Florida is in the Southeastern region of the United States. Alabama is to the west and north, and Georgia is to the north.
The rest of Florida is bordered by water. To the west, Florida’s coasts are along the Gulf of Mexico. To the east, the coasts are along the Atlantic Ocean.
Where is Florida on a US map?
Florida is in the bottom right of a US map and is bordered mostly by water. The peninsula part of Florida is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Florida Panhandle is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama, and Georgia. Florida does not touch Mississippi, as the tail of Alabama borders the western edge of the Florida panhandle.
Florida’s panhandle is also recognizable from space!
Interesting Facts about Florida
Florida was admitted to the United States on March 3, 1845 as the 27th State. It is now the third most populous state after California and Texas, and it is also the twenty-second largest.
It is called the Sunshine State because it has consistently warm weather, though it is not always sunny.
Interestingly, the Sunshine State gets a lot of rain and does experience hurricane seasons yearly. Florida has a tropical climate given its position relative to the equator.
Florida is the only state in the forty-eight contiguous states where you can watch the sunrise on the eastern shores and then drive and watch the sunset on the western shores.
The Sunshine State is also one of only a handful of states to be situated in two different time zones. The peninsula and the eastern portion of the panhandle are in Eastern Time, while the western portion of the panhandle is in Central Time.
Notably, Florida does not require the average person to file income taxes. Most of its state revenue comes from taxes on tourism, and toll roads.
Alligators are common in Florida but Florida loves its alligators. So much so that the University of Florida’s mascot is an alligator.
Florida Capital City
Florida’s capital city is Tallahassee, though its largest city is Jacksonville, and its largest metropolitan area is Miami.
Tallahassee is in Leon County and is an educational hub for both the state of Florida and the United States.
Tallahassee became the capital in 1824, when Florida was still a territory. It remains the capital today.
Reasons to Visit Florida
Florida is a popular destination state for tourists. Florida is perhaps most known for being the home of Walt Disney World.
Florida also hosts the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Everglades National Park, Key West, and Miami Beach.
Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista consists of four distinct theme parks.
These theme parks include: Magic Kingdom – the stereotypical Disney Experience; EPCOT – full of both technological advancements and also a homage to different places of the world; Hollywood Studios – a love letter to both the Film Industry and also the home of the thematic Star Wars area; and Animal Kingdom – where you can see many wild animals of the world.
Disney World also features water parks, a golf course, over twenty distinctly themed resort hotels, among other attractions. WDW is visited by people all over the world annually.
In addition to Walt Disney World, the Orlando area features Sea World, Universal Orlando, and Legoland. Tampa is home to Busch Gardens.
In general, Florida’s beaches are full of turquoise and emerald colored waters. Key West, Clearwater, and South Beach are only a few of the hundreds of beautiful beaches Florida has to offer.
Beach towns are visited year round given the temperate weather persists even in the winter months.
The Everglades is a hugely diverse landscape full of estuaries, forests, jungles, prairies, and swamps. There is nothing else like it in the country.
There is so much wildlife to see that you could spend days there and not see it all.
The Kennedy Space Center is a great place to go and see space flight simulators and learn more about space and space flight.
Outside of the beaches and the theme parks, Florida is full of places to hike, boat, canoe, camp, bike, fish, scuba dive, and zipline.
When it comes to boating specifically, you have your choice of the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean – assuming your boat is seaworthy – plus lakes and rivers.
Florida thrives on tourism, which is its largest source of state revenue.
Reasons to move to Florida
Florida has relatively dry winters and autumns with wet springs and summers. The temperature is mild year round with only occasional cold fronts. Conversely, the temperature is rarely seen over 100 degrees.
The humidity dictates the seasons more than the temperature does.
Frost sometimes occurs in the northwestern parts of the panhandle.
But in general, the weather is amazing year round. You can get rid of all the heavy winter clothes and instead make do with a sweater and a windbreaker to offset the swimsuits and summer dresses.
It is very easy to retire to Florida. In fact, the state has paperwork you can fill out if you intend to retire there and you get certain benefits like being able to register your vehicles there.
Florida also has a lot of finances dedicated to social welfare, health, and hospitals, with assistance programs for the disabled and elderly.
If you live in Florida, you will find that you get many discounts to the local attractions that only people with Florida addresses can benefit from. Additionally, Florida’s average cost of living is very affordable compared to other US states.
Plus, it’s also not impossible to get beach or lakefront property. Florida has many cheaper cities to buy waterfront property in.
Here are some things to consider if you are planning on moving to Florida.
- Make sure you have plenty of sunscreen
- Buy some rainy weather gear
- Be prepared to evacuate if you’re in an evacuation zone for hurricanes
- Beaches are not just for the summer, you can go there year round
Conclusion
With the combination of no state income tax, great weather year round, so many amusement parks, and amazing beaches, Florida is a great place to move to.
And if moving there is something you are not interested in, Florida is still a fantastic place to visit.
