8) Unless she changes her mind, my granddaughter will be attending the University of North Florida, which is in Jacksonville. Since I've never been to this state, I need to know, will she be surrounded by old people, rednecks, tourists or a combination of all of them?
Grin...In Florida there is always the certainty of being surrounded by old people and tourist but in Jacksonville there will not be as many...If she ventures off to the west of the city she will need to invest in pair of boots and take up chewing tobacco... North Florida is a nice area and you get a taste of the seasonal changes in the weather up there... Ralph
I grew up in Jax and now it is decidedly a mixed bag of all of the above whereas when I grew up it was decidedly redneck. The natives sound more like S. Ga. in dialect than they do Floridian. Ralph is right about the west side....think Lynrd Skynrd but UNF is more toward the beach and it's upscale college educated populace. Pretty accurate map Ralph although the Tampa area is very diverse to go along with it's old Midwestern crowd. Also....the line south of Tallahassee may need to be moved a little more west because that is the reddest of all redneck areas in the state.
I had to laugh because my wife and I chaperoned 17 & 18 year olds at a concert in Ybor city a few weeks ago (2 1/2 hours from the house). It was very diverse all right, matter of fact it seemed to get more diverse the later it got that night. There are some scary folks walking around after midnight in Tampa, it was rather interesting to watch....We watched Batman & The Grim Reaper walking around and were invited to a midget jello toss by a six foot five leprechaun among many other interesting things we experienced that night. I agree with the Midwestern crowd though not as many as their use to be. The Ft. Myers area has acres and acres of Buckeye and Wolvernine fans...Probably outnumbering the state schools fans in the heat of the tourist season. I do have a question for you, what is the Floridian dialect??? I live in the South Central part of the State (Fruit groves & Rednecks) and it sounds much like S. Georgia. When I cross the interstate on either coast to do business I have to bring an interpreter so folks can understand my "Suthern Speakin".... :wink: Ralph
Interesting that you say S. Fla natives have that same S. Ga dialect I grew up listening to. In Jax...as in my own family the "Florida" dialect is more of a southern drawl.....a lot smoother and more urban sounding than that rough edged S Ga twang accent. In Tampa the natives I know have a version of that but even less of the true southern drawl sound which could be a function of living around so many northerners for so long. On Ybor....I haven't been there at night....it's 40 minutes east.....GUD at night...but I do hear it is quite a wild place. This area has so many factors in the mix.....the Tiki bar/beach resort/fishing scene ( my personal favorite ), great golf courses (Innisbrook, etc. ), the big city urban scene in downturnTampa, all major sports except BB, the big city hood/criminal scene in east Tampa, the low life cracker crackhead scene ( scattered about in just about all low income areas, the art/cultural scene ( downtown St. Pete amongst others ), Greektown/sponge docks in Tarpon Springs and a vibrant music scene which abounds in many areas. It's a pretty cool place overall but not without it's problems. I just try to avoid the problems when possible and Ybor City just might be that late on a Friday night.
Downtown Jax has a waterfront scene that I understand can get pretty crazy late at night.....and she might be attracted to go there.....but I don't see anything you can do about it. You just have to give as much advice on safety every chance you get and hope it sticks.
Our place is in Hobe Sound which is in Martin County on the east coast in south Florida, just above Jupiter. At 56 I would like to think I'm not old and I am decidedly not rich. But in general I would agree with the characterization. As far as accents go in that area, I would say Boston-New York-New Jersey as much as any.
Ahh come on George you know my 2nd cousin Cooter crossed the interstate to fix your Jaguar last season.... And I can promise you that I was growing "them there oranges" for you to sip your morning juice.... All crazy talk aside Florida has a continuous identity crisis it seems...We are in the South but not considered southern. If you go to either coast you can get a better bagel than in Gotham city. If you drive to the next County from my house you would think you warped into Georgia because its so southern and where the county fair is the pinnacle event of the year. You can go down to Miami while your visiting Gonzo and not find anyone who speaks english while shopping at Sears...Florida grows most of the nations winter vegetables and is the 3rd largest cattle producer in the nation but nobody would know (Most of Frederic Remington's early cowboy paintings were Florida cowboys). Add to that it has the oldest city in America and the largest tourist traps known to mankind...What does Miami, Gainesville and Tallahassee have in common??? Absolutely nothing except that they happen to have University's and pretty good football teams....And to top it all off the University of Central Florida is the largest college in the state... :wink: :wink: Ralph
8) Florida sounds like California...even the people who live here don't know what it is. I teach in the desert and my students think that Los Angeles is in "Northern California." When I asked them where the nearest big California city is, they reply, "Las Vegas."
Jimbo! your kids arent that far off!!!.. I cant tell you how many people I speak to almost daily on the internet that think RHODE ISLAND is part of LONG ISLAND, NY.
How to find Florida from Nebraska = you go east till you smell it, then you go south till you step in it. 3 things I can think of good to come out of Florida = I 75, I 95, # 15...
Pay no attention to our **** kicking friend from the corn state.... 8) First JO'Co. Now JIF. Looks like were getting the band back togther
Kernel Korn did you write this all by yourself or did you get help to spell out the words...Enjoy those wonderful feedlots now, the pinnacle of Nebraska greatness and the smell of home sweet home.....