Big Cities are a Big Draw for Gen Z

[Crawford]

Northern FL, especially north of the Villages, mostly feels deep South, but the southern half of the state is its own weird thing, IMO. It doesn't have an U.S. equivalent.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by montréaliste

My only question is: what comes after generation Z?

good question -- i looked and its gen alpha:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Alpha

wellll ...

[Gantz]

Lack of high paying jobs has always been a Florida issue (same for Hawaii).
I think in recent years it has actually gotten better in FL as far as professional jobs are concerned. Back about 20 years ago, it was basically just fast food/retail jobs/service sector tourism jobs. There are actually some tech jobs in Florida nowadays and a lot more finance jobs.
Florida has been growing way too much recently, just crazy growth. Construction there can't keep up.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by pj3000

"Deep Southern" states are not composed mainly of transplants and 1st and 2nd generation residents.

Georgia? I'd still call that state the Deep South but it now has many transplants and immigrants.

[mrnyc]

all that growth in the middle of the state especially now like in orlando on down is effing up the everglades.

so that will be toast soon, but i guess it wont matter as florida floods out with the rising tides.

i hope they can all fit on mt dora lol.

yet i hate going down there, even despite plenty of actual good times, but you cant avoid it.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Georgia? I'd still call that state the Deep South but it now has many transplants and immigrants.

True, but I think that Georgia is a state with MUCH more history rooted in the deep south than Florida. Georgia was an original colony and long-established state by the time Florida came into American existence in the mid-1800s. And I think it's just a size thing too... with Florida being over 7x the size that it was at the end of WWII.

The post-Civil War population boom Florida saw was mainly due to northern railroad money, not some sort of connection with southern heritage. It was much more a "blank slate" with relatively sparse population until the early decades of the 1900s, when it was mainly populated by those from outside of the southern US from then on.

[goat314]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Florida had less than 3M population in 1950.

By 1980, it had 10M. By 2000, 16M. Over 22M now.

"Deep Southern" states are not composed mainly of transplants and 1st and 2nd generation residents.

You're making the assumption that a crapload of Floridians don't have roots in other Southern states. I know plenty of Floridians, black and white, that family comes from Georgia, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, etc.

[goat314]

Originally Posted by pj3000

True, but I think that Georgia is a state with MUCH more history rooted in the deep south than Florida. Georgia was an original colony and long-established state by the time Florida came into American existence in the mid-1800s. And I think it's just a size thing too... with Florida being over 7x the size that it was at the end of WWII.

The post-Civil War population boom Florida saw was mainly due to northern railroad money, not some sort of connection with southern heritage. It was much more a "blank slate" with relatively sparse population until the early decades of the 1900s, when it was mainly populated by those from outside of the southern US from then on.

Florida is Southern in cuisine, accent, politics, architecture, mannerism, etc. It is a unique state with it's own distinct culture, like every other state, but it's odd to me when some people deny Florida is a Southern state. Even Miami, although it has a very international feel, does have Southern vibes and nuances in my opinion.

[JManc]

Northern Florida is very much the deep south. Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Pensacola, etc all have more incommon with Birmingham, Mobile, Charleston, Atlanta than South Florida.

[badrunner]

The Florida Panhandle is the Florida of Florida.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by goat314

You're making the assumption that a crapload of Floridians don't have roots in other Southern states. I know plenty of Floridians, black and white, that family comes from Georgia, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, etc.

No, I'm not making that assumption. I'm aware of that southern-rooted crapload.

And I'm also aware of a crapload of Floridians who have roots in northern states, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Since we're talking personal anecdotes, I know plenty of these black and white Floridians as well.

Originally Posted by goat314

Florida is Southern in cuisine, accent, politics, architecture, mannerism, etc. It is a unique state with it's own distinct culture, like every other state, but it's odd to me when some people deny Florida is a Southern state. Even Miami, although it has a very international feel, does have Southern vibes and nuances in my opinion.

Florida is a southern state, I wouldn't deny that. But you claimed:

Originally Posted by goat314

Florida is basically a more crowded Mississippi or Louisiana once you get a few miles from the beach. Florida is still a southern state, a deep southern state at that...

And that's where you lost me. Florida is not a "deep southern state" akin to Mississippi and Louisiana. Not even close.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by Gantz

Lack of high paying jobs has always been a Florida issue (same for Hawaii).
I think in recent years it has actually gotten better in FL as far as professional jobs are concerned. Back about 20 years ago, it was basically just fast food/retail jobs/service sector tourism jobs. There are actually some tech jobs in Florida nowadays and a lot more finance jobs.
Florida has been growing way too much recently, just crazy growth. Construction there can't keep up.

I guess it remains to be seen how badly DeSantis ruins Florida's reputation. Then again, our Gov Abbott is as bad, yet people just keep coming, mostly for professional jobs. Even those who despise Abbott keep coming. As long as there are jobs, they'll be here.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Northern FL, especially north of the Villages, mostly feels deep South, but the southern half of the state is its own weird thing, IMO. It doesn't have an U.S. equivalent.

Interestingly, when I've visited The Villages and gone outside the city or whatever it's called, I've noticed how quickly the roadsides are trashy and what you see has that untidy Southern look. I recall one trip where we came to a highway intersection at the edge of the Villages, and 100 feet later there was broken glass and litter. Yet as soon as you enter The Villages, everything looks perfect for miles (it's a huge area). There's nothing about The Villages that looks southern, but it's surrounded by the South alright.

[llamaorama]

The Villages sounds like The Woodlands outside of Houston, although the latter is not an age-restricted retirement community. The Woodlands is a master planned community but the area surrounding it is definitely, well, not. Montgomery County, Texas is also hyper-conservative.

Another area that has a similar appearance when viewed from Google Earth (never been there in person) which maybe not coincidentally has similar politics is Tampa's northern Hernando county suburbs like Spring Hill.

[JManc]

Isn't the villages full racist and randy old folks?

[L41A]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Florida had less than 3M population in 1950.

By 1980, it had 10M. By 2000, 16M. Over 22M now.

"Deep Southern" states are not composed mainly of transplants and 1st and 2nd generation residents.

Florida of today is mainly of transplants.

Southerners (people from Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas, etc) are not nearly as excited about Florida as people from Midwest and Northeast. They do not run there to vacation or have strong desire to move there. And thusly they have not propelled it to the population that Florida has now. It's as likely that people who have multi-generational Florida roots prior to 1950 (ie 'Southern') are moving out of Florida than someone from Georgia/Carolinas, etc moving there.

But because Florida politics of today, people want to lump it with South where it conveniently fits for them. Florida politics is dominated by people who are not from nearby Southern states. Donald Trump is from New York. Desantis is a 1st generational Floridian whose roots even in the US ain't that deep. Rick Scott is from Illinois and Missouri. Even Jeb Bush is not really Southern. Conversely, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, John Lewis or any current nearby Southern state politician (R or D) is not influencing Florida politics. It's mainly the transplants which is want Florida is predominantly.

Florida fascinates me. Many people seemingly really love it and are allured to live there. But my philosophy on many things is not to pigeon-hole. It is what it is.

[JManc]

Florida is basically New York State with Cubans and alligators.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by JManc

Isn't the villages full racist and randy old folks?

Yes. STDs are pretty high in number there.

[Gantz]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I guess it remains to be seen how badly DeSantis ruins Florida's reputation. Then again, our Gov Abbott is as bad, yet people just keep coming, mostly for professional jobs. Even those who despise Abbott keep coming. As long as there are jobs, they'll be here.

Why would DeSantis ruin Florida's reputation? At least half of the country love him, that's a lot of people. Internal US migration patterns support this as people are voting with their feet. Whatever he is doing is clearly working.
If you see FL start losing population, thats when you know the state is unpopular.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Gantz

Why would DeSantis ruin Florida's reputation? At least half of the country love him, that's a lot of people. Internal US migration patterns support this as people are voting with their feet. Whatever he is doing is clearly working.
If you see FL start losing population, thats when you know the state is unpopular.

People aren't moving to Florida for DeSantis or his policies. Just like people weren't moving to Florida for Bob Martinez, Lawton Chiles, Charlie Crist, Jeb Bush, Rick Scott or their policies.