So I decided to explore Florida before moving here. Been here just 3 days and now i am rethinking if it’s just the places I chose to explore or should i rethink the whole decision to move. I am an Indian Female, 33. Been living in the states for over a decade and never personally experienced hatred/racism but i know it exists, i just have never personally encountered anything. So maybe it’s the places I’ve lived that were more diverse and accepting of other cultures I guess than where i am right now. Just a day and a half in Sarasota and i have had 2 incidences 1. I was walking downtown and got an icecream, was trying to take a picture (now i am not one of those annoying tictokers or instagrammers), a big guy ran into me with his oversized bag as i was standing and taking a picture and yelled “get out of the way”. Before I could understand or say anything, he was gone. 2. Went to the hotel breakfast in the morning and a lady looked at me in not a very respectable way and asked if i could get out of her way so she could get some eggs. Now I wasn’t even in her way but it looked like she didn’t want me near her. For a second I thought it could be because of covid, some people i know are very cautious.. so i let it go Same lady, just a few minutes later as I was grabbing silverware while she was standing there, looked at me in a very disgusting way and asked if i could step away from her and let her go first. Now there were other people around her (all same color as her) so I realized it wasn’t covid, it was the color of my skin. It took me a while to understand this and i am back to my room. Now i am wondering if I am making a mistake considering moving to Florida. I would definitely not move to this city but like Tampa or Orlando which are more diverse but still, i am starting to feel really bad about this and questioning if I can handle this. #remotework #wfh #florida #bayarea
Sounds like you are constantly in the way.
Lol
Seriously. Everyone jumps to racism, but she said that she was taking a picture of her ice cream at one point. I would ask someone to move as well if they were blocking my way to take a picture of ice cream.
I read this twice trying to find the racist part. I wasn’t able to. My assumption is that you’re moving from the west coast to florida. People are more straightforward and direct outside the west coast. It’s not rudeness. It’s just directness Source: brown and 20 years in the south.
This hits it right on the nail. You have lots of transplants from New York/New Jersey who are the most direct but in general the east is a bit coarser. Especially old people who are already a bit tough. When I moved to the west coast, I was advised to be easier on people. Also it is fucking hot and humid out there in Florida. I found myself going a little nuts when I was outside too long lol
Good thing she started with the south though. Northern east coast people don't give a fuck
Yes, don't move to FL. As someone living in the PNW, FL is a nice way to lower your expectations when traveling to 3rd world countries.
Least snobby PNWer
very true — when you can’t afford the nice parts of Miami you can go to PNW and get a more budget lifestyle.
Florida people are just weird so that’s what this sounds like, not racism or anything. Just cause people are weird and a different race that doesn’t always mean it’s discrimination or racism, Florida people are just weird but then again everyone is weird a bit
Tampa or Orlando will be fine but deep suburbs and exurbs and smaller cities will be Hicksville. Not just racism but general wackos that are miserable to be around. This is true for FL, most of the south, and lots of other places in USA
It’s unfortunate to hear that you had to go through such experiences during your initial days and I can completely understand how it feels like. Majority of cities in FL are highly diverse but yeah it gets weird sometimes. Also don’t be surprised to find rude drivers and careful with your belongings and car in tourist places.
FL is a hub for old boomers who don't care about anyone else - least of all a brown person. Unless you are in a city, you should expect more of the same.
Your experience on the west coast will be completely different than the east coast. Grew up on the south west coast and now live on the south east coast. West coast is mostly transplants from the Midwest (Ohio, Illinois, ect) and the east coast has a lot more diversity (Caribbean Islanders, South Americans, New Yorkers). In my opinion drivers are nicer on the west coast but more confrontational in person. If you're still traveling I'd recommend checking out Boca Raton, Delray, Melbourne, St. Augustine, and see if your experience is better.
Lived in Florida for 10 years, and you couldn’t pay me to move back. Florida sucks. The drivers are the worst I’ve seen in the country, the food diversity outside of Miami is pretty shit (don’t let anyone from Tampa or Orlando try to tell you otherwise), public transit just doesn’t exist, infrastructure is a joke, the people are just…weird, and you can’t walk more than 5 minutes 10 months out of the year without dying from humidity, but hey, they have good beaches, right? There’s a reason it’s cheap as shit to live basically anywhere in the state outside of Miami.
Anywhere but south Florida is likely to be similar experience. Most of Florida is pretty racist.
I agree here. South Florida is more liberal and diverse
Tampa/Orlando also not racist and more diverse