Diane,
St. Augustine is appx. 2 hrs. NE of Orlando on the East Coast and it's a lovely, historic city with lots of wetland areas for you to explore. We settled in Orlando in 1989 because we needed to be near an international airport since most of our clients were still in the NE -- New York, MA, CT.

The good news about St. Augustine is that it's not Orlando. The bad news: it's not Orlando . We've always been close to big-city amenities so Orlando meets our needs. But we love the things that St. Augustine has that Orlando does not. Namely, the Atlantic Ocean.

Nudge me before you come down and I'll send you info on the best wildlife areas to explore.

Jim