The odds are medium that you will see them that far South. On the other hand, sounds like you did see them. Cold clear nights seem to be better, but if you hear of a solar flare, then you could see them in Florida if it's a big one. And you don't need to be down a well to see these either. I have seen them right here, out my back porch door, and we have a streetlight in the yard. Bookmark that link I included above and check it every now and then. You can even sign up for e-mail alerts. That shows almost real time Auroral activity over the poles, as seen by some special satellites for that purpose. Nothing like free early warning. 
Ah, I have also seen a fireball, when I was a kid, in the daytime. I believe now, this was an electrical phenomenon, not a meteorite. It went across the sky at about the size of a dime held at arms length, bright white and trailing bright yellow/white flames in the classical cartoon look. Not long flames, maybe double the diameter of the ball, and it was silent. It also just fizzled out between eye blinks but was easily visible for 5-6 seconds.
A few years later, I was out walking at night on the farm and happened to look up, as I was doing a lot as a kid, and saw a meteorite coming straight at me. It was a white star sized dot that expanded, not making a trail. In other words it was coming right at me. When it reached the size of say a house fly at arms length, it exploded into 5 even pieces and they all went out at the same angles around the center. These left trails exactly like meteorites and fizzled out after about 20 degrees of arc. Also silent, and it lasted maybe 4 seconds or less.
It took me years to put this all together and I did ask my brothers and other people if they had seen it too. No one had. But I have since seen either video or artist renderings of these phenomenon on PBS. Never seen a UFO though, sorry.
