Buy stock in a bug spray company, Off! is your friend.
Do NOT feed the gators. Ever.
“but not too terribly humid because you’re by the ocean.”
::snort::
Um, yeah, right. You can expect 80% humidity most of the time.
You’ll get front row seats (relatively) for shuttle launches, which is an excessively cool event to witnes. I went to Cocoa for the Launch that John Glenn went up in and it’s still one of the best things I’ve ever done. Of course I’m a space fanatic, so YMMV.
Food: hope you like seafood. There’s plenty of it, not cheap but FRESH. Yum. There’s also tons of fresh fruit around. You might even luck out and find a place to live with a citrus tree or two on your property. Mmmm. Warm Grapefruit.
Probably not a lot to do for young people. There’s some clubs and some decent shopping, but that part of Florida is all about the nature. Cape Canaveral is a giant nature preserve – keep your eyes peeled for Bald Eagles. They’re all over the place down there. There’s always the beach, if you like that, but always use sunscreen. Minimum SPF 15 always. Invest in some really good polarized sunglasses as well. You’ll even wear them in winter.
Weather: It does get cold there in winter, sometimes, but it’s not too bad, especially if you’re coming from a northern climate. Your first winter will not even seem like “cold” until you get more acclimatized. (Now that I’ve lived in Florida for 10 years, 65 degrees feels cold to me. In Ohio, I used to wear shorts when it was 65 outside. Now I put on a sweater and turn on the heat!)
You will not need a winter coat, gloves, hats or boots. You can throw your snow/ice scraper away. Or keep it as a souvenir from your northern days.
Hurricane season is June 1 - November 30. Watch the Weather Channel during those months and if anything bigger than a Category 2 comes your way, get out of dodge. If you’re told to evacuate… do it.
Speeding: On the freeways, the speed limit is generally 70. I tend to drive around 80MPH and have never gotten a speeding ticket on the freeway. Most people under 65 tend to drive well over the speed limit. In town speed limits are sort of more like a suggestion than an enforced law.
As for living, stick to Cocoa Beach/Melbourne areas and avoid The Mouse’s neighborhood. You’ll see why once you wander over to Orlando once or twice.
And no matter what parts of my advice you choose to follow or ignore, please try to do one thing: rent Sunshine State. Great movie, and it really does show you how some Floridians live. The rich ones and the not-so-rich ones.
Enjoy. I’m a bit jealous. That’s a wonderful part of the state to be in.