Firstly, hi my names pretty obvious, im pretty lazy when it comes to screen names.
So i was not raised shooting, or around many firearms...
Welcome Ryan. I don't have the time I used to, so I'm not around that much, but I am still a member of several firearms forums, and this is one of the best (and may be the best). There is a lot of good information to be found.
As for not raised shooting, me too. My dad is a member of all the big anti-gun groups (he was raised in a house with firearms, go figure), so my first time shooting was in Army basic training.
There are two handguns i have in mind right now, the ruger sr40c and the glock g27 gen 4
While I don't own either, both are certainly good guns and good carry guns. I have not been a huge fan of Ruger autos in the past, but the current crop of newer Ruger autos are interesting (I can see owning an SR40C and one of their 1911s in the next few years myself). I'm not a huge Glock fan, but they do make very good guns (they just don't do it for me, and I've considered them several times in the past).
Some here have suggested the larger Glock 23 over the 27. In general, a larger gun holds many (non concealment) advantages over a smaller gun, but the Glock may be the exception. I've heard from many different owners on multiple gun forums that they find their G26 (9mm version of the G27) shoots as well or better than their larger G19 (9mm version of the 23). I don't know if that would translate to the G27/23 though due to the greater recoil in .40S&W. Usually though, a larger gun means greater recoil control and the longer sight radius should mean greater practical accuracy. However, the larger gun is also harder to conceal than the smaller gun (a major consideration with Florida summers I would assume).
Personally, I'd suggest going with a 9mm instead of a .40 for a first gun. With proper defensive ammo it is still a good defensive caliber, yet it is a good 10-30% cheaper than .40 allowing more practice time and with 10-30% more shooting for the money you will quickly become a better shot. 9mm has some advantages for all shooters (new or not) as well: quicker follow up shots due to less recoil, and greater capacity in comparably sized firearms being the main advantages. BTW- I am a fan of .40S&W so I'm not just trying to steer you away from .40, nor am I trying to start a caliber war, I'm just trying to suggest what I think is the better choice for a new shooter (and suggest some considerations you may or may not have thought about).