Susan is right! I've lived in Tampa, Sarasota, Deerfield Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, & Jacksoville.

The west is the best, especially SARASOTA is a GREAT... small town feel...party central and/or a great place to raise a family, fantastic quality of life..low cost of living (unless you want to live out there in LongBoat Key but ther ar many other places). Unfortunately there are too few good jobs or I would be there tomorrow.

South Florida is full of miserable people if you like that type.

Jacksonville is okay but boring. Besides, we don't accept Boston Red Sox Fans here!

Yes the Marlins have such a "rich" tradition???

Hello Bostonian, speaking from a NY'ers point of view....I am a close-to-thirty yr old married professional who travels to the Florida area for business quite often. My office is located in Miami and although Beautiful (it's just too touristy for me)...I have family living in Fort Lauderdale in an upscale area...right on the beach. It is beautiful and has all the amenties one from the Boston/Ny area would wish for! I think you should consider looking at Fort Lauderdale.

Agree with Ft. Lauderdale and the east coast choice in general. Don't know what the "left coaster's" mean by "miserable people" in south Florida. I live in S. Florida and love it and have met plenty of fun and nice people. The Keys and the Bahamas are very close, there is NO comparison with the coastal waters, the restaraunts are great, real estate prices are appreciating faster ... and young professionals abound.

Bostonian,
Tallahassee would be my vote. Have to agree with Darren and Harry. If you have recently married,wanting to buy a home, big enough city with every choice imaginable, but not the hassle of a mega city, then Tallahassee is a great choice. The beaches in the panhandle area are far superior to anything further down in Florida, beaches are pure white in pandhandle and on most days the water is blue/green beautiful. AND IF in your future you plan to have children, I have two and we live in a university town, the opportunities associated with two universities in town (culturally and academically) are wonderful in Tallahassee.
Just my opinion of course, but if we ever left Tennessee to move to Florida, the outlying areas of Tallahasse and Pensacola(know it wasn't one of your choices) would be our first choices.

Another vote for Tallahassee! What a beautiful town. Ever gone up to the top of the State Capital? It shows a view of green as far as the eye can see. Millions of pines and oaks!

Also the demographics are great in Tally. Lots of educated people with great culture and communities for a city it size. The area around town is beautiful too.

I've lived in South Florida for 29 years. I hate the heat, I hate the swamps. I'm a northerner at heart -- being from NYC ---. The beaches from Palm Beach down to Miami-Dade are beautiful. The nightlife in the tri-county area is wonderful. The culture is wonderful - as I love to talk to people from different places. But, there are no seasons and it's all flat, swampland. Real estate prices are on the rise. Minimum of $300k+ for a really nice one bedroom condo by the beach (nice upscale areas in the beach). Keep in mind that living by the beach is not always enjoyable. Especially if you want to live near the happening areas like SoBe. Can get very, very crowded and annoying. So, if I had to choose, I'd choose a really nice condo on Brickell Avenue, which is near everything.

Just moved to Jacksonville for a job and so far it is great! Granted I have only been here a couplee of weeks but I did plenty of research before the move. I am a 30ish singletonwho moved from Nashville, TN. Jacksonville is so large though it really depends on what area you are talking about. I moved to the Southside (which is actually southeast of downtown) and I am about 15 min (25 min. in rush hour traffic) from downtown which is northwest of me. I am also about 20 min. from the beach anytime (it is straight west on Butler Boulevard). with about 750,000 people in the Duval County area alone, Jacksonville is built up enough to have plnty of good shopping and restaurnats and even a little culture to. Unlike the Miami area it is not a tourist destination but a real city to live in. also on the plus side is that we get less tropical storms/hurricanes than southern Florida and therefore it doesn't rain as much here. J-ville is known to be one of the sunniest cities in the US. One of my co-workers lives in a new condominium development at JAX beach (about 45-50 min. commute to downtown in rush hour). It is a 2br/2ba condo near the beach but without a view and she told me she paid $250 for it becasue she bought before the place was built so you get a lot for your money here. I am renting on a short term lease right now and looking to buy a townhome/condo in a few months but I will stay more in the city. Right now I am lookin at a new condo d3evelopment across the street from the Tinseltown complex on Southside Boulevard and a 2 br will be about $$165 if I buy in now while they are building!!!! that's great and BTW, Florida doesn't have a state income tax so you have about $3-400 extra dollars in your pocket each month as a result. Check J-ville out, it is a growng area of many young professionals.

Since you are from Boston, I would recommend Ft. Lauderdale. Lots of people of your ilk live there and you will fit it perfectly.