Is it better to live in North Florida or South Florida?
I prefer
South Florida
because it’s more urban than North Florida.
However, the choice depends on what you want in a region.
The most significant features
Florida has are warm beaches
, exciting attractions, and beautiful weather.
There are many
things for you to explore and experience in Florida
, but the question is, where do I start?
Although Florida is a big state, it can be segmented into regions, North, South, and Central.
Each of the regions is distinct, but for this article, we are going to focus on the features that make
North Florida
and South Florida different from each other.
Is it better to live in North Florida or South Florida?
North
Florida is a good place to live
because it offers low sales tax and no income tax.
In addition, it is a more rural place to live and life is slower than South Florida.
You may be dreaming of
paying a visit to Florida
, or you may be nursing the dream of living in the Sunshine state, and you must have been worried about the difference between these regions.
There are big cities and small towns in both North and
South Florida
.
They both have rich historic pasts and nice spots that will get your attention attracted to visit or live in.
North Florida vs South Florida
North Florida and
South Florida
are directional regions of Florida.
The distance between them is about 447 miles.
Both regions have characteristics that make them distinct.
North
Florida has northern features and South Florida
has southern features, unique to themselves.
The most pronounced features they have are:
History
The people from Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia were the first people to settle in North Florida between the late 1800s and early 1900s.
On the other side, it was when Henry Flagler ran his railroad to the
Florida Keys
that South Florida became a habit.
The first people that lived there were retirees and Cuban refugees that migrated to America after the 1969 revolution.
Geography
The topographies of both regions are almost opposite.
There are more pronounced terrains such as Ocala
and Tallahassee
in North Florida while the terrain of South Florida is flat and it has many high-rise buildings.
North Florida
The
land area of North Florida
starts from Ocala and runs to the border between Alabama and Georgia.
Its population is concentrated in Jacksonville.
Tallahassee, the capital of Florida is more similar to Georgia than other regions of Florida.
In the same manner, there are similarities between panhandle cities and Alabama.
South Florida
South Florida starts from the Palm Beaches and runs southward, through the keys, along the Atlantic Coast.
If you take a close look at the population of North or South Florida, you will discover that Broward Counties and Miami-Dade have high populations.
There are many similarities between the southern side of Broward and the
Caribbean
.
Broward has a more tropical
climate like the Caribbean and does not look like the rest of Florida
.
There is a large number of Haitians, Columbians, and Cubans living in South Florida.
That is the reason the region is called ‘New York South’.
Weather
The weather in North Florida is more temperate than the weather in South Florida.
Winter in North Florida is colder and is at an annual average of about 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is cooler than it is in South Florida.
Summer is warmer in the South.
The south is regularly visited by hurricanes, but the hurricane is not common in the North.
The south has a lot of sinkholes too.
Culture
The difference between the culture of South and North Florida is like the difference between night and day.
There is an active nightlife in South Florida, for both young and old.
The culture of the south still varies in a place like Miami because of the people’s ethnic background and accent diversity, most of them being Spanish.
Miami gives South Florida an international image because it is seen as the gateway to
Central America
.
Life in North Florida is very rural.
The daily activities in that region move at a very slow pace, with the exemption of Tallahassee and Jacksonville.
The people of the region have a pronounced culture of courtesy, which may be because of their closeness to Southern America.
Attractions
The economy of South Florida is heavily dependent on tourism, this may be the reason the region has famous destinations
such as the Bahamas
, Everglades, and Biscayne Bay.
The region is home to Naples Botanical Gardens, for lovers of nature.
In this garden, there are thousands of plant species.
Another spot you will meet nature at its best in South Florida is the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium which is located in Fort Meyers.
This place is a must-visit.
This center is home to beautiful butterflies and many birds like eagles and hawks.
The economy of North Florida is more diverse because of its many agricultural and rural areas.
The region has nice tourist destinations like Daytona and Emerald Coasts, but it invests more in education.
The Tallahassee Museum in
Florida’s capital and the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville
are good examples.
As you concentrate on the attractions in North and South Florida you will be able to avoid the usual crowd North Florida is known for.
You can go exploration of the Suwanee
Wilderness River Trail in White Springs or you can go swimming at the Madison Blue Springs
, which is a 20-minute drive from Suwannee River State Park.
The traffic situation in North Florida is lighter.
The region does not have many taxis or Uber rides.
Gas stations in the region are 10 miles apart from each other.
A Walmart store can be located 30 miles away.
Final Thoughts
What does it cost to live in North or South Florida?
It is cheaper to live in North Florida because its cost of living is 4% less than the national average cost of living.
The following factors are responsible for the low cost of living in the region.
The cost of utility is lower by 3%, and transportation and healthcare are lower by 2% respectively.
The cost of living in a place like
Miami in South Florida
is about 147 when compared to the national average of 100.
The factors responsible for this rate are groceries 111, housing 221, and transportation 141.
FAQs
Is North Florida cheaper than South Florida?
Yes, Living in North Florida is cheaper than living in South Florida.
It cost 4% less than the national average cost of living to live in North Florida.
So it is relatively more affordable.
Is North Florida hotter than South Florida?
Yes, In some
North Florida cities
like Tallahassee, Pensacola, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach, the annual average temperature ranges between 60 and 92 degrees.
On the other hand, some
South Florida
cities like Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Fort Myers, and Key West record an annual relatively lower average temperature of between 70 and 92 degrees.
Which side of Florida is warmer?
The temperature gets warmer as you go south during the winter months.
You will get the warmest water in cities like Fort Lauderdale, Miami, the Keys, Marco Island, and Naples during the winter.
However, the Gulf of Mexico gets warmer by five or more degrees than the Atlantic Ocean during summer.