Thank you for the input everyone
My original plan a year ago was Sarasota. I stayed there for a week just before Ian came through. I must have picked the PERFECT week, I was amazed at how nice the traffic was. Not a huge crowd either. People wise it felt just like where I live currently, but with better drivers (I know, shocking). The service industry was subpar, though. A year later and it seems its become very populated. Went from having a handful of housing options to zero. From no one knowing about it, to half the people I know visiting there over the summer.
Anyway.. My current goal is to rent, close to the beach, and away from the big cities. Thats what put Sarasota on the map for me. It was within an hour of Tampa if I wanted to go have fun, still somewhat big but not crazy, the beach was a 15 minute drive away, and there wasn't a huge amount of tourist attractions.