SUN, sea, sand and an Irish bar – it sounds like a dream and less of a reality to most of us living in the UK.
But for Sean and Aine Rice, this is actually the case, and the two are set to star in an upcoming episode of Channel 4‘s Escape to Florida.
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When it comes to swapping life in the UK for a sun-soaked destination, it seems that most nowadays are heading to the likes of Portugal or far-flung Australia.
But Sean and Aine Rice who are from Northern Ireland, headed the other way across the Atlantic and settled in the USA.
The couple first called New York their home, but in the year 2000 moved to the ‘Sunshine State’ where they settled in Brandon near Tampa before heading to Apollo Beach.
Talking to Sun Travel, Sean revealed just why he loves Florida so much and reveals that of course, the weather plays a big part in it.
He said: “Any day in the year is good day in Florida, we get great weather throughout the year.
“Even when the extreme heat arrives, Florida is catered for it, so you suffer from the humidity too much.”
Sean has lived in the States for 40 years, and Aine for 27 – together they share two sons and a two-year-old granddaughter.
Both confess that moving to Florida might be a little different now from when they bought their Floridan family home 26 years ago.
Sean told us: “It was extremely cheap back then, you certainly got a lot more house for your buck back in the day.
“Our first house was around £125,000, and it’s around doubled or tripled in price now.”
The couple now live in Apollo Beach which is south of Tampa and is referred to as a ‘boater’s paradise’.
It has over 55 miles of canals and direct access to Tampa Bay with plenty of wildlife swimming around the bay like dolphins and manatees.
There are some disadvantages to life in Florida though as Sean and Aine found in 2024 when their home was severely flooded by Hurricane Helene.
But the couple took repairing their house in their stride and have completely transformed it.
Sean told us: “Home is what you make it, and we turned ours into a mini resort.
“Originally it was a 1,700 square foot house with over 200 feet of water front and we’ve really modernised it.
“We’ve got our own dock, an outdoor shower, a driving range, putting green, space for our kayaks, we have an outdoor kitchen, and we plan on putting a sauna out there too.
“It’s somewhere you can hang out and relax, and there are palm trees that keep you out of the sun.
“We want to enjoy all the elements and the only time we really have to leave is to go shopping – it’s pretty cool.”
As for work, the pair run the Salty Shamrock, an Irish pub in the heart of Apollo Beach.
It serves up classic American meals as well as Irish classics like chicken pot pie, sausage and mash and seaside favourite, fish and chips.
The pub hosts live events and celebrate St Patrick’s Day when it comes around in March.
There’s plenty to do as well, especially when it comes to daytrip.
He said: “When we can, we like to jump on the boat to Fort Myers, have lunch, a few drinks – I’m an avid golfer and there are hundreds of golf courses in Florida.
“I love old Florida too which are the swamps and the everglades with the alligators out there.
“We’re also two hours from Orlando where the theme parks are, and we’re close to Tampa – there’s lots more to do there now especially when it comes to the food scene.
“But mostly, I love to fish on the water.”
Aine agreed adding: “There’s always something to do here, especially if you’re an outdoorsy person from fishing to boating, exploring the state parks or playing sports – I love pickleball at the moment.”
She continued: “I never feel guilty about being indoors when the sun is out like I did in Ireland – there’s a real urge to be outside and I enjoy it very much.”
The couple return to Northern Ireland multiple times a year, so what do they miss the most about their home country?
Aine said: “I miss family and a sense of community because that’s what I feel is missing in Florida, which is why we’ve created that with our bar.”
Sean added: “The people – Irish people are unique, when tourists ask me about Ireland, I say rent a car, get lost and talk to everyone.
“We travel a lot, but I’ve never experienced any place quite like Ireland. I love the coast of Donegal and how rural it all is and that it hasn’t been commercialised.
“I always look forward to going back.”
For anyone keen to make the move from the UK to the US, Sean has some advice to pass on.
He said: “Florida is a great place to live, as long as you do your homework.
“I’d say to come here, you do need some sort of career in mind, or get transferred with a sister company. For someone to come out and just ‘wing it’, it would be a huge uphill battle
“It can be quite the culture shock too in the likes of Apollo Beach – it’s much less fast-paced than New York or London.
“Remember that you don’t get things like free health care, and schools are very different from the UK too.
“And down in Florida, we have a lot of Spanish and Cuban neighbours, so I’d encourage anyone moving here to try and learn Spanish – although I’ve never have.
“Life in Florida has its ups and downs of course, but I’d recommend it to this day.”
Watch Escape to Florida on Monday-Friday on Channel 4 at 4PM.
Catch Sean and Aine’s episode on May 18.