Where would you live in Florida?

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I love the way those who live in Florida are voting for where they are currently located! LOL

Not surprising though. Most people in FL migrated in and therefore live where they've chosen to live. Some it's due to their job location but for many their location is an intentional decision.

The challenge is that the best ocean diving is not close to the best cave diving. If you split the difference you're too far away from both IMO. You need to decide which is more important to you (caves or ocean) and live close to that. Then do short trips for the other type of diving.

You've also mentioned living where it's cheap. Relative to what? Just about everywhere in FL is cheaper than NYC or DC or Chicago or San Francisco or Seattle or LA. But if you're comparing it to the rural areas of the US that's a different story. What's your baseline?
I've been diving in FL for 20 years. Like many, my first exposures were the Upper Keys, I enjoyed the diving very much.

I had a chance business trip to Jupiter and was exposed to drift diving. I spent the next several years sampling the diving from Ft Lauderdale to Jupiter. I exclusively dive in the ocean, so cave country did not come into play. For nearly 10 years, we have had a home just north of Boynton Beach and I do my diving there, and in West Palm and Jupiter. Now, after over 1100 dives, it was the right choice for me. I still occasionally trek down to Key Largo to get my fix on the Spiegel Grove, Duane, and Bibb.

As @JimBlay points out, it is really a personal decision, based on your own diving
 
I didn't think a cave diver would care for open water, or the way around.

In any case I don't think you can be close to cave country and the ocean within Florida. You can be close to one, or equally far (and inconveniently) to both.
I'd pick a place with direct access from the backyard.
If you can get a house with a cave in the back then you just have to drive to the ocean, or you pick a place on a canal with ocean access and you only drive to the cave.
 
Living in South florida, if I had to stay in Florida I'd move north between jupiter and daytona Beach.

But not to near either place.

I'd also not be as close to the coast as I am, just west of 95.

Id rather live a little further from the ocean, and be able to afford a more affordable living situation.

One where I don't have to sell a kidney (and more) to get a home in a decent neighborhood with a garage...

Deerfield Beach is nice, but living where everyone vacations isn't as much fun as every says it is....
 
Probably on the "Redneck Riviera" (I use that term with a great deal of fondness for the area and somewhat tongue in cheek, NOT as a term of derision.) near Panama City. Because of my job before I retired, I spent a fair bit of time in that area and in fact I learn to dive while on a month long conference at Tyndall AFB. (I still have friends stationed there.)

Form a logistics point of view, its just a quick hop from there to ATL and from ATL you can get pretty much anywhere in the world. The Keys (Key Largo) are an easy one day drive at about 9hours and even Key West is only about a 12 hour drive.
 
In Florida I've lived in Gainesville, Trenton, Orlando, Gainesville again, Winter Park, Altamonte, Winter Park, the Keys, and now up in SE Suwannee County. If I want, ocean diving's an hour away. I'm equidistant between caves and only 7 minutes away from the closest one. Taxes are incredibly low. No crowds. No touristas. Not much government intervention. I have bottled water on tap. There are 50 acres of land just south of me for $200.000, mostly planted in pine already.
 
away from where hurricanes are.. oh wait, that is another state....

guess near an airport that flies to Florida....
 
While it wasn't put forward as a point of discrimination, do heat and humidity, mild winters or other 'climate-related' concerns matter? Is ocean spear fishing a big deal? Do you prefer urban, suburban or rural living? If rural, how rural? Is weekly access to Starbucks or Thai or Indian food a thing?

Richard.
 
away from where hurricanes are.. oh wait, that is another state....

guess near an airport that flies to Florida....
Perfect solution!

No need to drive 12 hours from the panhandle to the keys crowding the highways and the south portion already has more people than the sewer system can handle.
I heard this week the State is back to receiving about 1000 people a day. Even Elon is having talks with the mayors of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, there's no telling how many more people that will be.
 
Jax area.
Good diving here.
2 hours to Cave country
4 hours to Panhandle
4 hours to Tampa
4 hours to S Fl
8 hours to Keys
2 hours to Savannah
4 hours to Charleston
6 hours to Murrells inlet or Little River
2 hours to MickeyTown
Cost of living is far better than S. Florida
Less chance of becoming a dinner item than Central Fl
Yep, North of JAX would be my ONLY consideration..the rest of Fla, YAWN! Key West was wonderful back in the 70-80's....no longer.
 
My dad lives in Palm Coast - it's a nice little area. The coastline north and south of there is very pretty and not congested. But do you want cold or warm water diving? Reef or wreck or what? You'll have to go down to Miami and the Keys for warm water diving in the summer/fall. Florida has beautiful beaches, but not in the Keys (not much anyway). We have friends who have a home on the west coast and love it - but I don't know about diving there.
My in-laws live in PC..its nice, especially Hammock Dunes, but after living in Volusia Co for 4 years (college), I'm done with Fla. To me, CZM would be a better choice!
 
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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