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Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
2,035 posts, read 5,036,650 times
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To both Keeper, and Gypsychic..VERY well put!!!..you both always have many great words to share with all of us...
Keeper,..Thank you for the quick history recap..it was a nice reminder of how most of CA. was founded...and is part of the spirit our state has lost..which has happened as progress happened..
Gypsychic...Well put!!..and i totally agree that placing labels on people is really out of touch with the times...I think that part of such a demeanor stems out of fear..
...Ive also known plenty of the so- labeled "rednecks"..and plenty of them were quite friendly..or helpful.. Honestly, im waiting for those in the medical frields to be labeled..lol..i mean since some people enjoy that sort of banter..Look out!!..the whitecoats are comming!!..with all their poking and prodding...With their 8 years of medical school.and shiney new degrees..who do they think they are..Oh no!!..just saw one on a harley, wearing a cowboy hat...its the end of the world!!
D R B..Thanks for asking....and yes,..i read over your post,like 3 times..just to see if i could wrap myself around your opinion..i also let 2 other people read it as well...One of them, whoes in school here, is from the Lutz area..and had to laugh a little..its fine though, part of being an American is having the right to an opinion...
I don't live in Tampa yet, but I just came back from a scouting trip this weekend and saw something that made me realize my mind was a little more closed than I thought.
At a gas station, a huge red pick-up truck with confederate flags on the plate frames, windows, bumpers, and airbrushed on the door pulled up. Out jumped a guy wearing leather and grungy jeans with tattoos aplenty, and a nice confederate flag bandana around his head. I turned to tell my teen daughter to stay away from that guy, only to watch him walk up to a black guy in another car and do that handslap/handshake/half-hug thing guys do, and start laughing and talking and walking with his arm around his shoulder into the convenience store. I felt like such a judgmental fool.
I used to be blind to these things, then living in GA has made me too conscious of race and racial attitude labels. My new years' resolutions are now a) lose 20 pounds, and b) be blind again.
By the way, my visit to Tampa was GREAT. People are so nice (despite a few iffy folks at hotel, but that's info for another place). I can't wait to join the snowbirds in Pinellas or the soccer moms in New Tampa!
Thank you for that, Keeper! I too, do not understand the obsession with "rednecks" in Tampa. I'm not going to say there are none here, sure there are a few - but Tampa was settled by the Spaniards (my grandparents came here from Spain in the 1800's) and Italians, Germans and African Americans, none of which would ever even remotely referred to as a "redneck." Tampa is a diverse melting pot of people from all over the country and even other countries. My hubby works for the county and it is like a mini-United Nations there!
As to rednecks, in Florida you will mostly find them in smaller towns or the outskirts of some larger cities, nearer to agricultural areas.
And one last thing - SO WHAT if there are some "rednecks" anywhere - does being a "redneck" make someone a bad person? I sure don't think so - we lived in Dade City for 10 years, that is a redneck town IMO ( but not entirely so, it is the county seat) due to all the agriculture - but some of those people were the nicest, friendliest and honest people I have ever met. And yes, there are bad ones too, just like any other group of people who are labeled as something.
Some of the people on this forum really need to get out more and expand their horizons!
Being a redneck does not make someone a bad person.... it just makes them a tacky, uneducated, low class person, which is the exact type people that I want to avoid.
Also, rednecks might not bother you, but they bother me.
After reading everyones post there is no way that I would ever even buy a plane ticket to Tampa for a visit. There are A LOT of people on here that say Tampa is filled with rednecks. If there is even a slight indication of rednecks in a metro area then thats a place that I prefer not to live/visit.
Being a redneck does not make someone a bad person.... it just makes them a tacky, uneducated, low class person, which is the exact type people that I want to avoid.
Also, rednecks might not bother you, but they bother me.
After reading everyones post there is no way that I would ever even buy a plane ticket to Tampa for a visit. There are A LOT of people on here that say Tampa is filled with rednecks. If there is even a slight indication of rednecks in a metro area then thats a place that I prefer not to live/visit.
Wow - you would actually make life decisions based on what a few message posters have to say? There are several hundred thousand people in the Tampa city limits - I think maybe just two or three posters on here said there were rednecks and snowbirds, but it's just as well you don't come here, we don't need more narrow minded folks down here. If you do, you probably need to check out Miami - that is probably your speed.
Wow - you would actually make life decisions based on what a few message posters have to say? There are several hundred thousand people in the Tampa city limits - I think maybe just two or three posters on here said there were rednecks and snowbirds, but it's just as well you don't come here, we don't need more narrow minded folks down here. If you do, you probably need to check out Miami - that is probably your speed.
How does it make me narrow minded just because I prefer not to be around rednecks and snowbirds?
but it's just as well you don't come here, we don't need more narrow minded folks down here.[/quote]
"rednecks" in my experience tend to be "narrow minded"............. So yes, we have a lot of rednecks here......and don't need more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
2,035 posts, read 5,036,650 times
Reputation: 1099
gypsychic,..while i wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying..i mean, narrowmindedness is something no area needs..id like to say that..while i definitely cannot speak for NYC1DAY.. i think there might be some confusion over what he is trying to say...
While this is solely just my opinion..and its perfectly fine if it is corrected...
...NYC, i think what you are refering to are those people who have never really tried to apply themselves, who just accept a certain standard for their lives..and fall into a certain way of thinking or acting..and yes, some people lump them together with those people who love Country music or enjoy nascar, which i admire cuz speeding around a track at 200+ miles per hour takes guts,..period..
Enjoying those things doesn't make you a "Redneck"..just as playing chess and being into Hip hop doesn't make someone a gun toating gangster..and so on..i mean..id like to sit in on a sermon at a gospel church..does that imply that im attempting to disgrase my caucasian/catholic upbringing..simply, id just like to experience a piece of the world from another perspective. ..So no, i don't think you are narrow minded.. just looking to associate with the majority of people out there contributing to society..and thats most of Tampa's residents..
...I do think you should not allow what a few people experss concerning the people of a city of several hunderd thousand.. to a million??..i think??..if you include St Pete.,Clearwater..and even Bradenton..which is alot closer to Sarasota's neighborhoods..than the greater Tampa Bay region's..form your opinion..let your walking, talking,f eet on concrete, face in the Florida sun shape your opinions..cuz again, thats what did it for me..
Now, while i'll try to keep it short,..id like to share three of the most important experiences i had which really shaped my initial view..everyone feel free to read on..
When i visited the area in 06..the only referance i had was a map..and a preferance for the gulf coast side of the state...
When i arrived in Tampa,..the gentleman at the front desk of the hotel i was at was very helpfull, and gave many great suggestions for where to scout out Tampa's nightlife..listening to a few, i decided to check out Ybor city..and what a neat place..i can only wish San Jose had something close to that kind of atmosphere..and while i just hung back observing people at the bar i settled at..alot of very nice people approached who i had many excellent conversations with that evening..
....When i moved back here to San Jose nearly two years back..and would head out to see how the nightlife scene here might have changed,..i was surprised to see how clickish the people were..and how they wern't apt to approach anyone...at all..so, i stopped going out..when i lived in KS..everyone was friendly..it was sort of overwhelming at first..i got that vibe the night i was in Tampa..
The next day i continued on and made a day trip to the naples area..to hit the beach..and look for sharks teeth..Since id never experienced doing this, i had no idea as to what id need to sift through the sand to collect them..Luckally..a very nice older lady and a friend were doing the same..while i was there..
...I was surprised as to how generous she was in allowing me to use her sifter to poke and prod through the surf for myself..that day i also met several other people heading to Miami..
All of us, including the two older ladies shared alot of conversation about different subjects, as well as a few laughs..
..After satisfying my curiouisty..and not realizing that id been in the sun for 8 streight hours..i thanked the lady for her generosity and suggested stops as i continued on twoards the keys,..my final stop..
Lastly,..after a stop in Key Largo..i started back..along the way, i stopped in at a Nursery in Homestead which sold Plumeria plants..something id been researching and wanted to work with..anyway..
While id expected just a brief stop..I ended up sharing 2 hours of conversation with the Co-buisness owner..and while we discussed the plants i was buying,. She also shared stories and experiences from their experience surviving and regrouping after Hurricane Andrew...How inspiring an experience that was...I was yet again taken by just how pleasent the people id met were...
Even a year later, when i headed back,to scout out the Lakeland area..while stopping at Mexico beach along the way..i ended up discussing the area with yet another Florida resident..And i was only asking where the restrooms were..
...Experiences like these are those which have helped shape my opinion..not the opinions of friends i knew who had been down there in the past...im glad i followed my own path..and saw the area for what it is,..not just what people might assume..and who cares if anyone i met was into country music..thats just what they like...
Thank you for that, Keeper! I too, do not understand the obsession with "rednecks" in Tampa. I'm not going to say there are none here, sure there are a few - but Tampa was settled by the Spaniards (my grandparents came here from Spain in the 1800's) and Italians, Germans and African Americans, none of which would ever even remotely referred to as a "redneck." Tampa is a diverse melting pot of people from all over the country and even other countries. My hubby works for the county and it is like a mini-United Nations there!
As to rednecks, in Florida you will mostly find them in smaller towns or the outskirts of some larger cities, nearer to agricultural areas.
And one last thing - SO WHAT if there are some "rednecks" anywhere - does being a "redneck" make someone a bad person? I sure don't think so - we lived in Dade City for 10 years, that is a redneck town IMO ( but not entirely so, it is the county seat) due to all the agriculture - but some of those people were the nicest, friendliest and honest people I have ever met. And yes, there are bad ones too, just like any other group of people who are labeled as something.
Some of the people on this forum really need to get out more and expand their horizons!
Ofcourse there are good people and bad people in any and every group, and sometimes stereotypes can be unfair but sometimes unfortunately not always.
Anyhow, the curiousity about rednecks in Tampa is because when you are looking to re-locate to an area, ofcourse you are going to want to know what your surroundings are, and if people are looking for something diverse then they do not want to be surrounded by a "redneck" culture, and I don't think that is an unfair thing to look for if "redneck" is not their cup of tea.
We personally want to move from Ohio to Tampa and we have plenty of rednecks in Ohio and expect it to be just the same anywhere else, and that is okay, we just do not want our neighborhood or town to be predominately redneck, because that is not the same lifestyle as us and that is fine. Diversity is key. Everyone has something to learn from someone else, you just don't need to be overwhelmed by it.
Well, the other day I was stopped at red light with my dog in the car. A guy that was selling newspapers saw my dog and said "You sure got a purty dog". PURTY!!! I didn't know anyone said that except in the movies.
Recently I was inside of a trailer having a conversation with an older gentleman who told me about the times he used to go out to the swamps and kill and skin gators, and hunt for wild boar using hunting dogs. This was out in neighboring Polk Cnty.
The other day someone said, instead of "motorcycle," MOTOR-SICKLE!!! For real...
Go to any local WalMart in the TB area and that'll tell u whether or not there are "rednecks" in the TB area. If you want to get away from rednecks, move further north.
I actually like it here, but ya gotta keep a purty open mind sometimes....
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.with all their poking and prodding...With their 8 years of medical school.and shiney new degrees..who do they think they are..Oh no!!..just saw one on a harley, wearing a cowboy hat...its the end of the world!!
