It has been seven years since I have walked on the beach. I drive by it on occasion, always amazed about how beautiful it is, but I am not bothered by this; I am not partial to being outside in the sun and the sand gets everywhere. The opportunities, the diversity and the busy atmosphere are what make South Florida meaningful to me. The lack of snow is just a very wonderful perk of living here.

All of the major cities in America probably have the same busy atmosphere, but Miami is new. It’s only 109 years old and it’s changing constantly. The same year Miami was founded, 1895, Henry Flagler came through and cleared the area around Boca Raton, leading to its settlement. The rest of South Florida is even younger, such as Hollywood, Florida, founded in 1921. This freshness gives South Florida a unique vitality. This area is alive and growing. It may sound like a commercial to draw tourists, but if a person pays attention to the growth and development of this tri-county area, the atmosphere seems alive with excitement.

I realize I am biased, but I have been to almost every state up the East Coast. I have found that, with the exception of New York City, the people outside of South Florida seem homogenized. In other words, the outward appearance of the population was all Anglo-Christian, suppressing any innovative or radical behavior in the people that live there. I said New York City is different, it’s busy and multicultural, but it’s also old and dirty. It was founded in 1664, and there’s no more growing it can do. It changes by tearing down old buildings and constructing new ones, but that’s not the same as growth.

Of course, I have to focus on South Florida and not the entire state. The area north of Martin County is a completely different culture. North Florida is actually part of the South. It was one of the seven founding Confederate states and still shows its southern roots. However, those roots did not extend into the undeveloped swampland that became Tampa, Boca Raton and Miami, leaving them to develop their own identities as they were founded.

Florida is a beautiful state and the contrasts between the North’s laid-back southern atmosphere and the fast-paced multicultural metropolis to the south, give Florida such a diversity that everyone can find a place that will be comfortable for their preferred lifestyle. The people that complain about Florida should drive a few hours north, they may like the Florida they find.