Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
People & Culture
Florida's people and culture are a compelling mix of accents and rhythms, of
pastel hues and Caribbean spices, of rebel yells and Latin hip-hop, of Jewish
retirees and Miami Beach millionaires. Florida is, in a word, diverse. Like the
prehistoric swamp at its heart, it is both fascinatingly complex and too fluid
to pin down, making for a very intriguing place to explore. Is there tension?
Absolutely. But that tension drives a social dynamic that is undoubtedly one
of the most unique in the country.
Portrait of a Peninsula
Pessimists contend that the state is so socially and culturally fractured that it will never have
a coherent identity. Optimists, strangely enough, say nearly the same thing. Like an over-
praised but insecure beauty queen, Florida is almost too popular for its own good, and it can
never quite decide if the continual influx of newcomers and immigrants is its saving grace
or what will eventually strain society to breaking point.
In terms of geography, Florida is a Southern state. Yet culturally, only Florida's northern
half is truly of the South. The Panhandle, Jacksonville and the rural north welcome those
who speak with that distinctive Southern drawl, serve sweet tea as a matter of course and
still remember the Civil War. Here, the stereotype of the NASCAR-loving redneck with a
Confederate-flag bumper sticker on a mud-splattered pickup truck remains the occasional
reality.
But central Florida and the Tampa Bay area were a favored destination for Midwestern-
ers, and here you often find a plain-spoken, Protestant worker-bee sobriety. East Coast Yan-
kees, once mocked as willing dupes for any old piece of swamp, have carved a definable
presence in South Florida - such as in the Atlantic Coast's Jewish retirement communities,
in callused, urban Miami, and in the sophisticated towns of the southern Gulf Coast.
Rural Florida, meanwhile, whether north or south, can still evoke America's western
frontier. In the 19th century, after the West was won, Florida became one of the last places
where pioneers could simply plant stakes and make a life. These pioneers became Florida's
'Crackers,' the poor farmers, cowhands and outlaws who traded life's comforts for independ-
ence on their terms. Sometimes any Florida pioneer is called a Cracker, but that's not quite
