5 Florida Myths----Busted!

Florida, the great land of sunshine and theme parks, is for many people a family tourist destination, a wonderful place to call home, or simply known to some non-Floridians as a little appendage hanging off the Southeast United States whose coasts are lashed by hurricanes, lined with umbrellas, and stacked with condominiums. Yet, no matter what your relationship with Florida, it is true that a great many people, Floridian and non-Floridians alike, rally do not know much about our 27th state. In this article, we will look at the demolition of five myths that many people may have about the land that glaciers forgot.

Myth #5: It Doesn't Snow in Florida

And speaking of glaciers...in fact, this myth is wrong, as snow falls in Florida more often than people may think. While the bulk of Florida's snow (whatever the state receives of it) falls in the Panhandle (where Pensacola and the state capital, Tallahassee, are located), snowflakes and flurries have reached the ground as far south as Miami. In the last thirty years, significant winter precipitation events include flakes falling near Orlando in 2006; light snowfall near Cape Canaveral in 2003; snow in the Panhandle during 1993's "storm of the century"; widespread, measurable white precipitation during a major freeze event in 1989 (light flurries and snow fell in sporadic locations such as the panhandle region, central, and southern Florida); and measurable snow all throughout Florida during a major Arctic blast in 1977.

Myth #4: There Are No Significant Civil War Sites in Florida

While Florida is often not thought of as having much connection to the Civil War, in fact there are several prominent places in the state where significant Civil War battles took place or, otherwise, lines were drawn. These places include Santa Rosa Island (southwest of Pensacola, near the Florida/Alabama border), Natural Bridge (southeast of Tallahassee), Olustee (also called Ocean Pond, near I-10 between Lake City and Jacksonville), and Fort Brooke (located in Tampa). There were 154 casualties in the Santa Rosa skirmish (a Union victory) A total of 174 casualties resulted from a clash between Union and Confederate forces at Natural Bridge (Confederates won that run-in). 2,806 casualties occurred in Olustee when Union forces attempted to cut off Rebel supply routes, recruit blacks to serve in the Union military, and otherwise secure areas already occupied by Union soldiers; however, they were met up by Confederates and were pushed back by the Rebels, resulting in a victory for the southern effort. At Fort Brooke, an unknown number of people were either injured or killed when Union ships invaded the Rebel outpost, successfully advancing the Union's cause.

Myth #3: Floida is "Flat"

This "myth" is probably based more on a matter of relativity than actual geologic fact. Certainly, the Appalachians are nothing more than mere ripples to the person who has seen the great and jagged Rockies. Say what you will about mountains but, geologically, Florida is "not" a narrow flank of line-flat land. While the Everglades (at the southern tip of the state) are indeed flat wetlands, most areas in the central part of the state are in fact very hilly. A drive up U.S. 301 near Zephyrhills (just northeast of Tampa) is nothing less than an undulating ride; the same applies for many highway trips east and west in he interior heart of the state. Cars left in neutral gear actually roll "up" Spook Hill in Lake Wales (off Highway 27, south of Kissimmee and east of Tampa). And, by the way, the highest point in the state is 345 feet, at the top of a hill in Walton County (in the Panhandle, between Pensacola and Tallahassee).

Myth #2: Florida is Nothing but a Bunch of Retirement Communities

Granted, Florida does have numerous retirement communities of every scale, size, and dimension. However, these retirement communities and their residents represent only a small portion of the state's population. In fact, of the 18,089,889 people estimated to have been living in Florida in 2006, per Census Bureau estimates, only 16.8% (3,034,117 were 65 years or older in age (12.4% of the United States population as a whole is in this age cohort).While the southeast corridor (the areas encompassing places like Miami, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale) and West Central portions of the state are two of the areas where retirement communities are particularly numerous, it is fair to say that, no matter where in the state you are, one typically finds that most subdivisions and neighborhoods are mixed-age populationswhere young families, retired couples, and jet-setting thirty-somethings all live together in peace and harmony.

Myth #1: Living in Florida is Cheap

This is a myth which is further "busted" more and more every year. Florida indeed once was paradise on the cheap. Not too many years ago, it was a state to where you could move if you were hoping to avoid paying high taxes, vaults of money to buy a house, and having to purchase parkas, heating oil, and snow blowers every winter. Those days are long gone, as the real estate market exploded in Florida over the past several years, raising housing prices through the roof. Property taxes have been on a steep escalation in many localities throughout over the past decade or so and---for those who are unaware---there is a housing insurance crisis going on in the state. Several hurricanes have destroyed thousands of homes over the past fifteen years (dating back to when Hurricane Andrew hit the southern tip of the state in 1992, killing and injuring dozens, and decimating Homestead, a large town near Miami). Between wind-damaged structures throughout the state, floods in major cities, and property-effecting coastal erosion on the state's shores, insurance companies have been exponentially raising rates, and many homeowners have been dropped from their coverage altogether---simply because many insurance companies no longer want to risk paying out expensive claims from homeowners whose houses are damaged or destroyed by storms. But for those Floridians who somehow manage to pay their pricey mortgage, high property taxes, and formidable home insurance premiums (if they can even find a company who will cover their property) there is a silver lining to living in Florida----many, many outlet malls.

Resources:

"CWSAC Battle Summaries." Heritage Preservation Services. 17 September 2007. http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/FLmap.htm

"Florida." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003.

"2006 Florida Fact Sheet." Census Bureau. 17 September 2007. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&_lang=en&_sse=on&geo_id=04000US12&_state=04000US12

"The Legend of Spook Hill." Roadside America. 17 September 2007. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/FLLAKspook.html