Hurlabrick

Who do people here use to book winter rentals in Florida?

Thinking about breaking next winter up with a 4 - 6 week rental in Jan / Feb in Florida for 2 adults.

Almost Canadian

Vacation Rental by Owner. We use them all over north America and I have never had an issue.

dbd33

I'm insulted that you think us to be the kind of people who would do such a thing.

airbnb doubtless offers doublewides in Florida.

BristolUK

I was looking at the temperatures earlier. 30/35 with the feels like today but a few degrees cooler the rest of the week.

Just out of curiosity is there anywhere in Florida easy to get to from an airport (no car hire) and where everything (shops, bars, restaurants, beach, park, cinema) is close together (on foot) like one might find in so many European places like Corfu, Kos and Rhodes Towns, Chania, Juan-les Pins, Nice, Nerja and so many more? Even (gasp) Benidorm (not that I've been, only passed through )

I look at pictures and some of the views from the apartments are nice enough but apart from that it just seems to be similar buildings and an enormous road outside.

BristolUK

Have you been here long enough to need a break in winter?

Almost Canadian

Miami

scrubbedexpat091

Miami is the only place I can think of, most of the state is not desirable anyhow.... Miami area is nice though, and unless going to theme parks Orlando is pretty boring...

I always find So. Florida too warm and humid.

Partially discharged

Yeah..that place is called europe. Florida is designed around the car and if it weren't for central AC the place would not be developed as it is.

This is what most of Florida looks like to me.

https://goo.gl/maps/qzpAfYQnN7E2

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/02/...iles-of-roads/

I'm not a big fan of Florida as the best bits (Everglades/Keys) are relatively small in comparison to the Orlando and Naples ugliness.

Hurlabrick

No, just thinking ahead for next year is all.

We have just been through one of the harshest winters in many years in Ottawa and survived with sense of humour intact! Hell, we even walked to the local tavern one night in -20C air temp and I swear of the 15 or so people in the bar, 75% were Brits!

Pulaski

Bits of it might be, but much of it is unremarkable, or undesirable. Some parts are dangerous. The nice parts are expensive.

Just about everywhere in Florida is stretched out, separated by unwalkable distances or joined by roads without sidewalks and/or that you would have to be suicidal to try to cross. Most of everywhere in Florida is spectacularly ugly too - totally unremarkable, strip malls and low-rise sprawl.

Outside of Miami, the best you could usually hope for is one or two restaurants within walkable distance of an apartment complex, but without a car you would get bored of eating there very quickly.

BristolUK

It never looks like it on "CSI Miami Vice" or in any pictures I see. It seems masses of green separated by stretches of water, miles of hotels and soulless suburbia

Is there somewhere in Miami that has something like this (first picture) all within 5 or 10 minutes walk of your apartment?

South Beach looks quite a bit more promising. I could stay at The Ritz-Carlton and pretend I was in Cannes.

It definitely looks more than I've seen before.

BristolUK

I'd be absolutely delighted to have a month in Europe near the sea - even what I imagine Benidorm to be - to break up winter but there's quite a significant difference in the cost of getting there compared to Florida and for the weather I'm seeing currently it would need to be somewhere like The Canaries and cost even more.

Siouxie

Key West, perhaps? I've heard the Old Town in particular is pedestrian friendly.

BristolUK

Some winters there might be long frigid periods, some with extended 'plus' temperatures, some with a single record snowfall, but less overall, some with more snow overall but it doesn't seem like it and all sorts of variations. I'm sure it's the same for everyone.

But the one constant (whether it's s doddle, like this one, or like 2014-15) is the wish to be able to break it up, like you want to.

It's good that you're thinking it already. It took me a few years

Do you know the South Beach area? It looks nice enough.

From my point of view it wouldn't be "the typical holiday" so much as just moving "home" for a month.

BristolUK

Now that looks civilised