[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by mango23

My wife no longer even attends the church she went to for quite a few years. One woman she has known for years called he a ni%%er lover right at the church because she had seen my wife waring an Obama shirt at Publix during the election. I hate all those church going phony bigots. The worst part is they try to pass themselves off as something other then what they really are, hate mongers.

We have been in FL 2 yrs and have the N word used openly and the F word for gays.

FL is not a progressive or a liberal state for the most part. I would think southern FL where you find more transplants from different parts of the country and the world you would find more liberal thinkers.

As the saying goes "the further north in FL you go, the further south you go".

[JohnVosilla]

Originally Posted by mango23

I have to say I have changed some of my searching for a new home criteria as of late. I have always though I wanted the "Mayberry" experience. You know small town, clean friendly, everyone knows their neighbor and so on. I have come 180 degrees. After reading many local small town papers and visiting some towns I thought would be my dream are more like a nightmare in reality. The last place I want to be is surrounded by a bunch of bible thumping bigots. After working for Obama in this last election it was a real learning experience as to the intolerance and bigoted attitudes of people who on the outside you think you would like.

I grew up in the segregated south and I guess naively thought much of it had passed. "NOT AT ALL" except by legal decree. Bigoted hate is everywhere and in some pockets of this state it festers. I remember years ago seeing an interview with Andy Griffith where he was asked about the illusion of Mayberry. He said that the show gave a false idea of what towns like that were actually like. They are not a place a lot of people would be welcome or comfortable. I have stopped searching for Mayberry.

You almost have to go to a small town in New England for even a chance at "mayberry'. The south is quite different and SoFla is the most different of all because not only is it not like the south it isn't like anyplace up north either. If I recall Broward, Palm Beach, Osceola, Orange, Volusia, Alachua and Leon counties went blue the past election. Sarasota was a tie. Think Hillsboro and Dade were also close.

[trobesmom]

As the saying goes "the further north in FL you go, the further south you go".

Boy that is the truth! I could tell some bad stuff concerning the Obama election in Nassau Co. Hasn't ended either (thanks to the only source of 'enlightenment' there being Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, or the church pulpit). We are trying to get out as fast as we can (now that we have finally sold our home).

[GLS2010]

Idk why people are saying daytona beach, how the hell is daytona beach progressive or liberal? I can only speak for the place I'm most familiar with, which is Orlando. Most people don't realize how progressive and liberal Orlando can be. Orange county is a blue county as of last election, downtown Orlando just recently had a gay and lesbian day two weekends ago, and downtown Orlando has many "hippy", trendy, modern neighborhoods (Thorton park, colonial town, college park, winter park). and as for being progressive, a brand new areana is under construction right now that is going to be the most high tech and "greenest" areana in the country once it opens. And a huge medical city is also under construction right now in Orlando, that is supposed to make Orlando one of the top medical destinations in the country, and Will house major reaserch institutions that are expected to find cures to major diseases like diabetes, look it up. Plus Orlando is already home to alot of high tech industries, a huge reaserch park, and has NASA 45 mins to the east.

[MiamiRob]

actually the following counties went Blue in the last election: Gadsen, Leon,Jefferson (Panhandle),Alachua,Flagler, Volusia, Orange, Osceola, Hillsborough,Pinellas, St. Lucie,Palm Beach,Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe. Obama lost Sarasota county by a tenth of one percentage point to McCain.
Miami Dade is full of Republican RINOs as in the Cuban community & politics concerning Cuba otherwise they are socially Liberal. Obama won Miami Dade by 16 points. SE Florida is probably the most liberal part of the state.
As for Nassau county it borders Georgia which is a state not known for it's liberalism!

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

actually the following counties went Blue in the last election: Gadsen, Leon,Jefferson (Panhandle),Alachua,Flagler, Volusia, Orange, Osceola, Hillsborough,Pinellas, St. Lucie,Palm Beach,Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe. Obama lost Sarasota county by a tenth of one percentage point to McCain.
Miami Dade is full of Republican RINOs as in the Cuban community & politics concerning Cuba otherwise they are socially Liberal. Obama won Miami Dade by 16 points. SE Florida is probably the most liberal part of the state.
As for Nassau county it borders Georgia which is a state not known for it's liberalism!

"Going blue" doesn't make a place liberal in the sense of San Fran or Portland, and "going red" doesn't make a place full of Bible thumpers who don't look favorably upon interracial marriages. Those who stated that what the OP is looking for doesn't really exist in Florida are correct IMHO.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by flyers29

"Going blue" doesn't make a place liberal in the sense of San Fran or Portland

I agree. A county with a high black population is likely to be "blue", but far from liberal. There are lots of "blue" areas that I as a gay man would not feel comfortable in.

[hiknapster]

The first time I heard the "N" word was in Lee County, Florida. They dropped the "N" bomb over there in Fort Myers like it was acceptable and normal. Guess what folks. Those people were NOT southerners. They were Midwesterners.

I had to move to Knoxville, TENNESSEE to escape the horrible racism that is there. I haven't heard the "N" word since. I know this is a red state, although my city is much more progressive, but I have never experienced anything like that in my life like I did over there in Fort Myers. I think southerners, if they are prejudiced, at least have enough sense to shut up about it and not assume that everyone is racist like them.

By the way, I lived in Orlando for awhile. It was about 14 years ago, and they were decidedly more southern and I never saw any racism. I didn't live there very long.

Also, I did grow up in Mayberry. It was in New England.

[KevK]

JAX would probably be the most liberal of major cities with Tampa coming in 2nd.

[doggiebus]

Jacksonville and Tampa are not that liberal. The saying the further north you go in Florida the further south you get is there for a reason. South Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach) is probably the most liberal places in the state, with the exception of the college towns. For the most part Florida is pretty conservative.