[firemed]

Originally Posted by FSU_Alum

Jeb's wife is Mexican. Her name is Columba, but she's Mexican.


re: the term Cracker

This term is used very incorrectly.

Only people whose families originally settled Florida (after the Native Americans, of course) can be called "Crackers." The term comes from the cracking of the whips used on the cattle that were driven down here. This was big cattle country.

I believe Northerners heard that term used when they came down and assumed that it meant any Southerner--not true. If your family didn't come here before, let's say, 1930, you're not a Cracker. People from Georgia, SC, NC, TN are not Crackers either.

You can be a Floridian without being a Cracker--but, like the rest of the South, to be from a place, you (and probably your parents) need to have been born here.

re: "Floridians" moving to TN, NC, etc.

I'm betting that a majority of them are those 'halfbacks' and not actual Floridians.

re: Not fitting in when you arrive in a Southern State

The thing about Southerners is that, while friendly, they are wary of outsiders. Why wouldn't they be? Anti-Southern jokes are acceptable, and, sadly, perpetuated and made by those who chose to move South.

Also, please understand that Southerners are not just white. One half of America's African American population lives in and hails from the South. These folks are Southerners, too.

I've gotta say it: the most racist people I've ever met were not Southerners, but from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, New York and New Jersey. Some of the stuff that came out of their mouths was just unbelievable.


But, back to fitting in down South.


In the South, to really fit in, you have to have some "credentials." Southerners want to know who "your people" are. If you can trace some family history to the area, it's not hard at all to fit in. That doesn't mean you can't be accepted if you don't have family from the area, though!

I don't think this is something unique to the South. Up North, especially in New England, you aren't warmly greeted. Who your family is and from where you came is important.

re: illegals getting jobs

I teach in SW Florida at a school with a sizable minority rate. (Great school, great kids. No matter their cultural heritage, they are all going to make great Americans.) The other day some of my kids were telling me that ICE has been raiding the illegals here. One student told me that immigration has been cracking down on the day laborer spots (parking lots, etc.), and another told me that everyone who didn't have his papers in order where her dad works was fired. A few of them were telling me that they've never see the flea market so empty (many illegals there).

Also, MANY families are leaving this area, including the immigrants (legal and illegal). No jobs here.

Florida is changing drastically again.

I am intending to leave in a year or two, but haven't decided where. I am a military brat and lived overseas for quite a few years, so I've developed a healthy appreciation for seasons.

Part of me wants to stay here and "fight the good fight" because my family has been here since the 1830s, but...well, I really like Fall, Spring and Winter...and I like living in a place where families have lived for generations. I'm going to wait out this impending recession and see what happens. (This state and this country are headed for some VERY hard times...at the very least, it will be the Great Recession.)

If you know where Hogtown and Cowtown is you might be a Cracker. This still is big cattle country.

[FSU_Alum]

Haha, true. One of my grandmothers was born in Cowtown, and I have a aversion to Hogtown and any place with an over-abundance of orange and blue.

Central and North Florida are still my favorite parts of the state, as they seem...well, more like Florida. Nice rolling hills and farms and fields of cattle and other livestock.

It sickens me every time I see a gated community with cookie cutter houses and postage stamp lawns pop up on what used to be beautiful land.

I'm thinking this housing bust came just in time to save the rest of the state. (At least I hope so!)

[backtofla]

"Central and North Florida are still my favorite parts of the state, as they seem...well, more like Florida."


not orlando though. this place is anything but "old florida." i wish it still was. this place is more like puerto-rico or ny/nj.

[maryann1804]

moved from Clermont, FL (outside of Orlando) to upstate NY, (Syracuse area). Absolutely love it. Do not miss FL one bit, then again, hubby and I are both originally from Long Island. Wont ever look back at Fl again, and we were there for 20 years. Just missed the change of seasons too much.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by FSU_Alum

Haha, true. One of my grandmothers was born in Cowtown, and I have a aversion to Hogtown and any place with an over-abundance of orange and blue.

Central and North Florida are still my favorite parts of the state, as they seem...well, more like Florida. Nice rolling hills and farms and fields of cattle and other livestock.

It sickens me every time I see a gated community with cookie cutter houses and postage stamp lawns pop up on what used to be beautiful land.

I'm thinking this housing bust came just in time to save the rest of the state. (At least I hope so!)

Its changed alot But what I do find funny is that people think crackers are uneducated rednecks. I got me some book learning from hogtown.

[sharoncrider]

Moved from Palmetto FL to Mineral Bluff GA, on the border of NC/TN/GA. Still have a beautiful house in FL on an acre that we have fortunately been able to keep rented. Job market around here is the worst thing you have to deal with, not the people, climate or anything else. It's such a nicer cleaner enviroment for family!!

[sharoncrider]

Originally Posted by firemed

If you know where Hogtown and Cowtown is you might be a Cracker. This still is big cattle country.

I moved from Ohio, a great State to be "FROM"; the ones still there have a lot of inward and small minded ideas. I moved to California first then to FL, where I lived and raised my children for over 30 years. The "Crackers" or native born Floridians back then were also very opinionated and hostile to us northerners moving there. It's the same moving from FL to GA, TN and NC areas.....they call us "Halfbacks" and some aren't too happy about us being here (although they do like the money we bring....) Guess they'll get used to us while we're getting used to them, but we'll at least do it without the name calling. Most of them are used to being called Rednecks, and I don't personally see it as an insult. For the most part, the "rednecks" around here are some of the nicest, friendliest, best mannered and helpful people I've met anywhere, which is why I like it here! Call me a Halfback...I don't care!! I'm trying to become a "Redneck" and fit in......! Everyone came from somewhere before they landed here, so really the name "Mutt" should apply to all of us who aren't pur Native Americans! (and that includes the "Afro Americans")

[wildwoodcrest1957]

I am Moving back Home in Feb 2008 to Wildwood Crest, New Jersey & I can't wait to get out of Florida. 15 Years down here & I want to go Home.

[5FLgirls]

We moved to California six months ago. I miss Florida but my husband says that I if was still living there, I would be complaining about what I miss the most -- the weather. I'd take 80 on Christmas Day versus 50. However, don't really miss the humidity. Overall, moving from Florida has been good for our family -- we spend more time outside than ever before.

[OnThaGrind]

Well, i am from new york originally, lived in NJ for almost 10 years, then moved to Tampa, FL. Then i moved back up to NYC, then for personal family related issues, i moved down to West Palm Beach, FL. Now that i am here, i wish i stayed in NYC, or atleast NJ. I now know that there is no place like "home". There are no good jobs out here and it is hard to survive on the salaries you make vs. the cost of living unless 1. you were born into money, 2. you have a ton of experience in a particular field of work, 3. hit the lottery. But now that i think about it, NYC has alot of the same problems because regardless of the many high paying jobs, there are also alot of low paying ones and the cost of living there is flat out ridiculous.. but atleast there is a ton of culture over there, the crime is getting better - not worse like here in FL, and once you make your way up, there is a lot of money to be made in NY. ok, im done rambling