A Florida State of Mind

A look at weird things that make the Sunshine State like no other

Publishing books about the strange state of Florida is an industry unto itself. First there are the countless novels with weird Florida as the backdrop, from John D. MacDonald to Carl Hiaasen to Karen

Russell. These portray Florida as being on the far side of loco, but they’re “fiction” …

Then there are the nonfiction books about Florida that show the state in various shades of crazy—and these are true stories. Just in the past few years, Dave

Barry came out with Best. State. Ever.;

Craig Pittman, Oh, Florida; Tim Dorsey,

The Sunshine State. All extoll the things that make Florida so very weird.

The latest entry is A Florida State of Mind, by University of Central Florida sociologist

James D. Wright. Nearly everyone would agree that Florida is the weirdest state in the nation. Wright tries to explain why—and how it became that way.

He does so with a heavy dose of humor.

When explaining Florida, the laughs come naturally—but with some solid research as well. He explores the state’s history, economy, people and politics, and natural habitat.

“Welcome to the Sunshine State,” greet the large signs on Florida’s interstates. But, as Wright points out, Florida ranks somewhere around ninth in the amount of sunshine (percentage of time between sunrise and sunset), and around 23rd in number of clear days. And although Disney proclaims this the “Happiest Place on Earth,” the reality is that polls show Florida to be anywhere from the 12th to the 40th happiest state, with the U.S. ranking about 19th to 24th among all countries of the world in national happiness surveys.

Wright splits Florida into three states: North Florida, or Old Florida, which is Cracker country; Central Florida, or New Florida, dominated by the I-4 Corridor; and South Florida, or the New Havana. Each has a distinctive personality. Southwest Florida seems to fall somewhere between Central and South Florida, both geographically and culturally.

Southwest Florida comes up a few times in Wright’s book—mostly in negative ways. Golden Gate Estates and Cape Coral are singled out for their origins as notorious real estate scams. Fort Myers is named as the most dangerous city for pedestrians. On the plus side, Cape Coral gets a plug for being named by USA Today as one of the best places to retire. Fort Myers is called out for being a good place for spring breakers and for having a dog beach.

A Florida State of Mind is an amusing but informative compilation of all things weird in the state. It’s a good primer if you are a new transplant to the state, and a fascinating review if you’ve been here a while and become a little numb to all the eccentricities that make Florida such an “interesting” place to live.

The latest entry is A Florida State of Mind, by University of Central Florida sociologist James D. Wright. Nearly everyone would agree that Florida is the weirdest state in the nation. Wright tries to explain why—and how it became that way.