Best parts of Florida for living (on land) and sailing/cruising hobby?

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by schmidla

I'm 33, single, and like to sail...but I live in Wisconsin on Lake Michigan and we have a pretty short period of time to sail in warm weather. Most of my other hobbies also require warm weather like hiking, kayaking, biking, etc.

I can work remotely from anywhere with an internet connection, so I'm thinking of relocating to somewhere in Florida either full time or only part of the year (ex. might keep my apartment here and split my months between WI and FL). I would be living in a normal apartment, not on a boat.

** For now I'm restricting my search to just FL even though I know Cali would also be a good choice. **

SO anyways, this brings me to my questions:

1. What parts of Florida have good opportunities for sailing and cruising? If there's an active waterfront area with walking, jogging, biking, green scenery, vibrant community, beaches, etc then that would also be a plus!

The gulf coast looks nice, but I've read that the cruising can be limited since you're just restricted to going up and down the coast. I'm not sure if I'd do much more than that anyways, but still something to take into consideration. Which leads me to...

2. Is the Atlantic coast going to be much different if I'm only looking at shorter cruises from a few days to maybe a week at a time?

3. What does the sailing season look like? Is it year round? Does hurricane season = no sailing, or just increased caution?

Opportunities to sail in challenging conditions (while still being able to have calm and relaxing sailing) would potentially be a plus, because I'd like to gain experience that I can use for longer and more challenging cruising in the future.

Any suggestion or advice is appreciated. Since I'm young-ish and single I would want to avoid areas that are mostly retired folk (nothing against you all, but I need to have a dating life!).

Thanks

All Florida has mostly retired "folk". Don't worry-they wont hurt you.

[carlosproa]

Given your age, I will recommend Miami as it is a big city and many things to do, many tribes and cultures. You want to have the boat south of the Miami River to access Biscayne bay, the upper keys are 1/2 day sail, middle keys longer in either side, key west 3 days, Bimini Bahamas is 8 hours or less.
Now I know I am generalizing, but the east coast of South Florida has a NE culture like NYCn Jersey, Boston. The west coast of Florida is more Midwest from Tampa south to Naples, the pan handle of Fla is commonly known as the redneck riviera. Not sure a midwestern will do well there. I happen to love the grit of the people. And forgot the keys - basically a bunch of transplants from everywhere, although I continue to see a lot of people from the CO, NM, AZ region.

The west coast of FL can have some wicked currents and passes, is shallow, and not fun when a storm is happening as the waves are short and steep, and can be very hot in the summer as the wind will come from the east and is heated up by the land.
NE Florida is very interesting and diverse.

At the end, come to Miami, is more expensive but worth your while

[Knot Fast]

I moved from Madison to St Petersburg 2 years ago and have loved the change. St Pete has a young vibe. Very active sailing club. I live aboard at the Municipal Marina, largest in FL (I think) with 640 slips along the downtown waterfront park. ~20% live aboards and economical. You could prolly rent a boat at the marina to live aboard. Might not be a reliable sailer, through....
Growing up, I was never that impressed with FL. Then 3 years ago I saw it from the water. Wow!

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by Knot Fast

I moved from Madison to St Petersburg 2 years ago and have loved the change. St Pete has a young vibe. Very active sailing club. I live aboard at the Municipal Marina, largest in FL (I think) with 640 slips along the downtown waterfront park. ~20% live aboards and economical. You could prolly rent a boat at the marina to live aboard. Might not be a reliable sailer, through....
Growing up, I was never that impressed with FL. Then 3 years ago I saw it from the water. Wow!

My daughter is finishing college at USFSP. What a gem of a little town! I agree there is lots to do in a small area. Lots of safe sailing grounds for day sailing.

[PineyWoodsPete]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Area around Panama City would be good, largely because of a younger crowd, and unless you have a few weeks off, your not really going very far anyway. It’s cheaper, but more Redneck.
Fort Lauderdale would work, but may be more than you can afford, don’t know your budget of course, just a guess.
Tampa bay is good also.
Hurricanes if your living shore are more of a nuisance to evacuate than anything, secure the boat the best you can, and leave. They rarely sneak up on you, but it has happened, Michael that destroyed Panama City grew so fast it was the same as sneaking up.

I've sailed on Panama City's beautiful, large, complex Saint Andrew Bay since the early 60's, from a family vacation home, and lived on a canal in the west part for seven in the past with my restored Herreshoff Meadowlark 37 leeboard ketch in the backyard. Predictable SW bay and coastal warm seabreeze in the summer, easy Gulf access, and world-class white sand, chick-magnet beaches. Not to mention the lovely anchorages and destinations both to E. and W. on the ICW. We've sailed the entire E and W coasts of FL (and USA) and this is where I'll eventually return.

Forget the CA coast if warm air and water are in your plans! I've lived on wide-open Monterey Bay past 12 years, spent two with the Marines in coastal S. CA way back, had three boats. In a word, sailiing/boating on the Bay (or SF Bay) doesn't hold a candle to PC. Life-threatening water temps year round for the whole USA W. coast, and few all-weather protected waters or anchorages between SF Bay and San Diego Bay.

The prevailing 15-25kn NW summer winds here build after noon, and with the usual 5-7' swells and 2-3' wind waves make for an often wet and cold experience without good cockpit protection, and rough ride for all. Coastal passages are best done in the Spring and Fall - particularly going N. where night passages are the best bet in a sailboat.

[Jolly Roger]

Anyone voluntarily wanting to come and live in Florida at the moment must be mad! Have they not heard of Covid-19?
We are trying to get out of the place on our boat—as fast as possible. Trouble is, nobody wants us.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by geoleo

All Florida has mostly retired "folk". Don't worry-they wont hurt you.

Most of the people who retire to Florida are wrinkly and they lean on a crutch!

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Anyone voluntarily wanting to come and live in Florida at the moment must be mad! Have they not heard of Covid-19?
We are trying to get out of the place on our boat—as fast as possible. Trouble is, nobody wants us.

Think of it as a classic Darwinian evolution process.
It is true cases are up. I suspected I caught COVID in February, probably a week before the warnings were given. But it was next to impossible to get tested due to insane long lines. Finally got tested for antibodies two weeks ago and yep, positive all in my household except my daughter who we picked up from college 3 weeks after we got sick.

Depending where you live people are more cavalier but the results do not correlate. Miami-Dade is generally conservative with a large Hispanic population and people have followed for the most part the stay at home policy and wearing masks. Broward/Ft Lauderdale generally speaking has more relaxed rules and countless of demonstrations against wearing masks. However the rate of infection for both counties are about the same. So there is more to it than we probably know today. People forget that eyes mucus also is a conduit for infection.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Anyone voluntarily wanting to come and live in Florida at the moment must be mad! Have they not heard of Covid-19?
We are trying to get out of the place on our boat—as fast as possible. Trouble is, nobody wants us.

We are in Port Canaveral as well and almost ready to sail off to the Bahamas. I’m sure they would welcome you as well

[Ndavies]

I live on the northern Gulf Coast - I am not telling you where as that is the best kept secret........and enough people are already finding this place!! lol. But if you take a look at my blog, you can easily figure it out.

If access to sailing is your main motivation, then this area is very hard to beat, with easy access to the Gulf and beyond, many protected bays, barrier islands, and great anchorages within a few hours of our home. We just completed a "Forgotten Coast" sailing trip and will post a video on YouTube within the next few days. I have sailed the entire Florida Coast searching for the perfect place for me......and found it here. Yes, the hurricane threat is the downside, but if you have watched Florida in general and the south-eastern US, that risk exists virtually everywhere in this area. You just have to have a plan.

[gonesail]

if you are relying on the marina WIFI beware .. lots of them have questionable internet that is unreliable. unless you have spent a summer in Florida you might want to think about that as well. there is at least 6 months of searing heat to deal with. I would recommend St. Petersburg on the west coast of Florida.

[Jolly Roger]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

We are in Port Canaveral as well and almost ready to sail off to the Bahamas. I’m sure they would welcome you as well

We would love to go there, but there’s a double whammy. If the virus don’t get you a hurricane might. I’m thinking Bermuda or Belize, but knowing our luck we would get clobbered at either place.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

We would love to go there, but there’s a double whammy. If the virus don’t get you a hurricane might. I’m thinking Bermuda or Belize, but knowing our luck we would get clobbered at either place.

I don’t get that... in the Bahamas, Covid is after you? Covid in the Bahamas is nothing compared to Florida. If a hurricane comes, you move away from it. In Port Canaveral the risk is not much less... if at all.

[Knot Fast]

New Cat on our dock sailed in from Bahamas. He said he and wife got CV there, as did a lot of their sailing community. I said I read Bahamas only had 12 cases (at that time). He guessed they only had 12 tests.

FL has 1350 miles of coast line and 67 counties. There is incredible diversity throughout FL, and the CV status is unique to each area. State-wide mandates are few (Senior Homes), leaving county and city governments to determine what is best locally. I was tested in St Pete (Pinellas County); waited 15 minutes for a Quest antibody test, results in 18 hours. For me, personal responsibility is prime. Has any government in history ever managed a pandemic well? I do not expect this.

[Group9]

We lived in south Florida for three years. It really is a boater's paradise.

It's just so darned crowded, we couldn't take it, and moved to the gulf coast.

Every time we head to the Bahamas, and we are in south Florida on the way there, I look around and think, "Why did we ever leave here? It's beautiful".

Then, we rent a car to go the store, and in half an hour, I remember why!