51 replies to this topic

[csmurphy8885]

The Flag of FL is a Confederate flag... with a florida seal on it.  Look it up and you will see that white field with crossing red bars behind the head of confederates.  al... miss... fla will be next under fire.

[Dale]

Riverside -

I'm in Orlando.

[Brickell]

I was born in Miami (the product of northern transplants).  I've lived in many parts of Florida, some as southern as they get.  I've figured two things out: I'm not southern and "I ain't no yankee either" as another forumer said.  I like my grits.  I like my tea sweetened.  I like my company polite.  BBQ... forget about it.   So if this is a poll, mark me as neutral.  

Having lived here again for the last 6 years I can say that most of Miami has more in common with Queens, NY than Atlanta, GA, but that you'll still find a lot of southerness around.  You just have a to look a bit for it.  There's still a few natives around, especially in the western sections of Palm Beach and Broward counties and the Southern section of Dade.  You'll also find the southern identity as strong as ever in the Black communities of Overtown and Liberty City, where most were early transplants from the rest of the South.  


PS.  Anyone who thinks Orlando or Tampa aren't southern enough really need to get out more.

[Dale]

Yep, we Orlandoans love to vacation in Mia-muh.

[Brickell]

I believe the proper pronuciation is my-AM-uh.

[bobdreamz]

I'll have to agree with Brickell on some of his assumptions. You can find southernerness in Miami but you really have to look for it....ironically it's the African American community that's probably the largest group to hold onto their southern heritage in the city. As for the Queens, NY comparison I agree there as well which makes sense since Miami was founded by northerners and maintains many cultural characteristics of the north to this day despite the heavy influx of immigrants.

[Urban_Legend]

Geez, I lose power for one week, and come back to find this thread at 4 pages!

[tecmsu06]

i've been to miami once but i've been to Tampa more than a few times.. Let me just say that it's NOT southern.. sure it may have some southern feel if you dig, but there is NO sweet tea to be found in downtown Tampa.  Thats the one thing i missed when I was there!  Besides that, the people were great!  The sports bars have as much hockey memorbilia as baseball and football, another indication that it has northern influence!

This is coming from someone from the southernmost part of FL, culturally... the redneck riviera.  LA, lower alabama as the locals call it.  But i'm sure there are some southern people in the rural parts of Dade and Broward as well as Hillsborough.

[OutlawSteph]

I think the issue is more rural versus urban than northern versus southern.  As someone pointed out there are 'rednecks' in the North, and that's not a bad thing.  One of the things I always loved about south Florida versus the north is the diversity here.  I'm partly from Florida, and partly from Connecticut.  CT is way less diverse and more boring!  I wish it were still more rural here than urban though.  I remember when west Broward was still rural.  I miss 'old Florida' a whole lot!!  So, yep, I listen to southern rock and blues, and I eat grits too!

Edited by OutlawSteph, 13 July 2006 - 10:59 AM.

[daniel18]

9thWonder, on Sep 7 2005, 11:47 PM, said:

My question to y'all is can Miami-born citizens call themselves "Southerners"? I must admit, This question has been plaguing me for sometime. I was born in Miami and I consider myself a southerner and I have pride in that, but heh I don't know. We have so many northerners here that we lost our southern esscense. What do you guys think? Hope this ain't a dumb thread  

The only part that seems Southern to me is the Black population to a certain extent. Other than that, it seems more like a mix of Northern and Caribbean; I guess because it's a very new city.

[Nathan]

I think the people in Miami who's family has been in south florida area for generations can be considered southerners. basically before the 50's there was no big difference between Miami, Orlando, Tampa or Jacksonville.  If you look at past census counts in Florida, you'll see a large spike in Florida population starting in the 50's up until now.

[Urban Catalyst]

From my experience from living in South Florida for 14 years and having travelled to many Southern states over many years, I can say that South FL is not southern. South Florida, especially Miami, has a very fast-paced atmosphere in contrast to the atmosphere I experienced in say, Atlanta. Where I live, I hear central and eastern European languages spoken, although the dominant language is still Spanish. I have had many Italian friends from school, and many of them were transplants from the Tri-State area. And do consider that the majority of Miami-Dade County's population is foreign born. 60%? I have a hard time saying that Miami is even American. It's quite a loner city.

Edited by Urban Catalyst, 29 September 2006 - 11:20 PM.