Florida is more than a great place to do business; it’s a great place to live. And while quality of life is rarely the primary reason for choosing one state over another, it almost certainly factors into the final decision. When push comes to shove, why wouldn’t you choose to spend February in Florida? Balmy winters are just one quality of life that might tip your site selection scale toward the Sunshine State.

EDUCATION

• Fourth among U.S. states for number of high schools on U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 list of “Top 100 U.S. High Schools”
• First in the nation for percentage of high school graduates taking Advanced Placement exams; fourth for number of students passing at least one AP test
• Two Florida cities that showed recent gains of nearly 50% in their college-educated populations have earned spots among the top 10 “U.S. Cities Getting Smarter the Fastest” from newgeography.com. Jacksonville was ranked No. 7, Orlando No. 8.
• Every Floridian lives within 50 miles of an institution of postsecondary learning.

CULTURE

• Eight Florida cities (more than any other state) were singled out as “Top Arts Destinations” by AmericanStyle; four topped their categories in 2012: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Bradenton. Other Florida cities of artistic note included Miami, Jacksonville, Naples and Key West.

HEALTHCARE

• More than 300 general medical and surgical hospitals
• One of the nation’s foremost healthcare destinations, Florida hospitals earned 24 top 50 rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-14 list of “America’s Best Hospitals”; five were among the top 25 nationwide in six medical specialties.

VALUE

• No personal income tax
• Cost of living below that of comparable states with similar growth and in-migration rates

LIFESTYLE

• 1,350 golf courses
• 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and waterways; 2,300 miles of tidal shoreline
• 160 state parks
• Nine major professional sports franchises in baseball, basketball, football and hockey, and their top trophies for World Series, NBA Championship, Super Bowl and Stanley Cup playoff wins
• Headquarters for many sporting organizations and their world-class events, including NASCAR and its Daytona 500 and the PGA Tour, LPGA and PGA of America