[th3vault]

It's quite simple really, and has more to do with proximity to the coast than latitude or race.

North of Ocala is Southern.

South of Ocala is determined by proximity to the coast. With the exception of Orlando, the coasts are non-Southern and the interior is Southern.

As for metro areas:

South Florida has no trace of Southern heritage anywhere.

Southwest Florida needs to be split up. Naples and Charlotte county are not Southern at all, but interior Collier and interior Lee are pretty Southern. Fort Myers is a mix between South and transplants, but trending towards transplants.

Orlando is not Southern, but still has some traces of it.

Tampa Bay is the only coastal city in the Midwest.

Jacksonville is generally southern, though Palm Coast is probably the MOST NY part of Florida.

FYI, I am a Southerner and proud of it.

Stop bashing the "redneck trailer parks", I think a gate over every residential street because of Yankee snobbishness is just as much of an abomination as Yankees seem to think "rednecks" are.

[aries4118]

It's pretty simple actually...

North Florida (a line from Daytona Beach through Ocala on to the Gulf of Mexico and everything north of this line) is definitely Southern.

South of this line, known as South Florida, is not southern. However, the Okeechobee hinterlands of South Florida can be considered "southern"...so South Florida is like Texas...an amalgation of cultures (Northern, Retiree, Snowbird, Cuban/Latino, Caribbean, and Southern) that come together to form a unique culture that is not Southern or Northern, but instead South Floridian.
(and Texas is not Southern by the way...it is "Texan"...an amalgation of Southern, Old Tejano, Mexican, Southwestern, Western, and Midwestern)

To clarify, here are the "states" of the American South: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky (without the Cincinnati suburbs), North Florida (see above), and South Virginia (south of a line from just north of Richmond over to Charlottesville).

And the capital of the American South is Atlanta.

Everyone clear? I hope this helps!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by th3vault

It's quite simple really, and has more to do with proximity to the coast than latitude or race.

North of Ocala is Southern.

South of Ocala is determined by proximity to the coast. With the exception of Orlando, the coasts are non-Southern and the interior is Southern.

As for metro areas:

South Florida has no trace of Southern heritage anywhere.

Southwest Florida needs to be split up. Naples and Charlotte county are not Southern at all, but interior Collier and interior Lee are pretty Southern. Fort Myers is a mix between South and transplants, but trending towards transplants.

Orlando is not Southern, but still has some traces of it.

Tampa Bay is the only coastal city in the Midwest.

Jacksonville is generally southern, though Palm Coast is probably the MOST NY part of Florida.

FYI, I am a Southerner and proud of it.

Stop bashing the "redneck trailer parks", I think a gate over every residential street because of Yankee snobbishness is just as much of an abomination as Yankees seem to think "rednecks" are.

Decent explanation...

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Crazy Virgo Child

I think it varies not just by which part of FLA, but also in regards to race as well. North FLA is vey, very southern across the board- white, hispanic, and black. But once you go south it varies depending on race, like typically the further south you go whites and hispanics I think try and distance themselves from being considered southern. But as far as American born blacks go they are southern no matter what part of FLA your in. Blacks in Duval are just as southern as blacks in Dade, nothing but gold teeth and dread locks, and when I think of a southern or country black dude thats what comes to mind.

You are right about this...cultural anthropologists have stated that the African-Americans of South Florida are definitely Southern. Just about everyone else in South Florida is not.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by johnsonk422

Most Floridians (myself included) believe that Florida is not a part of the South. Our attitudes regarding that region range from indifference at best to embarrassment at the worst. When people from other states (typically not from the South) refer to us as "Southerners", we tend to cringe - not necessarily because we have an anti-Southern bias, but because we know that the "Southern" label doesn't in any way describe our culture, ethnic/religious backgrounds, and ways of living. Sure, northern parts of the state that border on Georgia and Alabama are certainly Southern in culture, but they're a small minority of the state in terms of population.

Since nobody has done a poll like this before on the site, I'd like to see what the general US thinks of Florida. Not in terms of geography, but in terms of culture. Do you think that Florida is a part of the cultural South, or no?

Florida: The only state in the Union you have to go north to get to the South.

[Lakeland Yankee]

Originally Posted by johnsonk422

Most Floridians (myself included) believe that Florida is not a part of the South. Our attitudes regarding that region range from indifference at best to embarrassment at the worst. When people from other states (typically not from the South) refer to us as "Southerners", we tend to cringe - not necessarily because we have an anti-Southern bias, but because we know that the "Southern" label doesn't in any way describe our culture, ethnic/religious backgrounds, and ways of living. Sure, northern parts of the state that border on Georgia and Alabama are certainly Southern in culture, but they're a small minority of the state in terms of population.

Since nobody has done a poll like this before on the site, I'd like to see what the general US thinks of Florida. Not in terms of geography, but in terms of culture. Do you think that Florida is a part of the cultural South, or no?

Florida was the third state to secede from the Union and was part of the original 7 states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas) that formed the Confederate States of America. Therefore I would say Florida is part of the cultural South.

Most natives that I have met consider themselves Southerners and miss the old southern culture that once was prevalent in the state. The town of Bartow Florida (just south of Lakeland) was named after the first Confederate officer to die in the American Civil War, Francis S. Bartow.

People forget that the American Cowboy also originated from the state of Florida. This state has a really interesting history.

[DailyJournalist]

With the exception of the Miami metro area I feel the rest of Florida is typical southern. People that call places like Orlando, Tampa, or Jacksonville anything but southern have obviously never visited the north. Just look at the downtowns of these cities for example, they resemble a southern town.

[Crazy Virgo Child]

Originally Posted by adam.g.harpool

I don't need to live in a majority black city to feel socially accepted, though some African Americans clearly do, just as some Latinos need to live in a Latino-majority city and some whites scrutinize demographic data to find a nearly 99% white suburban enclave. To each his own. I have relatives who have relocated to Atlanta from New Jersey and who love the area, and I have visited many, many times. It's a great place, but it is no utopia for blacks (such a place doesn't exist.) If what exists in Atlanta suburbs like College Park and Adamsville (hell, all of Clayton County) isn't abject black poverty and strife, I'm not quite sure what is.

I was born and raised in Florida, have lived in several locations throughout the state, currently live in Plantation outside of Ft. Lauderdale, and don't need other people to tell me what I have and haven't heard Floridians say. I've never heard the term "Yank" used. My first college roommate was from the West Indies, and he nor his parents never used the term to refer to me, a native-born and raised American.

We're all entitled to our opinions. My original point is that one person's perceptions of how black people in Florida behave has nothing to do with whether or not the state is primarily Southern in culture, and that's all I have to say on that.

Dude my feeling of social acceptance or self worth has nothing to do with the type of community that I live in or anyone other than myself for that matter. But at the same time I choose to be in a place where I can network with like minded people and work toward achieving my goals. If my goal was to have the biggest rims on my car or have the most gold teeth in my mouth, then Florida would be my ideal destination. But its not, I’d rather work on building my empire so that when I die I can pass on a tangible legacy to my kids which they can build upon. With that said you should get out more because College Park, Adamsville, and Clayton County are no different than areas like Liberty City or Richmond Heights in Miami, furthermore you just shed light on your perspective because as far as Atlanta ‘hoods go the ones you mentioned aren’t even considered that bad. College Park and Adamsville or really lower middle class areas, they have nothing on places like Bankhead, Simpson Rd., parts of Decatur, or Thomasville where there really is abject poverty and violence on a daily basis. Clayton County is a whole entire county that does have some parts that are pretty bad, but there are some decent parts too. And about what you said regarding Florida and the black community, you almost said exactly what I said, Florida has parts that could be considered southern and some that are not, but the black community as a whole in Florida is very, very southern. When I think of a southern black dude, gold teeth, dreadlocks, and tricking out busted cars is the image I get, and that image abounds in Florida allot more than anywhere else. You cant get more southern than getting some permanent gold teeth in your mouth and putting a $10,000 paint on a ’74 Chevy Impala that’s not even worth $200!!!

[Sweating in Florida]

"Dukes of Hazard" meets the "Golden Girls"?
Florida has a lot of people from every where but the south. Upon moving here some northerners try to display tropical characteristics with their bamboo furniture and clothing as if it is required here. Some try to gain the red neck qualities and then hang up their newly discovered confederate flags and maintain a six pack of beer in the fridge at all times. I suppose the exteme heat and humidity makes a lot of us irritable and sluggish and that would appear to be somewhat southern, right? For us who live here, we all know that they are not genuine southerners. There are people from the carribean and from South America but do they contribute to southern charm or more of Mexico city charm? I have met only 2 grown adults who were actually born and raised here. One of them is 50 years old, missing lots of teeth, has skin like leather, scary looking, lives in a house that should be condemned and she does have the personaltity of southern charm. The other one is in her 20s and is living in poverty and looks unkept but is friendly in a souther comfort way.

[kwflconch]

Florida is a bit of the mixed-in the southern part of state, it's more of a hispanic culture, but the northern part, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Ocala, etc. is more southern, and they experienced the strong racism that many of the other states in the south experienced in the '50s. You should have put both as an option.