Florida in the time of COVID?

September 18, 2020 11:13 AM

I'm looking for reports from the Sunshine State on how your area is handling COVID and the general 2020 vibe.

For Reasons I may be moving back to Florida to hole up and work remotely. I'm looking for a chill neighborhood where I can get some socially distanced exercise like cycling, maybe even take a kayak out without getting run over by Trump boats. I need amenities like grocery delivery and fast internet, but would prefer to be in a less-populated area with access to natural features.

I'm most familiar with Central Florida but open to suggestions. What's the vibe in your neck of the woods? How is your local government handling COVID in spite of DeSantis?

posted by RobotVoodooPower to Society & Culture (8 answers total)

Best answer: I'm in St. Augustine, in St. Johns County. The vibe here is exactly what you'd expect in a purplish, touristy city in a deep red county in this insanely politically divided state. Which is to say, it's complete chaos.

We're keeping it locked down, so the only places I ever go, like Publix, have mask requirements, but there's still plenty of anti-maskers out and about. Most people on the street are at least reasonable about things like social distancing, even when they're not masked up themselves, but there are plenty of assholes who will push those boundaries, especially against women and children. The school district, which is the organ of government that we're interfacing with the most, has been... reasonable-ish, especially in light of what they're getting from the state in terms of guidance and mandates, but it still feels like it's miles away from what's actually required. The town itself enacted a weak but still important mask ordinance, but our county is now famous for voting against a mask requirement even as one of our commissioners was developing an extremely severe case of COVID.

It's a mess. But our internet works fine and you can get grocery delivery pretty easily. The liquor store delivers, too. And there's plenty of beaches and rivers and creeks and other outdoors nearby that's easily accessible and uncrowded enough that you don't need to worry about it. If you'd like more info on that last bit definitely get in touch and I can point you to some great natural resources in our area. Good luck!
posted by saladin at 11:30 AM on September 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

And here's some breaking news from neighboring Orange Park.
posted by saladin at 12:11 PM on September 18, 2020

I have social connections to parts of Florida.

Jacksonville is not friendly to blue people overall. This lovely woman lives in Jacksonville.

Pensacola is going to be rebuilding after Sally destroyed many bridges, but is generally a quaint city with a thriving downtown and reasonable liberal/progressive presence especially in the East Hill area. From what I hear Pensacola has had some common sense approaches to mask mandates etc.

Florida generally is full of covid-is-a-hoax people. Tampa, St. Petersburg and Miami will be bluer.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:33 PM on September 18, 2020

Pensacola itself may be blue-ish in parts, but it is surrounded by very red areas. The Florida panhandle is the reddest area of the state. My friends are closer to Destin, but from what I hear from them, would not recommend it if liberalism is deciding factor for you. Especially from what I hear from my friends in healthcare. The military brings some conservatism, although I do think tourism helps to brings some liberalism, but still, a lot of the tourists are from the south and locals generally dislike the tourists. Lots of Trump boats in the area (at least nearer to Desitn)
posted by sillysally at 12:38 PM on September 18, 2020

Is Key West a possibility for you?
posted by toxic at 4:59 PM on September 18, 2020

Response by poster: saladin, I enjoyed St. Augustine a lot, spent some good times at Sarbez! and Hornski's.

I've stayed in the panhandle often, not familiar as much with Pensacola the town. And I love the Keys, but Key West is insanely expensive, and seeing that Sloppy Joe's is open would normally give me great joy but not during COVID.

I was hoping for diamond-in-the-rough Florida towns I might have overlooked.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:11 PM on September 18, 2020

I was hoping for diamond-in-the-rough Florida towns I might have overlooked.

Take a look at Alachua.
posted by crunchy potato at 10:07 AM on September 19, 2020

I'm just across the state line in the panhandle area. It's not for nothing that the Mobile / Pensacola / Destin / Panama City area is known as the "Redneck Riviera".
posted by TwoToneRow at 7:54 PM on September 19, 2020