[Haai]

Florida is, well, Florida. It has its own unique "culture."

[PILMAN]

I guess that varies what part of Florida you live in. I consider my part of Florida culturally a part of the South. The panhandle has a lot of folks from Louisiana, Alabama and a fair share of good ol' southern boys.

I wish for this region to stay that way.

[HopToIt]

^^^Pilman, I hope it does too man!

[RiWrites]

Florida is part of the South. What side of the Civil War did Florida fight on? It wasn't the Northern side. Just because a lot of Northern retirees have moved here doesn't change that most of Florida is Southern. South Florida has a large Cuban population so it is different than the rest of Florida.

I live in Central Florida and the people that are from Florida all have Southern accents.

[ddlove01]

Originally Posted by RiWrites

I live in Central Florida and the people that are from Florida all have Southern accents.

yes they are a little southern but true southern, not twangy like other southern states. I know lots of Floridians, their accents are different and I don't really consider them to have southern accents.

[Lakeland Yankee]

Originally Posted by ddlove01

yes they are a little southern but true southern, not twangy like other southern states. I know lots of Floridians, their accents are different and I don't really consider them to have southern accents.

Here in Polk County they have thick Southern accents. Of course Southern accents vary by region just like Northern accents. Someone from Tennessee sounds different than someone from South Carolina etc, etc but they are all still Southern accents. Just like a New Yorker sounds different than a person from Philly or Boston.

[TANaples]

Naples is like living in a tropical Midwest. I have only met THREE native Floridians and only one had somewhat of a southern accent. She was from Central Florida.

[TNRyan23]

Originally Posted by RiWrites

Florida is part of the South. What side of the Civil War did Florida fight on? It wasn't the Northern side.

Florida was officially founded as a state in 1845. On the eve of the Civil War, Florida had the least population of the Southern states. It was invested in plantation agriculture. By 1860 Florida had only 140,424 people, of whom 44% were enslaved.

It's been said that no soldiers or battles ever went farther south then present day Orlando.

The reason many don't consider Florida as a southern state is more then just the large amount of New Yorkers but the fact that even during the Civil War, Almost all points south of Orlando were still Native American, Not to mention Florida supplied the least amount of soldiers to the Confederate Army.

Southern States by admission to the Union...

South Carolina 1788
Georgia 1788
Viginia 1788
North Carolina 1789
Kentucky 1792
Tennessee 1796
Louisiana 1812
Mississippi 1817
Alabama 1819
Arkansas 1836
Florida 1845
Texas 1845

Florida was basically one of the new kids on the block so to speak for the South, Texas also decided to seceded from the union despite the fact they had just won their independence less then a decade earlier.

Most people to this day consider Texas as a South West state vs. a Southern State just like alot of people consider Florida as New York II.

Personally, I've seen more people loyal to the stars and bars and General Lee in Florida then I ever have in Tennessee or Louisiana. I never understood how Floridians could be so attatched to a Southern History that they only had for a short time. At any rate, People can hold onto whatever they want. Makes no difference.

[Rae the Chef]

FL varies so much, it's hard to say. It really just depends where in FL you are. Someone in Ft Lauderdale may think FL is northern, while you ask someone in the panhandle, they are most likely to say exact opposite. I think it is losing it's a lot of it's southern charm though, even in N FL.

[TNRyan23]

Originally Posted by Rae the Chef

FL varies so much, it's hard to say. It really just depends where in FL you are. Someone in Ft Lauderdale may think FL is northern, while you ask someone in the panhandle, they are most likely to say exact opposite. I think it is losing it's a lot of it's southern charm though, even in N FL.

Most of the big cities in the South have lost their southern culture, I think it's starting to become a very good mixture actually.