10 Great Places to Retire on Florida’s East Coast
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 14, 2021 — One thing about Florida, it’s bigger than you think. Google Maps, which assumes no one ever has to stop for gas or a health break, figures it takes 12 hours and 20 minutes to drive from Pensacola to Key West. Looking for a great Florida place to retire on that trip takes you through many very different areas. Today we will travel to Florida’s Atlantic Coast, which is loaded with best places to retire. Our tour will start north and move south. See list of our other regional retirement tours at end.
The east coast of Florida, which runs from the Georgia border and ends in Key West, is fairly uniform. Most towns here have two components: a barrier island with a beach town, and the main town and bigger residential developments located across a causeway on the mainland. Its many bays and inlets provide great boating and waterfront living. It is very flat and very low; coastal flooding is here and it is getting worse.
Comments on "10 Great Places to Retire on Florida’s East Coast"
Brian says:
Hello:
My wife and I live in DC. We are looking for a warm and tax friendly state with good healthcare to retire. We belong to Kaiser and was informed that Kaiser is opening in NV. So, we will visit Las Vegas/Reno area in August and see how we like it there. We visit LV/Reno in the winter and like it since they are both closed to CA where most of friends and family members live.
One of the things we love to do is cruising. Thus, FL is our 2nd choice since we flew to Ft. Lauderdale several times to take cruises. Where do you think that we should visit around Ft. Lauderdale/Tampa in August to see if we could retire there: humidity, crime, hurricane, lack of good hospital, sink hole are our main concerns. My wife graduated from FSU, Tallahassee. It's too humid in the Summer for her. Probably, middle of FL to the south. Thank you.
Emily says:
Hello Brian. Just a note FYI. Middle to south Florida is just as humid, if not more so, than Tallahassee.
Jennifer says:
Hi Brian:
I live in NW DC and I too, am looking for a warm, yet seasonal state to retire to. Have you considered Georgia? It is very retiree and tax-friendly. I like Nevada as well, but please consider any future water issues that they may have. I lived in Egypt for a few years and found that I love the dryness of the desert, but water problems in the future would be a consideration as far as Nevada. It is hard to find as stimulating a place as where I live now with better weather. A few friends of mine have moved to New Mexico and Scottsdale, Arizona, and really enjoy both climates.
My Aunt lives in Naples, Florida, and loves it, but would strongly consider the east coast of Florida due to red tide issues and overgrowth of green algae every summer which contaminates the canals and the gulf. St. Augustine, Florida is very charming and would be one to look into. Personally, the snakes and large bugs deter me from Florida as well as the high humidity. I will follow your posts with interest.
Carl says:
Brian,
We live in Maryland 6 months and Punta Gorda, Florida on west coast for 6 months. Punta Gorda is a lovely small town on the peace river with plenty to do and fairly easy access to major cities. Punta Gorda is 2 hrs south of Tampa. We like Punta Gorda FL because it escapes the heavy traffic of Ft Myers/Naples to the south and Sarasota/Tampa to the north and misses most of the hurricanes..
If you check it out visit Burnt Store Marina, a lovely gated community with boating and golf. The disadvantage of Punta Gorda is it is not directly gulf front (beaches l hr away). We have and love Kaiser and it works OK for various appointments in Florida but we do worry how it would work in an emergency while in Florida. On the east coast of Florida we hear St John's near Jacksonville is developing beautifully. Hard decision. Good Luck.