What city in Southwest Florida is the best place to live?

December 8, 2014 12:14 PM

I'll be finishing a masters degree in school counseling and have given some thought to moving from Idaho to Florida. Big jump, I know. So far Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Southwest Florida appeal to me the most. I'd like some info and advice on SW Florida.

Honestly, I just want warm weather and a beautiful setting. I love to go for walks and hikes so the more beautiful the better. What cities rank high on your outdoor appeal?

I also love people. I like book clubs, discussion groups, concerts, sports, self improvement groups, any kind of group where someone is trying something new and fun. What cities are particularly friendly and social?

I'm a single early thirty-something man. Which cities have plenty to offer on the dating scene?

What cities have a lot to do? I'm a mover and a shaker. Boredom scares me so it's nice to have late night coffee shops, pubs, night life, cultural activities, festivals, gatherings, etc.

I don't expect the culture to be hippie, alternative, or liberal much at all but if I were to phrase a question like: what area will be most accepting of alternative viewpoints? What cities do you recommend?

What cities have the most character? If strip malls and chain stores dominate the town, no thanks.

Ranking of importance on characteristics:

1. Things to do, culture, social life, etc.
2. Outdoor beauty and appeal
3. Character to the city
4. Dating scene
5. Friendly, social people
6. Accepting of alternative viewpoints

So based on my interests and their order of importance, what cities in Southwest Florida should I consider? If you could list them and then talk about the pros and cons of each, I would so appreciate some feedback.

posted by madmartigan3454 to Travel & Transportation around West Palm Beach, FL (11 answers total)

Tampa is your best bet.

Gainesville is mostly a college town with University of Florida. Tallahassee is horrible, have you BEEN there? Yuk!

Port Charlotte, Ft. Meyers and Naples all skew elderly, and there aren't a lot of job opportunities there.

Your best bet is Tampa.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:05 PM on December 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

I'll also note that to most people, southern Florida is not beautiful once you're away from the actual beaches. Flat as a pancake and alternating between swamps, scrubby and vaguely unhealthy-feeling pine forests, scrubby and cactusy pastureland, and farmland. For sure, some people find swampland or that kind of pine forest lovely, but most people don't.

I haven't been to SW FL in like forever, but I expect you will not find much character there. These are places that have grown explosively since 1980 and are, as the bunny notes, heavy with retirees from elsewhere.

If you want anything remotely alternative, your answer is "Gainesville and gird your loins before you leave the city to go the beach or the Ichetucknee."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:18 PM on December 8, 2014 [4 favorites]

Yes, I was going to say that the greater Tampa Bay area is probably your best bet, especially if you want to date people around your own age — the populations of the cities south of the Bay are both smaller and older, which would reduce the dating pool drastically. During the one year I lived in the area, I found that St. Petersburg had a lot of character, particularly the downtown, the Old Northeast, and Grand Central; Tampa always seemed a little more generic to me. (But then, I lived in St. Pete and spent a lot more time there; it's possible that if I'd lived in Tampa, I'd have the opposite opinion.)

Sarasota also has a reputation of having a fair number of cultural institutions for a city of its size; and it's also in easy driving distance of Tampa & St. Pete, if you want the amenities of a larger city. I never actually managed to get down there myself while I lived there, though.
posted by Johnny Assay at 1:20 PM on December 8, 2014

Definitely Tampa.
posted by functionequalsform at 2:48 PM on December 8, 2014

I spent a goodly potion of my childhood in SE Florida. When we wanted to go somewhere beautiful, we would drive across state to Naples, which was just lovely and not a far drive.

And, as added anecdata, I did my grad work in Gainesville whilst visiting my then-fiancé as he finished school in Tallahassee for several years back in the late 80s. I would never live in either of those cities. Ugh.
posted by blurker at 3:07 PM on December 8, 2014

2nding R-Bunny- from Port Charlotte to the south, there's little more than old folks, generica, and medical professionals. I grew up there and visit almost yearly- it continues to sprawl, but it doesn't appear to have developed any character, and it's mighty mighty red. If you have lots of money you might be able to pass for one of them, as long as you don't display 'alternate viewpoints.' In short, for the love of god, avoid.
Yep, Tampa. It's closest to acknowledging the current century. It's warm, and the food is good. I hope you enjoy wherever you go, but please don't buy property the second you get there- be sure you want that experience day after day for years, 'cos selling is a real crap shoot.
posted by JulesER at 3:15 PM on December 8, 2014

Gainesville is beautiful and full of life, but it's all about the college.
Sarasota is also wonderful.
posted by heathrowga at 5:50 PM on December 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm a big fan of Sarasota. Of course, part of that is that I felt so youthful and vibrant in contrast to the rest of the population. Still, it had good pizza, I could find a chess game, good library, independent movie theater and nice beaches.
posted by mearls at 7:18 PM on December 8, 2014

1. Things to do, culture, social life, etc.
3. Character to the city
4. Dating scene
5. Friendly, social people
6. Accepting of alternative viewpoints


If you are looking for any one of these things, do not come to Southwest Florida.
Tampa is nice though.
posted by the jam at 7:42 PM on December 8, 2014

I went to UF for undergrad and loved living there, but I had outgrown it by the time I graduated. The people I knew who went there for law school felt like Methuselah at the ripe old age of 24. There is some cultural stuff with the school being there, but for the most part it's just a big collection of chain restaurants. I can't even fathom living there now that I'm 32. Great place to live at 17-21, though.

Nthing Tampa, I think it is exactly what you are looking for.
posted by gatorae at 7:53 PM on December 8, 2014

Tallahassee actually gets freeze, and it's not Florida. More South, with some Florida mixed in for flavor. I live here and like it well enough, but it's the rest of the neighboring populations I could do without. It also feels rather isolated.

Naples has class issues up to its ears, Gainesville is even more student-y than Tallahassee (it has no state government to fall back on), and Fort Myers is kind of boring. (I grew up in Fort Myers. It skews elderly and retirement-age, and is very sprawly.)

Tampa's best for a young professional. Sarasota is quirky, but I'm not sure it's best for a singleton (unless it's changed considerably in the last 10 years; it was mostly young families and retired hippies when I last lived in the area).
posted by PearlRose at 9:37 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]