I Love Florida

Palm trees at Mizner Park, Boca Raton, Florida

I love Florida.  I was born here and I am a Florida native.  I love the beaches , with the salty waves of the Atlantic, the Palm trees and foliage, the flamingos, the Florida sun, the Keys, the cultural diversity, and Florida's interesting history.  Florida has acres of land in the Everglades, the habitat of some of our wildlife. Florida is home to the Seminole Tribe. 

In spite of the crazy things that people hear on the news about Florida, it is my home.  My cultural and ethnic heritage is Black American.  One half of my family hails from the South and the other half hails from all over the Caribbean.  So, we are tropical people.  I can't see myself living in a place where the weather is very cold. 

And speaking of "the South".  I visited some of my people in Georgia several years, ago.  The Georgia lifestyle is a stark contrast to the pace of Florida, where I live. There are some aspects of Georgia which are really nice.   

The homes and shopping centers are spread further apart in Georgia, than in other urban areas in Florida. The crime rates are comparably lower in Georgia and so is the cost of living.  I think that it is a great state for retirement and relaxation.  The scenery, the red clay, the hills are so beautiful and bring a sense of serenity. 

Speaking of hills, I was headed back to Florida, from Georgia in the wee hours of the morning, years ago.  I drove up  a hill and going down the other side of the hill, I noticed a glowing pair of eyes off to the side of the road.   I figure that it was a deer waiting to cross the street.  I hadn't seen anything like that before, so it scared the bejesus out of me. But, I digress. 

Back to the subject.  When it comes to shopping venues, tourism destinations, the night life and social scene, Georgia lags behind Florida.   No offense to all the "ATLiens", but from what I could see, Atlanta has nothing on Miami or even Fort Lauderdale for that matter.  I haven't visited Georgia in a long time, so maybe things have changed.  There is a lot of land there which is undeveloped. 

Florida has so much to enjoy, like our theme parks, museums, tourist attractions, cuisine, and parks & recreation centers.  Gaming is turning into a booming industry here, as well.  I am aware that there are other places with an older,richer history, breath taking scenery, superb architecture, and better tourism than Florida (e.g. Italy, China, Japan).  I just have to give mad props to my home state. 

The only things that I don't like about Florida are the inclement weather and some of our critters.  We flood out a lot, since much of Florida turf is below sea level.  The hurricanes destroy property and leave us without electricity for days or weeks.   And, the spiders, lizards, mosquitoes and cockroaches leave much to be desired.  It seems that there are more lizards in Florida than there are people.  That's part of tropical living.  It comes with the territory.  

© Copyright 2014 Susan Broadbelt