The story of South Florida is the story of a unique environment.  From the very beginning, at an estimated some 10,000 years ago, it is a story of multi-culturalism.  It is  characterized by arrivals from people of many different places and cultures.  They brought with them their varied talents and interests and then adapted them to the region’s subtropical environment. 

The first descendants were people who had migrated to what is now America from NE Asia, who were in pursuit of food – mainly large game like caribou, bison and mammoths.  The mere location of S. Florida, became that of guardian of trade routes between nations and peoples and of interaction between individuals.  This diversity has led the development of S. Florida and its continual direction.  Many ethnic groups and cultures call it home and it has been a gateway between the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America.

South Florida is typically thought to stretch from Lake Okeechobee to Key West.  The area encompasses Miami, Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.  The three make up the three most populous counties in Florida and are fairly synonymous with the Gold Coast.   S. Florida is longer than any other urbanized area in the U.S. except for New York.

Due to its diversity and longevity, it is flush in traditional skills and occupations rooted in the natural environment.  These skills range from cowboying to boatbuilding to frogging to sponge gathering.  Some people consider their extreme skills to make them all artists. Culturally, S. Florida tends to be more of a cultural mix as opposed to northern parts of Florida that are more Southern U.S. in nature.  You can merely look to their dance to see the diversity:  Conga, Rumba, Bachata, Merengue, etc.

Economically, there has recently been a move by two cities in S. Florida to split the area from the state of Florida to form a new state, called South Florida.  The argument is that S. Florida has different needs than the rest of the state, has an unfair tax burden and doesn’t receive its fair share of benefits from the state as compared to what they pay in.  The Florida economy is the 4^th largest economy in the U.S.  Tourism is its largest sector.  The historical beach in the Art Deco District in South Beach is one of the most glamorous in the world and is famous for its nightclubs.  The second largest industry is agriculture, specifically citrus fruit.  Florida produces about 67% of all citrus and 74% of oranges.   If you look at the state historically, the state’s economy was based on farming and agriculture, especially sugarcane, tomatoes and strawberries.  Railroad systems soon took over and led people to move there to do farming, fishing, etc.   S. Florida is also important in finance, commerce, finance, media, entertainment, arts and international trade. 

The state sales tax is 6%.  Local optional sales tax can be up to 1.5%.  Over the past three decades, Florida’s state and local tax burden has been among the nation’s lowest.  The state also has the advantage of having no state income tax.  Since most small businesses are either S Corps, sole proprietorships or partnerships, it makes the business environment for small businesses in Florida very competitive.  The state does tax property tax at the state and local level. 

Politically, South Florida is heavily Democratic, while the rest of Florida is more Republican.  Interestingly, twenty-seven electoral votes make it a swing vote state.  McCain’s strategy is to get 270 electoral votes.  To that end, and according to Yahoo News, Obama has spent over 21 million for the general election and McCain has spent $5 million.   On McCain’s side, S. Florida helped our current President.  The current and recent economy of S. Florida seems to be dominating this election because their unemployment is higher than the national average and they have one of the worst foreclosure rates in the nation.  S. Florida has 8 congressional districts of which three are Republican leaning and five are Democratic leaning. 

The 3 county metropolises, which are considered to make up most of South Florida, are governed independently.   Much of the land is unincorporated which means that it doesn’t belong to any city and is therefore governed by the county it is in. 

As to climate, S. Florida has a tropical climate.  It is the only major area in the U.S. that falls in this category.  The mean temp for any month is just over 64 degrees.  Most of the rain is in the summer and it is mostly dry in the winter.  The summer season is hot and humid lasts from May to October.  In the summer, the temperatures average in the high 80s with high humidity.  Sometimes those temps are relieved by afternoon thunderstorms or a nice sea breeze.  In the winter, temps very rarely delve below 40 degrees.  The biggest and, I do mean biggest, weather pattern yhttp://www.activelivingnewsletter.com/ou might find, is hurricanes.  (I live in Kansas and tornadoes don’t scare me as much).  Hurricane season technically runs through June 1 through Nov. 30, although they can develop outside that time frame.  The most typical hit is from mid-August through the end of September.  Unfortunately, South Florida is the most statistically area to be hit by one. 

However, they do have great sports and recreation!  Marlins, Dolphins. Heat, Panthers all play there and many others do their spring training there.  There are what are considered world class museums and entertainment meccas.  Miami is bordered by two national parks.  The music is unparalleled and so is the dancing.  How could a person want for more?