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Entry from July 09, 2013
“The further north you go, the further south you get” (Florida adage)

“The farther/further north you go, the farther/further south(ern) you get” is one of the most popular adages about Florida. Northerners seek the beaches of south Florida, so northern Florida has more typical Southerners.
 
“The farther north you go from Miami, the farther South you get” was cited in print in 1981. “Florida, it is said, is the only state that becomes more Southern the further north you go” was cited in 1983.
 
 
Uncyclopedia: Florida
“The only state where the more north you go, the more southern it gets.”
~ Abraham Lincoln.
(NOTE: This is a humor website—ed.)
 
Google Books
The Florida Handbook
Volume 20
Tallahassee, FL: Peninsular Pub. Co.
1981
Pg. 558:
To understand Florida politics, the adage once held that the farther north you go from Miami, the farther South you get. That remains generally true, although it doesn’t begin to convey the cleavages within each region.
 
25 March 1983, The Daily Herald (Chicago, IL), “‘Sunshine state’ reflects shape of nation to come” by Ruth Walker, sec. 1, pg. 5, col. 4:
Florida, it is said, is the only state that becomes more Southern the further north you go. Miami is sometimes referred to as “New York with palm trees,” especially by people outside Miami.
 
29 July 1990, Miami (FL) Herald, “Florida’s Voters” We’re unpredictable, and about all we have in common is that we’re from somewhere else,” pg. 1G:
To understand Florida politics, the adage once held that the farther north you go from Miami, the farther South you get.
 
7 March 1992, National Public Radio (NPR), “Week in Review”:
SIMON: You know, the phrase in Florida they have is `The farther north you go, the farther south you get.’
 
Seattle (WA) Times
Sunday, December 4, 1994 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
Redneck Riviera—In Florida, The Farther North You Go, The Further South You Get
By Christopher Corbett
Universal Press Syndicate
In Florida, folks say the farther north you go down here, the further South you get.
 
In the Sunshine State, north is South. And the “Southernmost” place in Florida is the northwest corner, the Florida Panhandle.
 
It is an area where Old South grace and haute kitsch mingle; where beaches of unsurpassed beauty give way to bungee-jumping joints; where the primeval beauty of bayou and forest compete with tattoo parlors.
 
Urban Dictionary
florida
The only state in the country where the further north you go, the further south you get. Also a lovely place to retire.
(...)
by SeanH Feb 18, 2005
 
Google News Archive
23 November 2006, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Questioning increased,” pg. 14A, col. 1:
“Florida is the only state where the farther north you go, the more you’re in the Deep South,” says Pam Whittle of the Starke Chamber of Commerce, “and Starke is definitely in North Florida.”
 
Google Books
States of Confusion:
My 19,000-Mile Detour to Find Direction

By Paul Jury
Avon, MA: Adams Media
2011
Pg. 159:
Northern Florida is . . .white. It’s said that Florida is a place where the more north you go, the more South it gets.

Posted by Barry Popik
Florida (Sunshine State Dictionary) • Tuesday, July 09, 2013 • Permalink


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