A portrait of Florida

A PORTRAIT OF FLORIDA

For the majority of Florida’s 40 million-plus annual visitors, the typical travel poster images of Florida – sun, sea, sand, and Mickey Mouse – are reason enough to jump on the next plane. The Sunshine State deserves its reputation as the perfect family vacation spot, but Florida is much richer in its culture, landscape, and character than its stereotypical image suggests.

It is easy to turn a blind eye to what lies beyond the Florida coast, where the beaches are varied

and abundant enough to satisfy every visitor – whether you want simply to relax beneath azure skies or make the most of the state’s fine sports facilities. However, great rewards await those who put aside their suntan lotion and beach towels to explore.

The lush forests, the rolling hills of the north, the colourful displays of bougainvillea and azaleas in spring shatter the myth that Florida’s landscape is totally dull and flat. Wherever you are, it is only a short trip from civilization to wild areas, such as the Everglades, which harbor an extraordinary diversity of plant and animal life, and where alligators and snakes are living reminders of the inhospitable place that Florida was not much more than 100 years ago. By world standards the state was a late developer (most of its historic districts date only from the early 1900s), but Florida boasts the nation’s oldest town: St. Augustine, where a rare wealth of well-preserved buildings provide a

glimpse of life in the 18th century. Both climatically and culturally, Florida is a state divided – a bridge

between temperate North America and tropical Latin America and the Caribbean. In the north, roads are lined with stately live oak trees and people speak with a southern drawl, 

PEOPLE AND SOCIETY

The state “where everyone is from somewhere else,” Florida has always been a cultural hodgepodge. The Seminole Indians, who arrived in the 17th century, have been in Florida longer than any other group. They live mostly on reservations, but you see them by the roadside in some southern areas, selling their colorful, hand-made crafts. The best candidates for the title of “true Floridian” are the Cracker farmers, whose ancestors settled in the state in the 1800s; their while, in the south, shade from the subtropical sun is cast by palm trees, and the inhabitants of Miami are as

likely to speak Spanish as English. Name comes perhaps from the cracking of their cattle whips or the cracking of corn to make grits. Unless you explore the interior, you probably won’t meet a Cracker; along the affluent, heavily populated coast, you’ll rub shoulders mainly with people whose roots lie in more northerly states.

North Americans have poured into Florida since World War II; the twentieth most populous state in the US in 1950, Florida is now ranked fourth. The largest single group to move south has been the retirees, for whom Florida’s climate and lifestyle of leisure (plus its tax concessions) hold great appeal after a life of hard work. Retirees take full advantage of Florida’s recreational and cultural opportunities. You’ll see many seniors playing a round of golf, fishing, or browsing around one of

Florida’s state-of-the art shopping malls. While super-rich communities like Palm Beach fit the conservative and staid image that some people still have of Florida, the reality is very Miami Cubans

playing dominos different. An increasing number of the new arrivals are young people, for whom Florida is a land of opportunity, a place to have fun and enjoy the good life.

It is this younger generation that has helped turn Miami’s South Beach, where beautiful bodies

pose against a backdrop of Art Deco hotels, into one of the trendiest resorts in the US.

There has also been massive immigration from Latin America, and Miami has a large Cuban community. Here, salsa and merengue beats fill the air while exuberant festivals fill the calendar. The ethnic diversity is also celebrated in the local food: as well as genuine re-creations of Caribbean and other ethnic dishes, you can enjoy the exciting and innovative dishes that have emerged with the craze for cross-cultural cuisine.

ECONOMICS AND TOURISM

Economically, Florida is not in bad shape compared with other US states. For most of its history, the state’s main source of revenue has been agriculture: citrus fruits, vegetables, sugar, and cattle. Citrus grows mainly in central Florida, where fruit trees can stretch as far as the eye can see. High-

tech industry is significant too, while the proximity of Miami to Latin America and the

Caribbean has made it the natural route for US trade with the region. Florida’s warm climate has also generated high-profile money-spinners: spring baseball training draws teams and lots of fans south, while the fashion trade brings models by the hundreds and plenty of glamour to Miami.

It is tourism that fills the state’s coffers. The Walt Disney World Resort may appear to dominate the tourist industry, but Florida makes the most of all its assets: its superb beaches, its location within easy striking distance of the Bahamas and the Caribbean (the state’s cruise industry is flourishing), and its natural habitats. After decades of unbridled development,

Florida has finally learned the importance of safeguarding its natural heritage. Vast areas of land have already disappeared beneath factories, condos, and cabbage fields, but those

involved in industry and agriculture are acting more responsibly, and water use is now being strictly monitored. Florida’s natural treasures, from its swamps to its last remaining panthers, are now protected for posterity.