Daytona Beach

I live on the west coast of Florida. The Gulf of Mexico is pretty but we prefer the Atlantic. Daytona Beach is an amazing place. The beach is over 20 miles long! You can hang out by the boardwalk area which does do not allow cars (perfect for families with small children) or, you can drive your car for miles and miles on pristine, hard packed sand. I have never seen a piece of trash on the beach.
We prefer to stay at one of the many cute little motels that dot the coastline. I don’t like it when I have to take an elevator or walk through a lobby just to get to the beach. I like to open my motel room door and step onto the beach. We have stayed at the Sand Castle Motel and also at the South Shore Motel. Both are nice and clean and they greet you by name. Check out www.daytonabeach.com they have a lot of information on where to stay and things to do. We love Daytona Beach and go there about four times a year!

we stopped here to walk along the beach on our was to cape canaveral. the beach is almost flat, the water washes up smoothly. No wonder they raced cars here. It was fairly crowded. Probably not a place I would choose to go as a destination in itself.

was 2 days after rita hit. that place was messed up but got back on its feet very quickly. very pretty.

It was a little more than expected. The beach was nice and also had a pretty nice nightlife. Great Weather!

It’s a great place to spend a lot of money, but that’s it.

I was in Daytona in June for a conference and while it was HOT! There was a lot to do in the area of our hotel. The Ocean Walk Village was excellent for all kinds of entertainment.

I had a wonderful time.

I live in Daytona Beach, and admit that it is a great place to visit if you love sunshine, the beach, and lots of speciality tourist events (Bike Week, Speedweeks, Spring Break, etc.). Daytona, however, is not a good place to live if you are working professional, are raising children, or if you desire a city with a strong cultural influence.

The job market here is horrible unless you are a college student, customer service rep, or a laborer. White collar professionals who do manage to find a job here are often shocked at how low paying the jobs are. The salaries in Volusia County are the lowest of any other county in the entire state, so don’t expect to get rich in Daytona – no matter what your profession. Most professionals are forced to commute to Orlando or Jacksonville to find job opportunities, and with it comes a horrendous 60+ minute commute to work (each way). And many people spend at least 3-4 hrs commuting each day since Orlando traffic is gridlocked and the transportation system cannot accomodate all the traffic.

Unless you love NASCAR or Harley Davidson, you’ll quickly find that there is little to nothing to do in Daytona besides lay on the beach. Since Daytona’s economy is heavily tourist-based, the community is severely lacking in permanent cultural attractions for the locals. Although things are improving in this area, it is going to take many more years for Daytona to even be on par with other cities of similar size. There are a number of ok bars in the area, but only 1-2 good clubs if you are a nightclub kind of person. Most young adults end up heading to Orlando to dance.

The schools in the area are subpar without a doubt and the school system is so desparate for teachers that many of the individuals who are hired have the right degree for the job, but clearly lack the finesse, experience, and aptitude to actually teach. Although there is a decent IB program here, many students graduate (if they do) with skills that fall short of graduates from other cities. Just look at our test scores… you’ll agree.

i visited 2 years ago.. i loved it! my hotel had a great view out towards the beach.

Stayed here in the early 1990’s had a job for a few weeks as a marshal at the Daytona races but I never took it up when I realised that it coincided with spring break (a big student holiday). Place was full of bikers and young bikini clad students shouting “Lets party”. Seen Benny Hill and Leslie Neilsen doing a sketch for MTV on the beach. Nearly got arrested for drinking a can of larger on the beach outside my hotel (no drinking in public sir). Found out I had always been bowling with the wrong three fingers at a bowling alley (what a difference it made). Went to a local strip club with some American friends where a bizzare bylaw made the strippers cover their nipples with elastoplasts huh. Clothes were amazingly cheap and brought back loads of jeans. Hire car was superb and petrol so cheap. Couldn’t live there without a car though as everything is so spaced out.