Florida's Coastal Areas
The description of Florida could be so easy: Florida is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Coast), the Florida Straits (Keys), and the Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Coast). But, how boring is that? Therefore, let us make it more complicated because.....
Florida has 11 different Coastal Areas
The "Redneck Riviera" is part of the Emerald Coast in the Florida Panhandle and includes Panama City and Panama City Beach. It is also called LA, which means Lower Alabama, and has nothing to do with California. This 100-miles long strip of surf and sand stretches along with Florida's Highway #98, one of Florida's most busy streets. It is a beautiful beach, though. Sugar white sand stands in contrast to an azure sea.
Of course, some beach areas are not so beautiful because the backdrop looks more like an industrial site (which it is), but there are still many sections of the beach where you can enjoy the white sand without any disturbing view.
So, what is happening at the Redneck Riviera? The Urban Dictionary (Ashton Summers, 1/10/2009) nails it pretty good:
"Home of the best spring breaks, water parks for the kids, tattoo parlors, beer joints, crab shacks, burger barns, and tee-shirt boutiques. Plus, more beach trash and trinkets than you can imagine. There are high-rise condominiums with beautiful drunk skinny girls on each floor. Panama City Beach makes tailgating at a NASCAR infield appear hoity-toity. The always-heavy beach traffic blend pick-up trucks, motorcycles, Mercedes Benz, SUVs, and Beamers. Perhaps that's the charm of PC Beach – it's so funky, it's fun."
Next comes the “Forgotten Coast.”
Forgotten Coast
Next comes the "Forgotten Coast." People call it "forgotten" because the area is still authentic Florida, and it's the last remaining stretch of unspoiled, pristine Gulf Coast beaches that high-rises and strip malls haven't overrun. Also, very few chain stores and hotels have invaded the coast.
The Forgotten Coast offers many activities for families with kids, though. Full of natural splendors and outdoor adventures, this historic area is Florida's best-kept secret. If the marketers continue marketing this spot, it will sooner or later not be too secret and "forgotten" anymore, but that happens to many unspoiled areas over time.
However, if you need it a little quieter, you might be better off with the "Forgotten Coast" beaches instead of the "Redneck Riviera ones. So, don't forget that this coast is there.
The Forgotten Coast includes the charming communities of Apalachicola, Alligator Point, Carrabelle, St. George Island & Eastpoint. Next comes the Nature Coast.
Nature Coast
"Nature Coast" is another informal, unofficial name for the coastal stretch south to the Tampa/St Petersburg Bay Area. Per definition, it includes eight counties, which are Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levey, Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco.
Marketers invented the name as part of a marketing campaign in the early 1990s. Crystal River, Homosassa, and Homosassa Springs are part of the region. Because the visitor will experience pure nature, the name "Nature Coast" is no overstatement. Next comes the Sun Coast. But that is a joke because there is no particular sunbeam pampering that beach section. We don't know who came up with that stupid idea.
Florida's Sun Coast
The Tampa area is referred to as the "Sun Coast." The term is not well defined and may or may not include the Cape Haze peninsula. It depends on who is using the name.
Again, this is only a local marketing name, nothing official. Although, it sounds great because it suggests that there is more sun in this part of Florida. It is not entirely misleading because this region has a clear advantage in the cooler winter months compared to the Panhandle. It is indeed warmer. Although, South Florida and the Key area stay a lot warmer when the Canadians send one of their cold spills towards us.
St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Tampa, Brandon, Ruskin, Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, Englewood, and Cape Haze are part of the "Sun Coast" region. Next comes the Cultural Coast.
Cultural Coast
The area around Sarasota and Venice is also called the "Cultural Coast." It is a haven for artists and musicians. This coastal area was and still is home to so many world-renowned artists that this name seems correctly selected.
The Cultural Coast is a subsection of the Sun Coast that includes the Beaches from Anna Maria Island down to Englewood's Stump Pass Beach Park. However, the elephant in the room is Sarasota with all the cultural activities it offers.
Lee Island Coast
Whoever invented the name "Lee Island Coast" tried hard to be creative. However, he didn't come up with a better solution than to borrow the county's name for that coastline.
It is far away from Genuity, but it works. The Lee Island Coast is made up of the coastal islands of Captiva and Sanibel. The coast also includes the cities of Fort Myers and Bonita Springs. Funny, with those beautiful islands included, they couldn't come up with a fancier name?
At certain times, it can be a little crazy down here, and islands always have their advantages and disadvantages. The biggest drawback is limited space, and Sanibel is pushing the envelope. The tiny island is sometimes so overcrowded that the fun falls by the wayside in season. It already costs you $6/day to cross the bridge and another $.75/hour to park your vehicle. After a 2-week beach vacation, you would own a substantial part of the island if that was an investment.
The Gold Coast
The first coastal area on the Atlantic coast is the "Gold Coast." Nope, it is not called so because people found a lot of gold in the water (like on the Treasure Coast); it got its name because the Real Estate market was so "golden" there.
Florida's Gold Coast stretches from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. Mainly Miami is a playground for the rich and famous. Unlike anywhere else in Florida, trendy restaurants and cafés and nightlife are the hallmark of the city that never sleeps. Of course, Miami is still not New York, but it tries hard to get as close as it can.
Celebrities from all over the world are coming to Miami. Some are only visiting; others are putting down roots by buying sophisticated and fancy properties. Many properties are in the two-digit million-dollar bracket; some are more affordable but don't expect anything in the low hundreds. A garden shed, maybe?
The Treasure Coast
Space Coast
“Space Coast” – what could be a better name for the stretch of beach in front of the Kennedy Space Center? Space Coast is around Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The Mercury and Apollo programs wrote history; the space shuttle flew into orbit from here, too. At this point, only satellites are launched from the space center; astronauts are still departing from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Russian rockets. But that might change soon.
First Coast or Historic Coast
