I have lived in Florida 25+ years. First in Miami, where we lived through Andrew. Now in Central Florida, where we went through 3 in one year. There were a lot of lessons learned from Andrew and laws implemented that made the year of the three storms much more survivable. There will always be people who cut corners and even if you do not, their negligence can cause you problems. How many snow storms do some folks go through in one year?
As far as being in the way of hurricanes when they come through, you never know until they come. It is like any place, if you are prepared you will probably survive with a little inconvenience.