[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by StreetSmarts

its only southern in certain areas, Bobdreamz.

like i said, the rest is more of a latin/jersey vibe.

Jersey

[Sinikal]

Like many have stated, past the I-4 corridor going south, you wont find much southern culture outside of small towns like Belle Glade, Pahokee, Clewiston, Labelle and a majority of Polk County. But North Florida is very much apart of Southern Culture.

As for which Floridians would identify themselves as Southerners? Again you probably wont find many who will in the South Florida region as it has a mixture of people whose family originated from the North and people of Latin American and other Caribbean backgrounds. With that being said, I will say that a majority of Black Americans will identify themselves as southerners. regardless of where they are in the state overall.

[justNancy]

Florida is a very large state with over 19 million residents and millions tourists. If this were a multiple choice question, I'd probably pick "none of the above" since each area has its own type of lifestyle. Most Floridians are from somewhere else, but there are still plenty of small towns where families have lived for generations.

I'm not quite sure what a Southern identity means. I mean, if you go to Atlanta, it's a very busy, Metropolitan city with traffic congestion and skyscrapers everywhere. Is that "Southern?" Yet it's the same place where Rhett said to Scarlett, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

When people from the north think of the "Old South" they often remember a scene from "Gone With the Wind" which represented a combination of Southern charm, slavery and war. I'm sure there are still plenty of Floridians who yearn for the good old days when there weren't so many gated communities and neighbors got together to build a barn, but I think those days have passed almost everywhere you go, except for the small towns you might drive through between the coasts.

[beachmouse]

It's a place where only, what? 35% of the population was born here, so I'd be inclined to file it under 'developing own distinct culture from a wide mix of influences- currently work in progress' more than anything else. Every few years, yet another new ethnic/racial/cultural group will start moving here in large numbers and adding their own influences on the state and new cities will cover more orange groves.

[aridon]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Florida is a very large state with over 19 million residents and millions tourists. If this were a multiple choice question, I'd probably pick "none of the above" since each area has its own type of lifestyle. Most Floridians are from somewhere else, but there are still plenty of small towns where families have lived for generations.

I'm not quite sure what a Southern identity means. I mean, if you go to Atlanta, it's a very busy, Metropolitan city with traffic congestion and skyscrapers everywhere. Is that "Southern?" Yet it's the same place where Rhett said to Scarlett, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

When people from the north think of the "Old South" they often remember a scene from "Gone With the Wind" which represented a combination of Southern charm, slavery and war. I'm sure there are still plenty of Floridians who yearn for the good old days when there weren't so many gated communities and neighbors got together to build a barn, but I think those days have passed almost everywhere you go, except for the small towns you might drive through between the coasts.

Well said.

Florida is a sprawling array of cities and towns. You can find just about anything and everything in every city or town.

People love their labels, people love to talk about differences and people love to categorize / label others. All the while decrying labels they find distasteful. We all have far more in common than we have different.

[fengxg]

Panhandle and inland north of Orlando are Southern Culture. East coast north of Palm Beach is more Yankee. West coast is influenced by Midwest. Miami Fort Lauderdale area is Yankee and Latin. The difference between FL and other Southern States is that Floridians come from all over the country, if not the world. It is all about where the immigrants come from.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by fengxg

Panhandle and inland north of Orlando are Southern Culture. East coast north of Palm Beach is more Yankee. West coast is influenced by Midwest. Miami Fort Lauderdale area is Yankee and Latin. The difference between FL and other Southern States is that Floridians come from all over the country, if not the world. It is all about where the immigrants come from.

Where would you place Orlando? Metro Orlando isn't Southern at all, IMO.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Florida is a very large state with over 19 million residents and millions tourists. If this were a multiple choice question, I'd probably pick "none of the above" since each area has its own type of lifestyle. Most Floridians are from somewhere else, but there are still plenty of small towns where families have lived for generations.

I'm not quite sure what a Southern identity means. I mean, if you go to Atlanta, it's a very busy, Metropolitan city with traffic congestion and skyscrapers everywhere. Is that "Southern?" Yet it's the same place where Rhett said to Scarlett, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

When people from the north think of the "Old South" they often remember a scene from "Gone With the Wind" which represented a combination of Southern charm, slavery and war. I'm sure there are still plenty of Floridians who yearn for the good old days when there weren't so many gated communities and neighbors got together to build a barn, but I think those days have passed almost everywhere you go, except for the small towns you might drive through between the coasts.

Totally agree with this ^^^. For the most part Florida is a melting pot, cities have their own vibe. I consider Tallahassee and Jax more "southern" in culture, and Tampa and Miami have the "latin vibe". But so many people here are from elsewhere in the country and world that there is no one defined culture. Personally, I find that far more interesting. Someone mentioned the Gulf coast being influenced by the midwest - yes that was true in decades past, but I live on the Gulf Coast and there are people from all over the world and country, although some communities like parts of Bradenton still have contingent of midwesterners. Someone mentioned Lakeland and Polk County as southern - not really. I lived in Lakeland and while it has a "touch" of southern compared to the Gulf coast, I by no means felt it was southern in culture. It is a very nice small city with a lot of civic pride and quite a bit more art and culture than most people realize. Also, people would be surprised to know that quite a few Asians live there.

Anyway, no one can really make a blanket statement about ANYWHERE in Florida. But to answer the OP, - NO, Florida does NOT "identify" with the rest of the south. It is its own unique entity.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Totally agree with this ^^^. For the most part Florida is a melting pot, cities have their own vibe. I consider Tallahassee and Jax more "southern" in culture, and Tampa and Miami have the "latin vibe". But so many people here are from elsewhere in the country and world that there is no one defined culture. Personally, I find that far more interesting. Someone mentioned the Gulf coast being influenced by the midwest - yes that was true in decades past, but I live on the Gulf Coast and there are people from all over the world and country, although some communities like parts of Bradenton still have contingent of midwesterners. Someone mentioned Lakeland and Polk County as southern - not really. I lived in Lakeland and while it has a "touch" of southern compared to the Gulf coast, I by no means felt it was southern in culture. It is a very nice small city with a lot of civic pride and quite a bit more art and culture than most people realize. Also, people would be surprised to know that quite a few Asians live there.

Anyway, no one can really make a blanket statement about ANYWHERE in Florida. But to answer the OP, - NO, Florida does NOT "identify" with the rest of the south. It is its own unique entity.

Lakeland reminds me a lot of New Brunswick, NJ. I don't get much of a Southern vibe there at all.

In Central FL (The I-4 corridor, basically,) there really isn't much of a Southern vibe anywhere except for Deltona/Deland up to Daytona. Everything from Sanford to Tampa including swaths of Lake County have their own unique identities, and would be completely out of place in, say, Mississippi.

[jghorton]

Florida is 'southern' geographically, but, probably no more of the PEOPLE in Florida are southern .... than the people who have moved to Arizona.

(Destin, however, certainly has a higher percentage of southern folks here from Al, Ga, Tn, Tx, La, Miss. -- than those states themselves, when one counts the vacationers.)