I live just outside of Jacksonville, FL! I like my location.
It means that I can entirely drive to all parts of FL to experience what they have to offer.
I have been to St! Octoberine, Tampa, St, and petersburg, Daytona, you name it. I recently started looking at Lakeland, FL. I wanted anywhere that was close to me, but weird than what I see on a morning to morning basis! Lakeland is about two hours and 45 minutes away from my house, a long drive but not unbearable. I kept looking at things to do in the section and liked what I saw. I like that there are tons of sites to shop, museums, parks, and gardens. I liked the look of the hotels and the pricing for everything, but what really sold me was the cool sites to eat, however there were all sorts of cafes, diners, pasta joints, and burger sites… Everything from nice dining to grabbing a quick bite to eat is offered there. I am a real food lover, no, I do not take pictures of my food, but I care about a good meal, then so after browsing all the great food and realizing there was a market I could buy from, I was on my partner to take me to Lakeland, FL. He is alway down to go anywhere close to home. The cost of our getaway is so much lower. My friend and I also know all the people will speak English, take our money and my friend and I can go house in a pinch. I also like knowing my friend and I are going to have great weather no matter what.