We moved here in 2016 and have just left ...
We moved here in 2016 and have just left as we were finally able to purchase our own home. The Pros:
We never had issues with maintenance. They always came promptly, always fixed the issue quick. I think only a few times it took more than one visit, but that was due to them needing to get parts and such.
Quiet neighbors.
Our 2 + 2 apartment was quite spacious, with a few flaws. But no place is perfect.
The canal was nice to live on. We enjoyed the walkway a lot.
The Cons:
Huge german cockroach problem. We also frequently got ants. The windows are very old and poorly sealed. Dealt with the roaches by sealing holes I found and laying out bait.
The biggest issue we had, though, is the constant raising of rent. We started out at 1100. Then it was 1350. Then, this year, they hiked it all the way to 1790. That's what spurred us to look for a home, because may as well pay a mortgage. By next year we probably would have been priced out and forced to leave Florida entirely because everywhere has absurd rent.
I would not recommend living here unless you are extremely wealthy. Our rent costs massively outpaced our incomes and it was not sustainable.
If the rent had remained reasonable, we probably would still be there. It was a nice little apartment, but there was no reason to squeeze blood out of a stone here. The company that owns these buildings makes billions a year no doubt; they own property all up the east coast and an entire block of land where we were renting. There's about 8 different complexes in this area all owned by them. It's just plain greed.