I'm from Central Florida, right outside of Daytona Beach. Now, I've traveled all throughout the south (excluding Tennessee & Kentucky) but, I have never been south of Tampa, so I really don't know what that third of Florida is like.
Most people where I'm from considers Florida southern, with the exception of Miami, and I've met people who think that only North and Central Florida is southern, and then I have met people that think the Florida is entirely southern, and just because we have one big city with a diverse cultural experience, doesn't mean that it takes away from being southern.
Obviously, compared to other non-southern states, Florida is southern, but compared to southern states, is Florida southern?
I'm going to go ahead and agree with the statement that Florida as a whole is southern.. I look at it this way, 1) we were in the confederacy, which was the south. 2) If we look at it like 2/3, then that is majority, (even though I don't see it like that), and majority wins, or makes generalizations. 3) Unless you are from/raised in a different state/country, everyone from Florida that I have ever met has a southern drawl.
But that's just my opinion, I want to know other people's opinions!
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Florida is a southern state
no doubt
but in the Florida, the further south you go, the more north you get
Geographically, Florida is a southern state.
But Florida is not part of The South. Floridians are descended from people from throughout the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. States in The South are more localized in character.
It shares a lot with the other states in the region as to culture, much more than it shares with states in other parts of the country. Florida has more of an immigrant culture as well as residents who came from other states, but that does not change its position as a southern state. Nearly all states have large numbers of people who are not native to the state. We have a very mobile culture.
If Florida is not a Southern state, then there are no Southern states.
It is a matter of geography, not history that determines that.