I've only been in Florida for 7 years and barely know my way around the Tampa area, but I've had occasion to drive through the Panhandle twice now and... yeah. Not my cup of tea.
I've talked to a LOT of Floridians and I ask this question a LOT. "Are you from Florida?"
The answer is either an emphatic, "Oh, no!" with a quick answer of where they are from OR
a slightly dejected, "yeah..."
Because, and I mean absolutely NO offense by this... but most native Floridians are just slightly off. And every native Floridian I've talked to has readily admitted it. Maybe it's being bitten by Florida mosquitoes all ones life or being tricked into eating Florida avocados (shudder) instead of REAL avocados aka Haas or having to mow your grass twice a week in summer. I dunno.
Life's different here. I like it. I really do.
Oh, one other thing. The people here are in general really friendly. Until they get into their cars... Then?
Tailgaters. I dunno what it is, but I've been to more than 30 states and to Mexico as a kid and China and Hong Kong and I've NEVER seen so many people tailgate as they do here. Every single person who's from somewhere else has said, unprompted, that the drivers here are the worst.
I didn't experience that in LA (although, LA drivers do suck when the water does finally deign to fall from the sky). I didn't experience that in PA. Didn't experience that in any of the states we drove through. Only in FL...and consistently.
As you can tell, there are plenty of folks who can help with info about areas and other resources. As with any relocation, once you have a better idea, certain things will be important.
For one, if you're coming to Florida, make sure you have all of your documentation BEFORE YOU MOVE. A lot of states won't send your Birth Certificate to an address not on your DL and if you've moved, it creates a dilemma (my dad is in that spot now. He moved to FL and doesn't have the embossed certified copy, the only one the state will accept, and PA won't send it to him in FL. Gotta love all this crap to prevent voter fraud...) Anyway, Florida is one of the toughest states in the nation to register to vote, and to deal with initial documentation after a move as my mom found out when she moved here. She actually had all of her stuff, but she STILL had issues because they insisted that she have ALL of her marriage licenses (3 marriages). And this was just to get a Driver's License.
Thankfully, that's probably the least fun hurdle.
There are important details when looking for a place like is it in a flood plain? (Flood Insurance is a MASSIVE deal in FL)
Is the house construction all Cinder Block? (most insurance companies will ding construction of wood frame after a certain amount of time. Not all, but some and with how companies come and go here, a homeowner could end up with Citizen's, the state owned insurance company going from paying 1-2k to 6k for homeowners insurance.)
The farther south you go, the greater the hurricane ratings mandates are on everything which add expense (say, to replace a window or fix a roof)
Lastly, almost everyone keeps a golf umbrella in their car. Golf umbrella. Graphite shaft. Central Florida is the most active lightning spot on the planet other than the Serengeti so the last thing you want to do when trying to stay dry is be walking through some deluge holding a big metal stick.
