Is Florida really as bad as everyone says it is? Pensacola seems

>>1269155
No, but there are better places

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>>1269155
Floridian here, have traveled the whole state, plus 47 other states for perspective, so I like to think that I'm a good source on this.

Florida is the most diverse state. You've got every type of beach town you can imagine, from chill Pensacola to party Daytona, Disney and Universal, Orlando I drive, Orlando downtown, 2 party college towns in Tallahasse and Gainesville (I'd recommend Gainesville), Key West which is the highest drinking per person in the country, Hipster Riverside area in Jacksonville, Tampa (only been once), and Miami jews, cubans, hatians, and insane parties, and lots of rural country parts in between all this.

So it's tougher than usual to generalize about this state. I can say a few things.

The reason you hear about Florida in the news a lot isn't because we're more crazy than usual believe it or not. It's because we have Freedom of information laws that make it easy for lazy journalist to find something to use.

Most people in Florida are first or second generation. Very few people have roots in Florida going back very long.

Most people in Florida are very chill. Low intensity, don't get in a huff easily, and aren't gonna bother you if you're not bothering them. Close to the beach, people are very actively friendly and love to introduce themselves.

It's fucking hot and there's only 20 days a year that require a jacket.

If I had to pick just one place for a traveler to see, it'd be Miami. I was not expecting to be blown away by it, but I was. Too much to say about that city, both good and bad. Honestly though, I could go on and on on recommendations though.

Pensacola is nice. Not much to do but chill at the beach and eat good food, but if that's what you're looking for you'll enjoy it.

Oh yeah, and we're full.

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>>1269155
Pensacola anon here

It's a small town made to feel like a large city. There is a very large military presence here and lots of retirees. The downtown has been neglected for years but a boom just recently hit which can be noticed by all of the buildings under construction, liberal yuppies, and revitalization/gentrification. The actual city doesn't cover a lot of ground and the skyline is lacking but there is endless suburban sprawl. You'll hear more southern slang and redneck accents than proper English. The main attraction, the beach, is a 20 minute drive away and is overflowing with people during the summers and weekends. Nightlife is meh. For some reason all the college age kids only attend 1-2 venues; Wild Greg's Saloon and Seville Quarter. The city has been working on street life and festivals so there will sporadically be activity going on. When it comes to the people, southern hospitality is evident. The city is like 30% black and there are no go zones. The city is trying hard to keep the feral blacks out of the downtown but the ACLU keeps sueing them. The police are cool too. Although being in Florida, Pensacola barely has any hispanics at all. I've noticed a huge influx in Muslims in the last 5 years too.

UWF, which I attend, is like a puppy mill school for degrees and feels like a giant community college. No sports teams, no student life, just nothingness. Surprised they call themselves a University. Not to mention the campus is full of hideous 60s and 70s buildings with a 66% shortage of parking spaces when the total numbers of students is taken into consideration.

Good thing about Pensacola is that you're in Florida. Bad thing about Pensacola is that you're a 10 hour drive away from real Florida.

>>1269181
Miami is definitely designed with tourists in mind, but I wouldn't recommend it as a "Florida" place anymore.

The west coast (Tampa and south of it) is still pretty developed while retaining it's natural environment, and infinitely better than Miami in most regards

Pensacola is a fucking shithole I lived there for more than a decade. Just go to Destin or Navarre instead, the beaches are way better and there will be less rednecks.

Also, avoid Panama City Beach at all costs.

>>1269520
When I say I recommend seeing Miami, it's not because it's representative of Florida, actually quite the opposite mostly. But it's a crazy place that's worth seeing if you can.

>>1269526
Oh, in that case, sure. Most of the people outside of Florida that I've heard negative stories from had exclusively visited Orlando and Miami, so it worries me that outsiders might actually believe that this entire state is just a Cuban colony with Walt Disney's "country" embedded in it like the Vatican is embedded in Italy

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usf fag here, just this past week drove from tally to the keys for the fuck of it with some friends, >>1269181 summed it all up really well
Lived in Tampa all my life, theres always cool shit to do, cool people to do it with. Bonus, the Bucs & Rays never sell out games, can always get cheap tickets.

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Orlandoan here/FSU student. The GOAT part of Florida is what I call the rectangle and it stretches across Florida horizontally from Tampa/St. Pete across Orlando/Kissimmee all the way to Cape Canaveral/Titusville. It's a mix of everything; beach, rural, city, tourist Florida and real Florida. Lived in East Orlando for about 14 years now. Best city to raise a family in. Downtown is constantly pushing paramore (criminals/blacks/minorities/homeless) further away from the city which is nice. Orlando Intl is being upgraded with a new terminal in the next few years. Its south of downtown and northeast of Theme parks. Traffic isn't bad except on I-4 at any time of the day. There is always something to do. Nightlife is good, lots of bars for Magic and Orlando City Soccer games. Everyone is mostly friendly and won't bother you, although no one can fucking drive for their life here. Weather is hot but it does cool down nicely at night. Beaches aren't that far away: Daytona is about an hour, Cocoa is about 45-50 minutes and if you really want to, Clearwater is about 1 hour 45 minutes. Cocoa sucks but Daytona is alright. Pools are common and used often. Great city, love living here especially with Florida resident discounts to the theme parks.

FSU is a great school besides being in the ever-boring Tallahassee. Small town, about 8 total "tall buildings." Good mom and pop shops but if you're not coming for a football game, you're wasting your time. The campus is beautiful with everything being red brick like an old school college. Academics are good, sports are great. Other than football and FSU, I wouldn't travel here. Capital sucks and it looks like a giant penis.