AA to Charlotte, catch wherever you want from them. or 45min to MCO.

 

South of us, Vero to Jupiter has more golf options. North of us, you have to go up near Daytona or further to get a lot of golf options. I venture to Orlando for golf once in a while but rotate between Duran, Baytree, Harmony, Habitat most of the time. Melbourne is booming because of the Aerospace industry. Viera is the hot spot but a little snobbish in my opinion. Beachside is stuck in the 60's and wants suirfer vibe but golf over there is limited to shorter courses. If you want ocean side living with nice golf, I'd suggest maybe Vero to Jupiter area.

[cardoustie]

another vote for the Panhandle if you want quieter and nicer beaches

 

Solid golf and beaches and restos. Join Camp Creek !!!!!! Gets you on Shark's Tooth as well. Both 2 of the top 25 tracks in FL

 

More seasons so to speak

[Hehateme]

yea, stay away from Jacksonville. No golf, no fishing, bad weather, horrible. :nono: :nono:

[bhj83]

What about the panhandle? I have a winter home in Destin and really like the area. One big draw is that it is only really crowded for the summer months of June, July and August. The rest of the year, when it is cooler, is the off season, so courses are cheap and playable. 30A (Seaside, Water Color, et. al.) are beautiful and all is close to the water. Plus the beaches are some of the most beautiful anywhere.

 

I've been contemplating a move to the Santa Rosa Beach area for a year or so now. I have a friend that's lived in Destin a couple of years as well as some family on my wife's side that lives there. I've lived in KS/MO all of my life and my family is here so it's hard to think about actually going through with it. I'm just getting so sick of winter...and we have similar heat to Florida with over 100 days and high humidity much of the summer. I'm also getting completely sick of all of the TAXES I have to pay to live in Kansas. Not worth it!

 

I've only played two courses in the area (Kelly Plantation and Windswept Dunes), but that convinced me I could live with Florida golf...especially if I don't have to deal with any snow and very litte cold weather golf. Heading down there next week and plan to play a couple of other courses as well as check out some of the houses that are currently on the market to get an idea of what we can get.

 

I've been nearly everywhere in Florida and the panhandle seems like the best mix of being in Florida while also being able to travel to other spots in the states. Not to mention, the gulf side beaches and water is MUCH better than the Atlantic side IMO.

[Tim_Gavrich]

I'm fortunate to have a job that lets me live pretty much anywhere. I've been contemplating moving to FL for a couple of years now. If you could live anywhere in FL, where would you live and why? I'm excluding central FL; it must be along the coast so Orlando, Gainesville, Ocala, etc. are excluded.

I live in Vero and like it because I think it resists some of the negative stereotypes about Florida, the biggest one being that during the winter traffic here doesn't get insufferable awful. Happy to answer questions about it; drop me a PM.

[golfnhack]

As a 17 year Florida resident, I personally would not live anywhere south of Vero. The further south you go, the worse traffic gets, and the ruder the people get. JMHO.

 

I also would NOT live on the West coast of FL. Not because I don't like it, but if you ever have to travel North, it add significant time to your travel.

 

Finally, you are doing yourself a dis-service by excluding Orlando. Orlando is very conveniently located, has tons of courses, and easy access to the beach. I live in Houston now (which is a HORRIBLE place to live), and would move back to Orlando in a heartbeat if I could.

[golfnhack]

I'm fortunate to have a job that lets me live pretty much anywhere. I've been contemplating moving to FL for a couple of years now. If you could live anywhere in FL, where would you live and why? I'm excluding central FL; it must be along the coast so Orlando, Gainesville, Ocala, etc. are excluded.

I live in Vero and like it because I think it resists some of the negative stereotypes about Florida, the biggest one being that during the winter traffic here doesn't get insufferable awful. Happy to answer questions about it; drop me a PM.

 

Love Vero. I would live there. LOVE Wilke's 14 bones too. Best BBQ in all of FL. Shoot.. I like it more than any Texas BBQ I have had here in Houston.

[golfnhack]

Oh... one last thing... Make sure you join the Florida State Golf Association. It is BY FAR the best run state golf organization in the country.

 

Check out their one day schedule. You get to play competition golf on great courses, for a great price.

 

www.FSGA.org

[ilikegolf26]

For me it's either Jacksonville or the Tampa Bay area.

 

Both have solid airports, so travel isn't difficult to or from. Both have plenty of good golf courses.

 

I prefer Jacksonville for cost of living and traffic.

 

Tampa gets the edge for weather, though it's a ways down the state which makes road trips outside of the state an extra four hours or so.

Golf in Tampa and St. Pete is HORRIBLE.