Scoping the Neighborhoods

Before we buy a place down in Florida to retire we are planning to go down and visit the various areas. We'll have to scout out some hotels in miami to stay at while we investigate the various areas. All of the places I've found so far that I'm interested in are in the Miami area with a few exceptions on the gulf side around Ft. Meyers. I don't know for sure if I have a preference for the ocean side or the gulf side but I think I am leaning toward the ocean side. If we ever want to go boating on the gulf side we can just trailer over there and do it. We'll have a better idea once we have scoped out the neighborhoods a bit and seen what there is to offer in the various places. I've only been down there once on the gulf side, and I was born on the ocean side in Fort Lauderdale, so that's my only gauge to judge it by.