West Coast isn't technically an ocean - it's the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the best beaches - wide white sand. Likely less surf and possibly not as breezy. Not sure if that matters to you, but I thought I'd point it out just in case. I'm not familiar with the north/central area, so .....no suggestions.

Perhaps I should have used "beach" instead of "ocean", comment is appreciated.

Wasn't trying to be "all that" - just didn't know if you intend to take up surfing.

I'm partial to the Withlacoochee River ... I always thought Yankeetown was a sweet little town ... and had thoughts of moving there at one time ... having a little house on the river with a big yard.

Check out areas along the St. John's river. Many small towns and access to Atlantic.

Astor is one area, very quiet and pretty and about mid way between coasts.

You might check out Dunnellon.

Yes yes yes, what she said!

Prioritize your list - what is most to least important? Is the water worth all the hassle? I would NEVER live near the ocean! Yes, what sultry says, check FEMA flood zone maps (while you are at it, check sinkhole maps). Are there certain kinds of things you want to grow, being a gardener? FL ranges from zones 8-11, so palms will grow everywhere, but north FL is more peaches/pecans/pine and south FL is more tropical. Is growing things more/less important than water location?

If you are rural, are you ok with well/septic? Spotty services like Internet and occasional power outages?

If cost is an issue, you should consider not only the purchase price, but insurance costs are very high here too - the cheapest insurance is generally north (http://articles.onlineautoinsurance.com/auto-insurance-quotes/florida-car-insurance-locations/ - kind of follows property insurance as well). And you might want to consider crime too - it is surprising how much crime can vary, but again, north and rural tend to be better. Also watch out for deed restrictions/HOAs & fees! Rural is generally not an issue, but it is hard to find places that are NOT restricted. Some HOAs are pretty liberal (in the classic sense) and leave you alone, but I have heard horror stories. Then again, some people are HOA people.

I recommend you figure out how much you plan to spend on a house and the cost of living. How mild do you want your winters? What kind of leisure activities do you like? There are plenty of moderate density locations close to lakes that are less than two hours from the ocean.

Taxes vary widely by county also. I would plan on spending several weeks traveling secondary roads and getting to know more about how diverse Florida is ( I would especially travel route 19 that runs up the western part of Florida, just to confuse things there is more than one route 19 in the state.). You might want to spend some time on realtor.com and Zillow checking out listings in various counties. (satellite views are also very helpful.) This would give you a feel of what you get within your budget. Florida has many public records on line. You can check out the history of various properties by going to the property appraiser website for each county. Check with several insurance agents when you think you are ready to make an offer to buy. There are many attributes of a home and the location that one might not realize until it is to late. Florida insurance companies are usually hesitant to write on a property larger than 5 acres, this has changed recently here in Citrus county and probably has in other areas. Best wishes in your relocation, it is a great state with much diversity.

Thanks for the sage advice.

Give Milton a look up in the panhandle its on the Blackwater River.

I don't know what your budget is but river/ocean front property is VERY expensive in addition to what Sultry said. I live in Middleburg. Most properties are one acre and we are at the highest point of the county. It's a small unincorporated semi rural area about 45 minutes from Jax. We get small town living yet close to a big city when we need it.

Before we moved here almost five years ago I did a ton of research on taxes, insurance, food and gas costs, flooding, climate etc, etc. I love the ocean but no way I would live right by it, not only because of hurricanes and flooding but also because property insurance is much costlier there.

Also talk to insurance agents when you narrow your choices to a few houses. Because of our weather Florida insurance requires house roofs to be less than 12 years old and inspected to get the best premiums.

Great advice, Thanks for the insurance advice. Any insurance carrier better than the others in your opinion? PM me with the answer.

Also check to see if there are sink holes in the area.

Down here in s. Florida you generally don’t get a choice on insurance. We took the only company that would take us. It was that or Citizens, which was going to cost twice as much.

Salt spray and salt water intrusion makes it much more difficult to garden too. I think you're much more limited to what you could grow on a property near the ocean

Only a little, unless you are right on the beach. I live across the street from the beach and with a windbreak there isn't much I can't grow. Wind is a bigger problem than salt, really, although the salt in the wind compounds the wind damage.

However, I will say that while this is a very nice place to live when we aren't having a hurricane, the hurricane procedures do make up for that. I live on a barrier island and we are sometimes kept off for stupidly long periods of time after storms. I've been looking off-island just because of that.

Sunrise as far as house insurance carriers go just do your homework. Contact several and make sure they are quoting you for the exact same coverage so you can compare apples to apples.

We went with a broker because they do all that for you.

I know this has been brought up already but seriously, don't buy in a flood zone. Your insurance will be higher and your house WILL flood some day. It's not "if" it's "when".

For instance here in Middleburg people got compacent because some areas havent't flooded in 25 years. This year we were hit with a cat 1 hurricane (another rarity for this area) and entire neighborhoods were under 10-15 feet of water…those house were under water up to the roof!

Ironically, in FL if you live in a flood zone you can just opt out of flood insurance, thanks to our clever legislature. Shrug.

Since the St. John's River flows North, when Central, Southern of the East and Coast suffer with hurricanes, even though you may be inland in the Jacksonville area you still may incur flooding. I have a cousin living inland in that area and after Irma she was unable to return to her home for two weeks due to the St. John's flooding. Here in Brevard County many communities were impacted in the same manner. As others advised it's crucial that you do your research. Another word of caution, buy a concrete block house, not wood frame. Less termite damage and certainly safer in a storm. You may lose a roof as I did in 2004 as a result of the third hurricane in that season but most likely your house would still be standing. I have lived here for 30 years and have never regretted the move. Best of luck to you.