I've been looking into the Sidekick from Dynamic. Interestingly, despite the generally increased costs of a chainless, the Sidekick (their folding model) is cheaper than any other folders I've seen (also the cheapest of the Dynamic bikes available). Sidekick: http://www.dynamicbicycles.com/buy/Bikes.php?prodid=60

I agree with the general assumption that I won't need anything really special in Florida. Back home in CT I will need something more. The idea of getting a second, cheaper bike at college makes sense, but is it also necessary if I do get a folding bike?

As for the general help on a multiple, I guess 'range' is the word, bike, that explains a lot. Here I was always figuring that I had to start from 1 and move on. My family, believe it or not , is not much of a bicycling family. Still, when terrain changes abruptly, how does one shift the range to accommodate for that? I suppose it's not all that hard--when down shifting to go up a hill, you don't have to change much, and when up shifting, simply stand to get the bike moving and continue on from there, right? If I'm riding top gear on a 'hill' range, I might as well not be on the hill range anyway, I suppose, which makes the shifting from top in the hill range to top in the 'normal' range a problem that shouldn't come up often.