Pros:

• There are some fun foods to try because of the cultural influences in Florida: empanadas in Miami, lechon asado with plantains from Cuba, New York pizza, and Jewish matzo ball soup.
• There are people from all over the world including South America and Europe, so it’s easy to meet warm-hearted, open-minded, well-traveled friends.
• The blue-green water at the beach, inlets, intracoastal, and springs is truly spectacular and the tropical landscaping makes it very pretty.
• You can exercise outside pretty much every day as long as you time it well for mosquitoes and heat (8am, April-Dec) because there is no snow and it rarely drizzles, just rains for a short duration.
• The grocery stores, Publix, are clean and beautiful, and they carry many international items such as chocolate from England and guava paste.
• There is some European influence, such as quite a few French cafes, and a small few are authentic with good baguettes and pain au chocolat (Paris Bakery and Cafe in West Palm Beach is an example).

Cons:

• Smoking is allowed at parks, the beach, and outside at restaurants and coffee shops, and there are plenty of smokers. This can really ruin your experience just when you’ve settled down in a nice spot.
• There aren’t very many groovy/hippie/alternative people to see.
• Besides in hip areas like downtown Orlando, West Palm Beach, or Coral Gables, there aren’t many alternative coffee shops. You’re pretty much stuck with Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts (think: Cysteine), and Panera Bread.
• It’s flat! Your heart will do a little somersault of glee when you leave the state for a trip and see a hill or mountain.

More considerations, things that can’t be generalized about:

• There are quite a few gated communities or neighborhoods with no sidewalks. This doesn’t encourage exercise! However, there are some fantastic communities that have plenty of sidewalks and great walking.
• Some areas are more cosmopolitan than others. Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Delray, and Miami are fairly upmarket. Other areas like St. Augustine, the Panhandle, and small town areas like De Leon Springs have their fair share of overweight and unattractive people.
• If you’ve lived in extremely cold weather all your life and are used to being restricted to the indoors by the weather, Florida is less of an adjustment. Peeling sweat-drenched clothes off your body after going for a walk seems like a luxury after shoveling snow most of your life. The happiest people in Florida are the snowbirds who only stay for three months, and second happiest are the people from brutally cold places.