Florida coast comparisons

As a resident of the Florida Treasure Coast, I can say I love this area. I will focus on the Treasure Coast, as that is my area of expertise, and I'll let others tell you about the west coast, as we refer to the Gulf side.

I too, grew up vacationing on the panhandle, and loved it, growing up and as a young adult. It has become too crowded for me to consider it for full-time residency. That is just me, however. Others may not feel that way.. I moved to Port St Lucie for work, but once I started working from home, I moved to Vero Beach. Vero Beach is an older crowd, although I keep hearing that it is trending younger, and I don't think it is outrageously old - certainly nothing like The Villages.

The water is not as clear on the Treasure Coast as it is in the gulf, but it is not bad. The fishing is fantastic on the east coast, as you have inshore on the intercoastal waterway (drum, redfish, snapper, snook, pompano, sheepshead), as well as offshore (Sailfish, mahi-mahi, grouper, wahoo, tuna).

The reason I like Vero Beach is that it is not "touristy". Vero Beach has a solid arts, music, and culinary scene - especially for a town it's size. Traffic is light, and it's got a free bus system that you can use if needed. The beaches are not very crowded, and parking is readily available and free.

Ocean Drive in Vero is very nice and walkable. Unlike much of the Atlantic Coast, A1A doesn't pass right next to the beach, so you can walk around the ocean front area and cross the streets and peruse the shops and restaurants without the hassle of having to worry about cars whizzing by.

The Indian River County government does a really nice job of tamping down the unrestricted development that is happening in places like Port St Lucie, and people here are very protective of what they have. They do not want it to be overrun by massive housing projects, although long-time locals will tell you it is a lot more crowded than it used to be. I think the local government has done a good job of balancing growth without letting it get too congested.

If you like big cities, the Treasure Coast is not for you. Orlando is 90 minutes away, Miami is 2.5 hours.away, as is Tampa. If you want a quiet, somewhat normal town that happens to be on the beach, Stuart, Ft Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Melbourne, and Cocoa Beach are all worth looking at.

You might want to plan a vacation where you drive the East Coast of Florida and see if you like the vibe. Keep in mind, that the busy time of year in South Florida is November through April, not summer time.

VB

If you visit I can take you to Earls...

On the east side. Merritt Island south of Pineda Causeway. Indian River on the west side, Banana River on the east. Obviously in proximity to KSC but would be a painful commute if everyday.

Solid beaches. Ok water. Surfable waves.

On the Gulf of America side, check out Dunedin. Great smaller town.

The Sun Coast has better beaches and water but not much in the way of waves. FL has done a commendable job of Hurricane recovery.

Best wishes and God bless you in the Sunshine State.

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The media used to call it Zero Beach because there was nothing to do there. That is where the Dodgers have their spring training. Or used to.

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It's got a little more going on than when the Dodgers were there. If you're a hip hop fan, you wont find any clubs to party at. If you like rock and roll bars, there is a lot of places to go.

Dodgertown is still there. It's called the Jackie Robinson Training Center, now. World class facilities. A lot of Big 10 schools come down here to train in the winter.

Naples up to Punta Gorda has it all inmo. Not supper touristy with somewhat affordable water front homes

Loved Sanibel (and I have a house to sell you) but might be a little sleepy depending on your age. Naples is also great.

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Clear water is important, but the Keys are out of my price range. We're young and don't want to move to a retirement community but Miami isn't my thing either

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It’s fairly hard to avoid ‘retirement communities’ in central and south Florida. Certainly not hardcore areas like the Villages but tons of older folks.

You really just need to spend some time traveling the state to figure it out for yourself. If you are young, I also think you are mis evaluating doing the right thing for your job as somewhat of a priority.

No matter what people say, there’s generally a good area to live in most of those areas. Most of the gulf has ‘clear’ water. The Atlantic is much more hit and miss.

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For clear water you're going to want to stay south of Tarpon Springs on the West coast and South of Jupiter on the East.

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Jupiter has the clearest water on the Atlantic side of FL. Going further south from there is not going to improve conditions.

West Palm is the northern point of the Miami Metro Area, for all intents an purposes. If you jump onto 95 and go south during rush hour, you'll hit stop and go traffic right away. As mentioned, the population density is very high because in the Miami metro area, there is only a thin stretch of land between the Atlantic and the Everglades and swamps.

Jupiter is the next stop north of WPB. It is beautiful, and super nice, but I do not think it will be long before the traffic, crime, and other problems with urban sprawl become more pronounced.

North of Jupiter is Hobe Sound, which is a small town, but more importantly, it is surrounded by state parks and wildlife management areas that prevent that area from becoming overly populated and provide a buffer between Miami and Stuart, which is the next town to the North. This is really where the land opens up and you see a lot of farm land north of Lake Okeechobee. This helps with congestion, as geographically, there is more room to spread out and there are a lot fewer people.

North of Stuart is Ft. Pierce then Vero Beach/Sebastian, and then Melbourne. There is a lot of buildable land west of Vero Beach, if you're looking for a farm or access to inland lakes, like Okeechobee.

I don't know the demographics of Naples, but I can confirm that Vero Beach has a lot of New England/New York/Canada retirees and snowbirds. The snowbirds are okay, though. They basically want the same thing we do, which is to live in a quiet and laid back town with good restaurants and easy access to the cities. They aren't always roving the town looking for action, because they aren't on vacation - they live their for 5-6 months of the year. The Treasure Coast doesn't have nearly as many vacationers/tourists as Sanibel or Fort Myers.