Southeast - The 411 on Daytona Beach

Hi All,

Well, it looks as though I will be spending the vast majority of my winter in Daytona Beach. I'll be spending most of my time working and while I'm no party animal, I would prefer not to be living in or around any senior citizen communities.

Where's a decent (clean, safe, not too far from the beach) neighborhood to stay in for a good 4-6 months? It'll be me and my dog, so I'd like to be close to a park, beach or walking trails. I'd prefer to stay away from the 1.5 star Spring Break type hotel strips and was thinking of renting a small home or condo.

Where's a good place for a margarita or 2 & some seafood? I'd prefer something low key, charming, quaint -- although an occasional raucous live band/show to accompany my drinks is fine too.

Places to learn scuba diving? Go fishing?

And (of course) are there any good places to ride a bike? I'm basically a roadie.

Thanks!

I like Ormond Beach and, Ormond by the Sea - mainly because I like the beach side better that the mainland side. But each person is different so, your mileage may vary. If you want to get away from retirees, good luck. You will likely have to go inland to achieve this. Because they blend into society so well there, I would not be too concerned about the demographic makeup. Pick the area that you like and, go for it. You really need to make a trip there for a week and look around.

Port Orange might be considered a "younger" community due to aggressive development over the past few years. The Ponce Inlet community is "quaint" but, very expensive, and very nice.

"The Loop", by itself a 23 mile loop around wetlands and nature preserves in the north Ormond Beach area, is one of the best cycling roads on the east coast of Florida. There are routes in and around The Loop that will give you just about any distance you want - from 23 miles to 100+.

I like some of the revitalization work done in the downtown Daytona but, I don't really like DB itself. They only cater to tourism and commercial interests, so it seems. There are some nice smaller towns as you go inland, such as Deland. But, you are further from the beach.

"The Loop", by itself a 23 mile loop around wetlands and nature preserves in the north Ormond Beach area, is one of the best cycling roads on the east coast of Florida. There are routes in and around The Loop that will give you just about any distance you want - from 23 miles to 100+.



Where is "The Loop" located?

Mostly in Ormond Beach. But, from the North end one can cycle on up to Flager Beach, or on to Palm Coast, or over to the Bunnell area, etc.

Some info here (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-theloop07jan06,0,5595009.story).