I’m down in the southern end, between Mobile & Pensacola. We love it here. We have lived from Florida to Virginia (and in between), and we’ve been here almost 15 yrs, the longest we’ve lived anywhere. Even down here in the south you get all seasons, only without snow (occasionally we may get flurries or sleet, but not every year). Here everything has been opened for a long while, mask mandate is over (though I didn’t wear one, as some others didn’t either). Where I am, you can drive to Pensacola in under an hour and same to Mississippi, and about another hour to New Orleans. This area has been building up over the years. Depending on the area of County where I live, you can reach the beach from a few minutes (if live close to there) to about an hour if live further north of beach. It takes us about 40-45 minutes. They also have a dog beach, and fun summer attractions down towards the beach for kids & teens. Here you can go from living close to everything to being out in remote more wooded areas. Lots of greenery here, as I like to say compared to somewhere like south Florida (Tampa, Orlando or Miami). Compared to northern states or even Florida, price of homes, home insurance and property taxes are cheaper (depending on area you live, always choose to live in the County instead of city, everything is generally cheaper in the county and less restrictions). We do pay state tax here.