Florida is home to cities big and small! From the sky scrapers to the beach houses, from the rich to the poor each city is individual and spectacular in its own way!
FLORIDA BEACH LIFE:
As you drive down the east coast of Florida you can't help but notice the enormous beach houses that scatter the coast. Ocean front view, warm weather, it's no wonder anyone who's anyone would want to spend their winters warm on the beach. Gateways, long driveways and huge trees surrounded the houses, but as you peered through the windows of your car you sometimes can catch a glimpse of the giant homes that lie within.
The cities that home these mansions are complete with expensive restaurants and high-end boutiques. It's hard to image paying over a thousand dollars for a suit, but in these stores, that would be considered a deal! Everyone who walks by holds their heads high with their designer labels, and expensive BMW's. Most department stores even have Valet service!
It's not difficult to spot the other tourists in the area, who like us had their mouths hanging open as they went from gigantic house to house, store to store. It is also not uncommon to receive a downcast look from the locals as we gaped in awe at the price tags in our t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops. Every house makes you green with envy, every store filled with goods you can only dream about! It's a side of Florida you can't miss seeing. Just be careful not to break anything!
Beach sides on the west of Florida are not all so high end. Towns like Fort Myers are home to the everyday people of Florida. Some are wealthy while some poor. Large hotels and resorts decorate the beach. The white sandy beaches are filled with people swimming, surfing, playing volleyball, building sandcastles, and of course, sun tanning. The waters are full of boats out fishing, and setting traps for shellfish. The beach part of town is filled with shops to buy souvenirs, and the further uptown you travel the more you find lots and lots of outlet malls! You also get a sense of the average person's life. You can finally get a chance to see the schools, and the homes that aren't mansion size but just normal. Seafood restaurants cover the streets and food is expensive but delicious! The high-end cities have their own beauty but so do these "average" towns. It is worthwhile to see the contrast between both!
CITY LIFE:
Some of the larger cities are too big to all fit on the beach and as you head deeper and deeper into the heart of these large cities they become more and more like large cities everywhere else. Except for the scattered palm trees and the tanned inhabitants, cities large cities home the office buildings, shopping centrals, restaurants, hotel chains and bit city life! Although these cities do not show off the many unique parts of Florida it's always fun to stop for food and shopping!
The largest cities in Florida are, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St.Petersburg, Miami, Fort. Lauderdale and Tallahassee. Population ranges from 150,000 in Tallahassee to 800,000 in Jacksonville. Jacksonville and Miami both support the NFL teams Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. Florida also supports the Jacksonville Jags, Miami Heat, Miami Marlins and Florida Panthers.
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