Great advice so far for OP...having spent a fair bit of time in each location, I agree with most all of what's already been said.

If anything, I'd say the scope/thread title need a change though...given OPs needs, regions need to be discussed (SoCal vs Southern Florida), not specific cities; I think that a much better discussion will take place if you expand the focus towards West Palm/Ft Lauderdale area vs Orange County and anywhere south of that.

Having said that, SoCal wins hands down based on the weather requirement alone.