Talk to me about Florida...

[arch]

Tampa has BOATLOADS of golf courses... off the top of my head public courses within 20 minutes of my location:

Pebble Creek
Heritage Isles
The Claw
Rodgers Park
Babe Zaharias
Plantation Palms
Temple Terrace
Terrace Hills
Westchase

There is tons of private clubs around too... Check out the "New Tampa" area

[Shindig]

Shindig, Gainesville is a college town in a rural setting. But it is a large college town. Nuf said.

That sounds fantastic. I may need to visit there before too long.

As far as a salary. Subtract what you pay for state income taxes, from your yearly expenses. And if that makes you happy that same amount

The problem is that I'm in school at the moment, so my annual income is pretty low; I think my 2009 income came out to around $30K. Also, it seems a bit odd to estimate cost of living somewhere else based on Los Angeles which is... well, pricey. But certainly, an amount that would make me comfortable in Los Angeles should translate to other places, especially with my desire to avoid big cities.

Also, do I seem to understand that golf in Florida is expensive in winter, but cheap in summer? Kind of like Palm Springs. Is it feasible to have 8AM tee times in the winter without breaking the bank?

[Fozcycle]

Also, do I seem to understand that golf in Florida is expensive in winter, but cheap in summer? Kind of like Palm Springs. Is it feasible to have 8AM tee times in the winter without breaking the bank?

Winter rates are higher because the Snowbirds are in Florida for the winter........it's the old supply & demand theory in Economics....

In the Summer Time the rates are very low and the courses are very hot.

[mfgorilla]

My parents moved town to florida last june to The Villages and they love it. There are something like five or six "championship" courses and twenty executive courses there. Visited last week and it feels like I played more last week than I did all last year.

[The Dark Lefty]

Jacksonville has many golf courses to choose from. Not only is it home to the PGA Tour Headquarters, it is also home of the World Golf Hall of Fame in St Augustine. There are many golf courses in different price ranges you could play here. Everybody knows about TPC Sawgrass, but there are many other great less expensive courses that you can play in the area. And the Georgia Border is only 25 minutes from Downtown. The climate is great. The people are great and housing is not too expensive. In fact, I think Jacksonville has the least expensive housing prices of all the major cities in Florida. And I do know that the standard of living is cheaper here than in Miami, Orlando or Tampa. We are centrally located (5 hrs from Miami, 5 hrs from Atlanta, 5 hrs from Myrtle Beach, 2 hrs from Orlando and 3 hrs from Tampa) so most of the places you can go is driving distance from here. Just watch out for Gators because they are everywhere. I think they all come from Gainesville.

See sig for list of courses in the Jacksonville Area.

[Fatphil]

Just watch out for Gators because they are everywhere. I think they all come from Gainesville. :doh

Gainsville is filled with murders, rapists, child molesters and devil worshipers....and Urban Meyer who is the antichrist.

GO 'NOLES!!!

[meenman]

One thing you did not tell us is if you have to work or not.

If you are retired it opens up a ton of options, but I can tell you the economy in central Florida is alot worse than it is in alot of the rest of the country. Slavery is alive and well in Florida - but you cant put all the blame on the employers - if it wasnt for all the transplants down here there would be no work ethic at all.

[dukivich10]

Ft. Myers and Naples are loaded with public and private courses. I grew up on the east coast(Ft. Laud & Miami), but would never move back. The west coast is way more laid back. Personally, i am a member at a course in Ft. Myers. It has over 40 reciprocals during the summer. There are plenty of quality public courses, plus a good amount of the private courses open up during the off season.

[jetsknicks1]

Have been considering a move to a warmer year round climate and Florida is on the radar. However, I have no idea what areas in Florida I should be looking at? Which places/cities in Florida are ideal for year round golf? I would rather have numerous public courses to choose from than 1-2 private clubs to join if that makes sense. I just want some opinions on which areas of Florida are golf hot spots and please be as specific as possible. Thanks!

I live in Ocala, which is in north central Fl. There are a ton of courses around here and Orlando is only an hour away.