Florida Never Appealed to Me-but This Small East Coast City Changed My Mind

"Once I "sort of" retired, we started spending time in Palm Beach Gardens, initially a long weekend, then a week. The place was growing on me. Last year we went for a month, arriving home in early March. It was still darn cold in New York. Here are some of the things (along with the weather) that led us to book for three months next winter. We'll probably be house hunting any minute."

"We're foodies and can be snotty about things like bagels, pizza, and sushi. But you can find decent renditions of all in Palm Beach Gardens (D'Angelo's, Brooklyn Water Bagel, and Asian Fin, if you must know). Beyond that, there are some terrific restaurants. We love the River House, a charming spot right on the water, and Stage, an interesting Indian/Spanish hybrid where a variety of curries share the menu with things like churrasco."

A longtime cold-weather resident grew up in Arizona and moved to Long Island for work, where assignments included travel during snowstorms. Over roughly forty years the person learned to manage freezing conditions through windshield scraping, walking on ice, and triple layering. Short warm vacations provided relief, but Florida was not initially appealing. After semi-retirement the person began visiting Palm Beach Gardens, extending stays from weekends to a month and then planning three months next winter. Palm Beach Gardens offers acceptable bagels, pizza, and sushi, plus standout restaurants like River House and Stage, and popular breakfasts such as Juno Beach Café's Hush-Wee.

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