Florida, Your Adopted Hometown

Flags on Any Given Sunday

On any given Sunday in South Florida, flags wave in the wind. Yes, plenty of American flags—but even more so, flags from a wide variety of NFL football teams.

The Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers (lots), Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears (Go Bears!), and the evil Green Bay Packers Cheeseheads (BOO!) are all represented in my neighborhood. Of course, there are Miami Dolphins flags too, though fewer Tampa Bay Bucs now that pretty boy Brady has moved on.

In New York, you’d probably get your house toilet-papered if you waved a Boston Red Sox flag. Not so in South Florida, where most people are originally from somewhere else.

Sports Loyalty Runs Deep

My dentist has her entire office decorated with New Orleans Saints paraphernalia. Chowder Heads restaurant in Jupiter is covered in New England Patriots gear. Maplewood Deli is filled with New Jersey Devils merch. People bring their traditions with them from all over.

Brooklyn Water Bagels, for example, even advertises that they turn Florida water into Brooklyn water!

I don’t know if there’s a bigger melting pot than South Florida. The population has exploded since 1980. The Miami Dolphins were established in 1966 (there was a professional team in the All-America Football Conference in 1946 called the Miami Seahawks who later became the Baltimore Colts and now the Indy Colts (who knew!), and the other three Miami sports teams didn’t arrive until after 1988. So, many longtime residents didn’t even have a Florida team to root for when they first moved here.

Plus, with the internet and every game now televised, it’s easy to keep following your old home team from afar.

Twenty-five years ago, South Florida was far more transient than it is today. When we moved here, our son Sam was two years old and Jade, our daughter, wasn’t even born yet. Yes, they’re still Chicago fans—but as each generation takes root, it’s easier to become a fan of the Dolphins or Panthers.

Our kids went to UCF and FSU, so you do end up adopting your new local state teams. Over time, snowbirds move down full-time, and their kids follow them as permanent residents.

Florida’s Unique Flavor

Florida has its own set of cultural quirks and traditions:

“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” is a South Florida expression.
Key lime pie is a classic.
The Palm Beach look = wearing shoes without socks.
Ceviche and Cuban sandwiches are synonymous with Florida (even though they didn’t originate here).
Stone crabs are 100% Florida.
No black dresses after Labor Day—that’s strictly a Florida thing.
Gatorade originated in Miami.
Certain plastic “enhancements” are all South Florida.
And sorry California, but Disney World is all Florida.

Even Real Estate Is Different

Florida in housing was more of a copycat when we first arrived. You’d see builders copying Cape Cod or Brick homes or California looks and layouts. Coat closets were still being built into the 1990s. Somewhere after the Big Short market occurred, Florida style started to change. Modern and open layouts have more to do with Florida than other places.

Out of state Buyers often can screw themselves up in contracts expecting them to be the same as their home state or even town. The closing date in Florida on the contract is the closing date. In some northern states it’s “on or about” and can be moved. We don’t have such a thing. Contracts here are hard and don’t go straight to attorneys.

The definition of “As Is” (here in a contract it gives a free look and cancellation at the Buyers sole discretion). In other states it means something completely different.

In some states, what the homeowner is paying in taxes is a good guide to what your taxes will be. In Florida it means absolutely nothing and can even throw buyers way off if the Seller has been homesteaded a long time. Knowing the rules of the area you are doing business in is critically important in the buying and selling process.