History UsefulNotes / Florida

** Jacksonville has its own lower-profile version, with small private school Jacksonville and mid-sized public school North Florida both being members of the ASUN Conference. Neither school sponsors football, though Jacksonville did have a team through the 2019 season.

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants steadily became more Democratic before leaning back to the GOP after 2016. More recently, there has been an influx of refugees from Venezuela's Maduro government, with their own antipathy toward socialism. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, an otherwise bad year for Republicans across the country, the GOP won very narrow Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats (and in the case of the Senate race, ''ousted'' a three-term Democratic incumbent, giving them both Senate seats for the first time since Reconstruction), maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. Democrats did carry one statewide office that year, albeit by an ''incredibly'' narrow margin, and flipped two Congressional seats in South Florida. In 2020, Trump improved on his 2016 performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election, and the GOP won back both of the house seats they lost the previous cycle.

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. More recently, there has been an influx of refugees from Venezuela's Maduro government, with their own antipathy toward socialism. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, an otherwise bad year for Republicans across the country, the GOP won very narrow Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats (and in the case of the Senate race, ''ousted'' a three-term Democratic incumbent, giving them both Senate seats for the first time since Reconstruction), maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. Democrats did carry one statewide office that year, albeit by an ''incredibly'' narrow margin, and flipped two Congressional seats in South Florida. In 2020, Trump improved on his 2016 performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election, and the GOP won back both of the house seats they lost the previous cycle.

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs especially the Mons Venus as well as being the setting of ''Film/MagicMike''.[[note]]The reputation as the biggest home to strip clubs is exaggerated: South Florida has far more strip clubs in just Ft. Lauderdale alone, but the local moral activists came up with the "honor" in an attempt to shame the local governments into shutting the clubs down. Furthermore, ''Magic Mike'' star Creator/ChanningTatum worked as a male stripper in Miami when he was just 18 years old.[[/note]] It's also home to a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. More recently, there has been an influx of refugees from Venezuela's Maduro government, with their own antipathy toward socialism. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won very narrow Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won very narrow Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

** Oddly enough, there's not much of a rivalry between the professional teams, although passions do run high between Orlando Magic and Miami Heat fans. A lot of it has to do with most of the pro teams playing in different conferences or divisions with little at stake: there had been only one playoff game between Jacksonville Jaguars the and Miami Dolphins, for example. Most pro team rivalries (Dolphins vs. AFC East, Bucs vs. NFC South in football; Marlins vs. Braves, Rays vs. Yankees and Red Sox in baseball) are with out-of-state opponents. The Lightning and Panthers ''do'' share a division, but have never met in the playoffs. As for MLS, Orlando City and Inter Miami haven't had much time to establish a rivalry, with Inter only having started play in 2020, though the two teams have created a rivalry trophy, the Everglades Cup.
** There is a rivalry sports-wise between Tampa and Orlando between their Arena Football teams - Storm vs. Predators - promoted as "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_I-4 The War on I-4]]". It's the biggest rivalry that Arena Football had.[[note]]Past tense because on October 2016 The Predators suspended operations.[[/note]]

** '''Miami Beach:''' Actually a separate city from Miami; whether or not you know this is a fairly good litmus test of how long you've lived in South Florida. It is the center of Florida's Jewish and LGBT communities, while the Art Deco Historic District on South Beach, the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world, has become a symbol of the region as a whole.

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs especially the Mons Venus as well as being the setting of ''Film/MagicMike''.[[note]]The reputation as the biggest home to strip clubs is exaggerated: South Florida has far more strip clubs in just Ft. Lauderdale alone, but the local moral activists came up with the "honor" in an attempt to shame the local governments into shutting the clubs down.[[/note]] It's also home to a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

* UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents: The southern option appears at the northern edge of the state and in interior pockets, while anything can be heard on the coast. Sadly, the actual Floridian accent is almost extinct.

The "Sunshine State" moniker is a half lie as most Floridians can tell you - the state's climate has a pronounced cycle of wet and dry seasons, with summer featuring near-daily thundershowers and winter, such as it is, being very dry. Convenient for northerners looking to escape the snow, not so much for those looking for a semi-tropical vacation spent mainly on the beach. Get used to the water, because Florida is a very wet state: surrounded on three sides by water and filled with swamps, wetlands, and retention ponds. Tourists, take note: if you're here during the summer, keep an umbrella on hand. Brief but intense thundershowers with little warning are common. Florida is also ridiculously flat. The highest point of elevation, Britton Hill at 345 feet (105 m), is just that, a hill, and a rather unimpressive one; the ''lowest points'' of many states have higher elevations than Britton Hill[[note]]Though technically the highest point of elevation is a roller coaster in Orlando that protrudes nearly 200 meters above sea level[[/note]].

Today, there are three distinct Floridas within the state's borders. Old Florida, a proud part of the DeepSouth, is in fact alive and well -- it just occupies inland and northern Florida as well as the panhandle, i.e. the parts of the state tourists don't see (outside of a few resort towns such as Panama City Beach). South Florida exchanged its man card and Southern credibility for lots of money, lots of sprawling suburbia, and lots of northerners (particularly East Coasters from states like New York and New Jersey). This region, especially around UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}, also hosts large communities of Caribbean immigrants and has a distinctly Latin tinge and a working knowledge of Spanish can be a big help (some ''70%'' of Miamians are Hispanic and over 70% of Miamians count a language other than English as their mother tongue: mostly Spanish, but a substantial number report Haitian Creole. It's the highest proportion in the country.). Central Florida, anchored by the Tampa Bay and Orlando metropolitan areas a.k.a the "I-4 Corridor"[[note]]Named after the interstate highway that connects the two cities[[/note]], serves as a bit of a middle ground between the two other regions and has another Northeastern atmosphere. However, some areas also have a Midwestern feel (owing in part to some transplants from that region of the country). YouShouldKnowThisAlready, but tourism is Florida's biggest industry these days (but only just ahead of agriculture) and is, along with UsefulNotes/{{California}}, one of the classic spring break and summer vacation destinations in the United States. Agriculture and phosphate mining are also common, but again are parts of the state that tourists usually don't see.

One unusual feature is the presence of pools in almost every house that can afford one. This is partly because it's nigh-impossible to have a basement in Florida -- once you dig fifteen feet, you hit groundwater. Instead, patios with small pools are almost a necessity if you want to re-sell your home, and this helps attract out-of-state buyers thanks to the novelty factor.

Geographically, there are a number of different regions in Florida, only a few of which are relevant to visitors:

And speaking of hurricanes, despite the recent tragedy of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy fixing public awareness of hurricanes on New Orleans and New York/New Jersey, respectively, Florida is the United States' main punching bag for Mother Nature's fall mood swings. Until Katrina, Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was the costliest hurricane in American history, and take a wild guess what state it struck. In 2004, the year before Katrina (which did give Florida a glancing blow -- it was Wilma who hit the Sunshine State the hardest that year), Florida was hammered by not one, but '''''four''''' major hurricanes (Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne), with three of them (all but Ivan) directly hitting Orlando. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, seven of the ten costliest hurricanes in American history gave Florida at least a glancing blow. As a result, Floridians tend to be well-prepared to batten down the hatches and go without electrical power for a while when hurricane season starts up. The big negative: it's nigh-impossible to get homeowner's insurance in the state. It's usually not a concern for tourists, though, falling after the usual summer tourism season and before the fall snowbird migration.

However, not all of Florida's coastline is created equal in terms of vulnerability to hurricanes. One major exception to the rule is the Atlantic coast north of Cape Canaveral. While many storms brush close enough to the region to cause high surf and damage in coastal towns, only ''one'' major hurricane has made direct landfall [[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/images/strikes_egulf_mjr.jpg since 1900]] -- Hurricane Dora of 1964 -- a consequence of geography (specifically, the indentation in the coastline) sheltering that area, along with coastal Georgia, from hurricanes by giving a very poor track towards landfall. Generally speaking, if a hurricane moves north of Cape Canaveral, it's gonna land up in North Carolina or the Northeast if it doesn't go out to sea. On the other hand, South Florida, followed by the Panhandle, gets a disproportionate share of the hurricanes that do hit the state.

The state has also come to be something of a poster child for areas most threatened by climate change, at least within the U.S. Much of the state lies within a few feet of sea level, and in fact the bedrock in the southern parts is made up of limestone formed from compressed seashells and coral carcasses (which combined with the high water table leads to the state getting more sinkholes than any other). This means that even slight changes in sea level can threaten settlements several miles inland, and the Keys are especially vulnerable due to how low-lying they are, which is why plans to potentially evacuate them in the future exist. The state and federal government are trying to fight this by installing levees and bulkheads, but depending on how sea level rise progresses this may only delay the inevitable; to give you an idea, nearly the entire state would be submerged in the event all of Earth's ice melted. Add to that increasing ocean temperatures fueling more ''and'' stronger hurricanes, and you get the most climate-change endangered state in the union. As if that weren't enough, Florida has more tornadoes per square mile than any other state, though most of those are pretty weak.[[note]]The vast majority of these are actually spun-off from the aforementioned hurricanes so, even when they do cause major damage, are often still overshadowed by the larger storms.[[/note]]

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won very narrow Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

The state has also come to be something of a poster child for areas most threatened by climate change, at least within the U.S. Much of the state lies within a few feet of sea level, and in fact the bedrock in the southern parts is made up of limestone formed from compressed seashells and coral carcasses (which combined with the high water table leads to the state getting more sinkholes than any other). This means that even slight changes in sea level can threaten settlements several miles inland, and the Keys are especially vulnerable due to how low-lying they are, which is why plans to potentially evacuate them in the future exist. The state and federal government are trying to fight this by installing levees and bulkheads, but depending on how sea level rise progresses this may only delay the inevitable; to give you an idea, nearly the entire state would be submerged in the event all of Earth's ice melted. Add to that increasing ocean temperatures fueling more ''and'' stronger hurricanes, and you get the most climate-change endangered state in the union.

As if that weren't enough, Florida has more tornadoes per square mile than any other state, though most of those are pretty weak.[[note]]The vast majority of these are actually spun-off from the aforementioned hurricanes so, even when they do cause major damage, are often still overshadowed by the larger storms.[[/note]]

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state in the Sun Belt or elsewhere in the country. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won very narrow Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state in the Sun Belt or elsewhere in the country. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won both the Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state in the Sun Belt or anywhere else in the country. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won both the Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

Florida has a very diverse population, with some of the largest Black and Hispanic populations of any U.S. state in the Sunbelt. The Hispanic population here is more Cuban than elsewhere in America (with the state being not too far north from Cuba itself), which affects the state politically since Cuban Floridians historically tend to vote for the Republicans, due to many of the original immigrants' being refugees from Fidel Castro's Communist regime, though their American-born descendants have steadily become more Democratic. For decades, Florida's huge population drawn from throughout the country made it a major swing state, most notably in the infamous nail-biter that was the 2000 election. In recent years, however, Florida has become more solidly Republican possibly helped by Donald Trump, like so many aging New Yorkers, setting up his permanent residence in the state during his presidency. In 2018, the GOP won both the Senate and gubernatorial races against the Democrats, maintaining their trifecta in the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor's Mansion since 1996. In 2020, Trump improved on his political performance in Florida, especially among (Mestizo) Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state despite losing the presidential election.

One unusual feature is the presence of pools in almost every house that can afford one. This is partly because it's nigh-impossible to have a basement in Florida -- once you dig fifteen feet, you hit groundwater. Instead, patios with small pools are almost a necessity if you want to re-sell your home, and these help attract out-of-state buyers thanks to the novelty factor.

** '''Saint Augustine:''' Located about a hour's drive south of Jacksonville, this is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the country, founded in 1565 by the Spanish. The old fort and the preponderance of colonial-era architecture have made it a major tourist attraction.

** '''UsefulNotes/{{Orlando}}:''' Home of theme parks like Ride/WaltDisneyWorld, [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal Orlando]], and Ride/SeaWorld, as well as a handful of other smaller theme parks of [[SouvenirLand rather]] [[CrappyCarnival questionable]] quality[[note]]Gatorland, Fun Spot, Magical Midway, and the Holy Land Experience[[/note]] some of which are little more than tourist traps. Speaking of tourist traps, the city is notable for International Drive, which contains some of the said smaller parks along with an endless amount of stores, restaurants, exhibits, and perhaps most famously the Orlando Premium Outlets - a place that's often considered an amusement park in of itself. The long street saw the addition of I-Drive Live in 2015, that specifically includes the massive Orlando Eye Ferris wheel, which has now begun to be used as the "icon" of the area. Along with all the tourist destinations, the city is also home to one of the state's major professional sports teams, the Orlando Magic of [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation the NBA]]; and the older of its two current UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer teams, Orlando City SC.[[note]]Earlier teams in Tampa and Miami folded in 2001.[[/note]] O-City also operates the Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. The University of Central Florida, known to all as simply UCF, is also located here. If you're driving south through Florida, Orlando roughly marks where Old Florida deteriorates into pockets dotting the inland corridor through the state. Go a bit further southwest on Interstate 4, and you'll find yourself in the ''other'' major city in the nearby region...

However, not all of Florida's coastline is created equal in terms of vulnerability to hurricanes. One major exception to the rule is the Atlantic coast north of Cape Canaveral. While many storms brush close enough to the region to cause high surf and damage in coastal towns, only ''one'' major hurricane has made direct landfall [[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/images/strikes_egulf_mjr.jpg since 1900]] -- Hurricane Dora of 1964 -- a consequence of geography (specifically, the indentation in the coastline) sheltering that area, along with coastal Georgia, from hurricanes by giving a very poor track towards landfall. Generally speaking, if a hurricane moves north of Cape Canaveral, it's gonna land up in North Carolina or the Northeast if it doesn't go out to sea. On the other hand, South Florida, followed by the Panhandle, get a disproportionate share of the hurricanes that do hit the state.

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums such as the [[https://thedali.org/ Salvador Dali museum]]. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs especially the Mons Venus as well as being the setting of ''Film/MagicMike''.[[note]]The reputation as the biggest home to strip clubs is exaggerated: South Florida has far more strip clubs in just Ft. Lauderdale alone, but the local moral activists came up with the "honor" in an attempt to shame the local governments into shutting the clubs down.[[/note]] It's also home to a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs especially the Mons Venus as well as being the setting of ''Film/MagicMike''.[[note]]The reputation as the biggest home to strip clubs is exaggerated: South Florida has far more strip clubs in just Ft. Lauderdale alone, but the local moral activists came up with the "honor" in an attempt to shame the local governments into shutting the clubs down.[[/note]] It's also home to a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs especially the Mons Venus as well as being the setting of ''Film/MagicMike'' and a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs especially the Venus De Milo as well as being the setting of ''Film/MagicMike'' and a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

As has been noted, Florida natives tend to be relatively few in number compared to northern immigrants in the populated coastal regions. Some of these northerners are migratory and known to natives as "snowbirds" for their habit of fleeing to Florida from snow in the north and returning home once the snow melts. Lots of them stay, however, and Florida has a disproportionate number of elderly northerners in the state, second only to the American southwest. Most Floridians like the money the tourists bring in but wish they would go home after spending their money (especially Yankees). Note that it actually ''does'' snow in Florida on occasion. It's rare, usually coming once every couple of decades, normally restricted to the northern edges of the state, and very light when it does happen, but between Florida's very mild winters and generally dry winter and spring, Florida snowfall remains little more than a curiosity. On that note, here's a quick way to distinguish natives from immigrants en masse: when a cold front hits and drops temperatures below 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit or so, natives will be the ones bundling up and talking about how it's freezing. Yes, this ''does'' qualify as cold in Florida. The flip side, of course, is that temperatures in the low-mid 90s with extremely high humidity are considered perfectly normal conditions by natives, and opening the front door anytime between May and September has been compared to walking into a sauna. (Oh, and as for the ''real'' natives of Florida, the Seminole today comprise a very small portion of the state's population, though they managed a major economic coup in the '70s when they launched the first NativeAmericanCasino, and the nation is now fairly wealthy.)

Historically, Florida has always been a little distinct from the rest of the United States. The region was colonized by the Spaniards long before the French and English arrived in the northern parts of the continent[[note]]French Huguenots did attempt to set up a colony at Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville in 1564, but it was raided and destroyed by the Spaniards a year later.[[/note]], and they gave Florida its name: Land of Flowers. Florida's lengthy and Spanish-tinged history are seldom discussed outside of the state, and even then your typical Floridian won't know much beyond a) being taught about Spanish explorers of the state like Hernando de Soto and [[FountainOfYouth Ponce de León]] back in elementary school, and b) the fact that St. Augustine, on Florida's northeast coast, is the oldest continually inhabited city in North America. Great Britain acquired Florida from Spain in 1763, including an extra length from the northern state that was later chopped off and absorbed into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; Spain got it back for helping America out in [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution the Revolution]], but Americans ([[UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson some]] with government backing) kept raiding the place to try to take it for themselves (and to recapture all of the fugitive Africans who sought refuge in the swamps and with native groups). Spain flipped sides in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 in part to keep Americans out, but finally gave up trying to defend the mostly unsettled peninsula and signed it away to the U.S. in 1821 in the Adams-Onis Treaty. Of course, that piece of paper didn't mean much to the Seminole people and other native groups who lived in Florida, and U.S. spent the next several decades going to war with the Seminole people to claim the peninsula; many of the Seminole would be forcibly relocated to present-day Oklahoma.

Historically, Florida has always been a little distinct from the rest of the United States. The region was colonized by the Spaniards long before the French and English arrived in the northern parts of the continent[[note]]French Huguenots did attempt to set up a colony at Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville in 1564, but it was raided and destroyed by the Spaniards a year later.[[/note]], and they gave Florida its name: Land of Flowers. For all practical purposes today, Florida's lengthy and Spanish-tinged history are irrelevant and largely unknown outside of the state's natives, and even then your typical Floridian won't know much beyond a) being taught about Spanish explorers of the state like Hernando de Soto and [[FountainOfYouth Ponce de León]] back in elementary school, and b) the fact that St. Augustine, on Florida's northeast coast, is the oldest continually inhabited city in North America. Great Britain acquired Florida from Spain in 1763, including an extra length from the northern state that was later chopped off and absorbed into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; Spain got it back for helping America out in [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution the Revolution]], but Americans (some with government backing) kept raiding the place and trying to take it for themselves. Spain flipped sides in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 in part to keep Americans out, but finally gave up trying to defend the mostly unpopulated peninsula and signed it away to the U.S. in 1821.

Up until the advent of air conditioning (originally invented by a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gorrie Floridian doctor]] treating malaria patients in Apalachicola during the 1830s; the system was ahead of its time and not commercially usable for another hundred years), Florida was part of the DeepSouth with all that that implies. The state was, and to a degree still is, a primarily agricultural state based on its famous citrus (especially oranges), livestock, and fishing. Florida was sparsely populated and generally had little significance and less impact on history, with the only notable exception being Key West, which was for a few decades the Richest City in the US, and one of the richest on the planet. The state did join the Confederacy in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, but again not much of interest happened -- quite a few Confederate blockade runners were based out of the state, Judah P. Benjamin escaped to England through the state, and the only battle of any size that occurred in the state was a Confederate victory that made Congress question why people were dying for the worthless backwater to begin with (but gave a moment of distinction to [[Film/{{Glory}} a certain famous all-Black Union regiment]]).

Really, "worthless backwater" aptly sums up most of Florida until just before the start of the 20th century, when the construction of the railroads led to increased trade (mostly citrus products, winter vegetables and cattle) with the North, and the cigar industry developed in Tampa. Following the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar, tourism really picked up, and thanks to the efforts of railroad builders and the mild nature of winter in the state, the first real estate boom led to the development of much of South Florida in the 1920's. Unfortunately, this initial housing boom turned out to be a bubble and its bursting by the end of the decade was one of the major factors leading to TheGreatDepression, which set the state back once again. Following the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, however, the development of air conditioning, highways (in case you haven't realized it, Florida is a ''big'' state for folks traveling north or south)[[note]]Not counting the keys, its 430 miles north-south; that's half the length of California. Throw in the keys and Florida is just under 550 miles north-south, making it the fourth longest state in the US after Alaska, California, and Texas.[[/note]], and a second real estate boom led to Florida's transformation into the conglomeration of suburbs, beaches, and retirement homes it is today.

As has been noted, Florida natives tend to be relatively few in number compared to northern immigrants in the populated coastal regions. Some of these northerners are migratory and known to natives as "snowbirds" for their habit of fleeing to Florida from snow in the north and returning home once the snow melts. Lots of them stay, however, and Florida has a disproportionate number of elderly northerners in the state, second only to the American southwest. Most Floridians like the money the tourists bring in but wish they would go home after spending their money (especially Yankees). Note that it actually ''does'' snow in Florida on occasion. It's rare, usually coming once every couple of decades, normally restricted to the northern edges of the state, and very light when it does happen, but between Florida's very mild winters and generally dry winter and spring, Florida snowfall remains little more than a curiosity.

On that note, here's a quick way to distinguish natives from immigrants en masse: when a cold front hits and drops temperatures below 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit or so, natives will be the ones bundling up and talking about how it's freezing. Yes, this ''does'' qualify as cold in Florida. The flip side, of course, is that temperatures in the low-mid 90s with extremely high humidity are considered perfectly normal conditions by natives, and opening the front door anytime between May and September has been compared to walking into a sauna.

The Sunshine State and primary WeirdnessMagnet for UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates, '''Florida''' is mainly known for a few things: weird stuff that happens OnlyInFlorida, lots of beaches, undocumented immigrants (primarily Caribbean rather than Mexican and many of whom speak languages other than Spanish), and lots and lots of elderly northerners.

Historically, Florida has always been a little distinct from the rest of the United States. The region was colonized by the Spaniards long before the French and English arrived in the northern parts of the continent[[note]]French Huguenots did attempt to set up a colony at Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville in 1564, but it was raided and destroyed by the Spaniards a year later.[[/note]], and they gave Florida its name: Land of Flowers. For all practical purposes today, Florida's lengthy and Spanish-tinged history are irrelevant and largely unknown outside of the state's natives, and even then your typical Floridian won't know much beyond a) being taught about Spanish explorers of the state like Hernando de Soto and [[FountainOfYouth Ponce de León]] back in elementary school, and b) the fact that St. Augustine, on Florida's northeast coast, is the oldest continually inhabited city in North America. Great Britain acquired Florida from Spain in 1763, including an extra length from the northern state that was later chopped off and absorbed into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs (it was the setting of ''Film/MagicMike'') and a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. The Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s (Florida Gulf Coast).[[/note]] \\

Being the biggest metropolitan area of Florida, it is home to most of the state's professional sports teams, including the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA's]] Miami Heat, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL's]] Miami Dolphins, the [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams MLB's]] Miami Marlins, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL's]] Florida Panthers, and Inter Miami CF of [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer MLS]]. While the former two teams are considered either powerhouses in their league (in the case of the Heat) or former powerhouses (in the case of the Dolphins, whose great era came in TheSeventies under head coach Don Shula), the latter two are generally considered to be the {{Butt Monkey}}s of their respective leagues. The Marlins are better known for their garish ballpark than anything, while many South Floridians are unaware of the very existence of the Panthers. [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball College football]] is also very popular in the area, with the University of Miami's Hurricanes being one of the state's three major historic powerhouses (along with the aforementioned University of Florida and Florida State University).\\\

** '''Jacksonville:''' Located in the northeast corner of the state about twenty miles from the Georgia border, this is the most populous city in the state and the ''largest'' city in the contiguous United States... by land area, that is.[[note]] The five largest cities in the United States by land area are all in UsefulNotes/{{Alaska}}. From largest to smallest, they are Yakutat, Sitka, Juneau, Wrangell, and Anchorage. The state's most populous city by far is Anchorage, to give you an idea of what this statistic means.[[/note]] Its metropolitan area, however, is only the fourth most populated in the state (behind South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Orlando); the reason the population of the city proper is so high is because it covers almost the entire county around it, and the metro area doesn't go much beyond that. It's home to two major naval bases, a seaport, and the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team]], which has the smallest sports market in North American professional sports (essentially just the Panhandle and North Florida, and even some parts of that area will sometimes play games from other Southern teams). There is also a Minor League baseball team, the Jacksonville Suns, who are affiliated with the Miami Marlins. The city is also a melting pot of sorts; it has the tenth largest Muslim population in the country and is home to many Asian, Hispanic, African, and European immigrants.

** '''UsefulNotes/{{Orlando}}:''' Home of theme parks like Ride/WaltDisneyWorld, [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal Orlando]], and Ride/SeaWorld, as well as a handful of other smaller theme parks of [[SouvenirLand rather]] [[CrappyCarnival questionable]] quality[[note]]Gatorland, Fun Spot, Magical Midway, and the Holy Land Experience[[/note]] some of which are little more than tourist traps. Speaking of tourist traps, the city is notable for International Drive, which contains some of the said smaller parks along with an endless amount of stores, restaurants, exhibits, and perhaps most famously the Orlando Premium Outlets - a place that's often considered an amusement park in of itself. The long street saw the addition of I-Drive Live in 2015, that specifically includes the massive Orlando Eye Ferris wheel, which has now begun to be used as the "icon" of the area. Along with all the tourist destinations, the city is also home to one of the state's major professional sports teams, the Orlando Magic of [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation the NBA]]; and (currently) its only UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer team, Orlando City SC.[[note]]Earlier teams in Tampa and Miami folded in 2001. A new Miami team is scheduled to launch in 2020.[[/note]] The University of Central Florida is also located here. If you're driving south through Florida, Orlando roughly marks where Old Florida deteriorates into pockets dotting the inland corridor through the state. Go a bit further southwest on Interstate 4, and you'll find yourself in the ''other'' major city in the nearby region...
** '''The Tampa Bay area''' is normally spun off into its own region. The Northerners in this area are more likely to be from the Midwest than the Northeast, due to Interstate 75 connecting it with UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Historically, this was a major citrus growing area, though much of that has moved outward and inland. Although Orlando is generally regarded as the "theme park city" of Florida, Tampa manages to hold its own with Ride/BuschGardens, which is famous for its many roller coasters, though the area as a whole is generally more renowned for its large number of world-class museums. On the other end of the spectrum, it's also known for its strip clubs (it was the setting of ''Film/MagicMike'') and a number of on-and-off sports teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]] (which actually play in nearby St. Petersburg), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the NFL]], and a surprisingly solid (given the area) [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The University of South Florida is located here, despite it not really being in South Florida.[[note]]The state legislature chartered South Florida in 1956 when Tampa was the southernmost metro aside from Miami in need of a public university. In 1961 they approved Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in 1969, so it was too late to rename the Tampa school. Fort Myers and Naples area was not populous enough for a public college until the 1990s.[[/note]] \\

* '''Southwest Florida:''' A long stretch of towns and small cities running from the southern end of Tampa Bay down to the Everglades. Can be roughly grouped into four areas, from north to south: the Sarasota-Bradenton area, the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte area, the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area, and the Naples-Bonita Springs area. The whole region is generally viewed as the place where the snowbirds flock and where elderly Northerners come to die, and there is ''definitely'' some truth to this; for example, Venice, a small city roughly 20 minutes from Sarasota, has a median population age of 69, and the story is much the same in the surrounding towns and cities. Much like the Tampa area, Southwest Florida's Northerners are largely Midwestern, and most particularly from Michigan and Ohio.

Being the biggest metropolitan area of Florida, it is home to most of the state's professional sports teams, including the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA's]] Miami Heat, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL's]] Miami Dolphins, the [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams MLB's]] Miami Marlins, and the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL's]] Florida Panthers. While the former two teams are considered either powerhouses in their league (in the case of the Heat) or former powerhouses (in the case of the Dolphins, whose great era came in TheSeventies under head coach Don Shula), the latter two are generally considered to be the {{Butt Monkey}}s of their respective leagues. The Marlins are better known for their garish ballpark than anything, while many South Floridians are unaware of the very existence of the Panthers. [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball College football]] is also very popular in the area, with the University of Miami's Hurricanes being one of the state's three major historic powerhouses (along with the aforementioned University of Florida and Florida State University).\\\

** Aside from some points like Marathon and Key West, US-1 is pretty much the only road in the Keys. When getting directions in the Keys, expect it to be in reference to the Mile Marker.

** It's also pretty bad between Florida State and "The U" of Miami, due to being in the same athletic conference and due to the 1990s when FSU, UF and UM vied for the national title on a yearly basis.
** There is somewhat less animosity between the UF and Miami fanbases since the two schools discontinued their annual rivalry game in the late '80s. On the rare occasion when the teams ''do'' face each other however, expect a ton of bragging and trash talking from both sides.
** Oddly enough, there's not much of a rivalry between the professional teams, although passions do run high between Orlando Magic and Miami Heat fans. A lot of it has to do with most of the pro teams playing in different conferences or divisions with little at stake: there had been only one playoff game between Jacksonville Jaguars the and Miami Dolphins, for example. Most pro team rivalries (Dolphins vs. AFC East, Bucs vs. NFC South in football; Marlins vs. Braves, Rays vs. Yankees and Red Sox in baseball) are with out-of-state opponents. The Lightning and Panthers ''do'' share a division, but have never met in the playoffs.

* ProfessionalWrestling: While the top two companies in the US both have their corporate headquarters elsewhere (Wrestling/{{WWE}} in Stamford, Connecticut and [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] in Nashville, Tennessee,) both have strong ties to the state. TNA previous held all of their weekly shows at the "Impact Zone," a soundstage at Universal Studios in Orlando before taking the show on the road. WWE's developmental program, NXT, recently opened a new performance center in Orlando, after having it previously under the title of Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa (this is especially interesting as the two companies categorically do '''NOT''' get along.) Also, because of this, a large number of wrestlers: current, former, and upcoming, now call Florida home (though, for the sake of variety, most are billed from their childhood home, such as current Tampa native John Cena still being billed from his childhood home in West Newbury, Massachusetts.)

** The newly established promotion All Elite Wrestling has it's headquarters in Jacksonville, due to the owner Tony Khan's father owning The Jacksonville Jaguars.