Let me paint you a picture:
Fine-grained, white-sand beaches punctuated by full-headed palm trees. High-rise, Spanish-styled condominiums elegantly lining a recently-updated boardwalk filled with happy families and individuals walking, biking, skating, running, eating at the various local restaurants along the beach. A saturated blue-green sky reflected in a calm, undulating ocean of white foam and scattered seashells. You can walk barefoot on the beach, carefully, watching out for the stray shell that hasn't been ground into a fine dust. You can watch seagulls and smaller birds running from the tide as they try to find small things to eat amidst the sand. Pelicans fly overhead, swooping skilfully into the oceans to catch fish with an amazing precision. Some things look a little dated, maybe having had their hay day in the '70s. But overall, the place is serene, pleasant, and natural.
This may give you the idea of the finer points of South Florida. And, for the most part, this not only still exists, but abounds, especially for those looking to stay for a short vacation. However, for the resident of such a place, you find some distinctly incongruent things butted up against the typical holiday/vacation atmosphere.
I really don't want to slander South Florida. It is a beautiful place and I will sing the praises of the beachside and some of the less-developed inland suburbs, full of verdant parks and neatly-designed shopping centers, but if you want to get to the heart of living here, it doesn't really come out smelling like roses.
Driving
As with any major city, traffic can be a problem. Here, however, it's a very particular problem.
Here are some things to keep in mind when driving in South Florida:
You know that exit you have to take? Please wait in the far left lane and then merge over four lanes at the last possible moment, disregarding the bumper to bumper nature of the traffic. I mean, you must get off here; no other road connects to that one.
Signaling is a sign of weakness. Do you need to get into a different lane of traffic? You better do it quickly before anyone realizes what you're doing.
Did someone just honk at you for cutting them off? That's RUDE. Honk back, louder and for a longer time. After all, you did nothing wrong.
When entering the interstate, be as cautious as possible. Do not accelerate to 65, the legal speed limit. It's better to merge at about 35mph. No reason to get ahead of yourself.
Interacting with People
You might think you know how to interact with people, being a person yourself. You might want to take special consideration in South Florida, though.
For instance, do not smile when passing by someone. If you feel the urge to wave or nod, suppress it. These are unnecessary gestures and will be returned with looks of confusion, suspicion, or general hatred. Special note: if the person you're smiling at is under 18, even in the company of an adult, you could be charged with underage interaction. This will get you a life sentence in Florida.
All in all, South Florida's a pretty strange place to live. They operate outside of any normal law. It's not a southern state, it's not a northern state. Spanish is spoken more than English in many areas. It's really its own country.
But don't let this deter you from visiting. For one, Florida must be experienced outside of Disney. For another, it really is a naturally beautiful state, full of beautiful natural parks, wonderful weather, and a lot of history and interest. Just keep these things in mind if you ever decide to visit or, given that you go insane, choose to move here.
Having lived in FL (mid, not south), I can certainly, sadly, understand what you mean about the unfriendly people. (Maybe that's where I got my reserve, haha, not quite.) And the driving was pretty awful, too, though TX is not much (if any) better in the city. FL is usually a beautiful place, though, like you said.
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