http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,0.158615&z=13
The Villages is a mega, planned retirement city just north of where I live. It's like Disney World for retirees. Some people like that, some don't. I am a native Floridian. Grew up and went to High School in Fort Lauderdale. Went to UF in Gainesville. Lived in Tampa and Lakeland for a few years. And now live outside of Orlando. If I could pick one place to live in the state I would by a hunk of land in Ocala by the horse farms. If I HAD to live in South Florida (read: SE Florida), which I would avoid, I would live in Jupiter in the "Jupiter Farms" area. That's still "north" South Florida. In Tampa, I would stick to the north side of town. Gainesville is a very nice town. The St Augustine area is nice as well.