10 Things to Actually Love About Florida (Yes, Really)
Look, we spend a lot of time on this site calling out Florida’s political dysfunction, book banning, and general descent into authoritarian weirdness. But here’s the thing: you can love Florida while hating what’s being done to it. In fact, loving this wild, beautiful, bizarre state is why we fight so hard to protect it.
So let’s take a break from the outrage and celebrate what makes Florida genuinely special—the things that made us fall in love with this peninsula in the first place.
The Beaches (Seriously, They’re Incredible)
Florida has 1,350 miles of coastline and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We’re talking powder-white sand, crystal-clear waters in shades of turquoise and emerald, and year-round beach weather.
Clearwater Beach, Siesta Key, South Beach, the Florida Keys—each offers something different. You can swim with manatees, snorkel coral reefs, watch sea turtles nest, or just plant yourself in the sand with a good book (preferably a banned one).
The Gulf Coast sunsets? Chef’s kiss. That moment when the sun dips into the water and the whole sky turns orange and pink and purple—that’s pure magic. No political nonsense can ruin that view.
Year-Round Outdoor Living
While the rest of the country is shoveling snow and scraping ice off windshields, Floridians are having barbecues in January. Sure, summer is brutally hot (and getting hotter thanks to climate change), but having access to outdoor activities twelve months a year is genuinely wonderful.
You can kayak, paddleboard, fish, hike, bike, or just sit outside with your morning coffee in February wearing shorts. Northern relatives visit for the holidays and marvel that you’re grilling by the pool on Christmas Day. It never gets old.
The Wildlife (Florida is Legitimately Wild)
Where else can you see wild dolphins from your morning jog, spot a manatee while paddleboarding, and dodge an alligator on the golf course—all in the same day?
Florida’s biodiversity is staggering. We have:
- Manatees (gentle sea cows that will steal your heart)
- Sea turtles nesting on our beaches
- Dolphins and whales in our waters
- Hundreds of bird species including roseate spoonbills and bald eagles
- The only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist
- Florida panthers (critically endangered but still roaming the Everglades)
Yes, some of our wildlife is terrifying (looking at you, Burmese pythons), but most of it is absolutely spectacular. Living alongside nature—real, wild nature—keeps you connected to something bigger than politics and daily stress.
No State Income Tax
Okay, this one’s practical rather than romantic, but it matters. Florida has no state income tax, which means more money in your pocket. Sure, we pay for it in other ways (property taxes, sales tax, increasingly insane property insurance), but not seeing that state tax line item on your paycheck is genuinely nice.
For remote workers, retirees, and anyone managing a tight budget, this can make a real difference. It’s one of those quality-of-life things that adds up over time.
The Cultural Diversity (Especially in South Florida)
South Florida, particularly Miami, is one of the most culturally diverse places in America. It’s a genuinely international city where you hear Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and a dozen other languages on any given street corner.
The food scene reflects this diversity—authentic Cuban sandwiches, Haitian griot, Colombian arepas, Peruvian ceviche, Brazilian churrasco. Little Havana, Little Haiti, Little Brazil—these aren’t tourist attractions, they’re living, breathing communities that make Florida richer and more interesting.
This cultural mix creates a vibrancy you don’t find everywhere. It’s Florida at its best—diverse, creative, and alive with different perspectives and traditions.
The Keys (A World Unto Themselves)
The Florida Keys deserve their own category. This 120-mile string of islands connected by the Overseas Highway is unlike anywhere else in America. It’s tropical, laid-back, eccentric, and absolutely gorgeous.
Drive across the Seven Mile Bridge with turquoise water stretching in all directions. Snorkel the only living coral reef in North America. Watch the sunset from Mallory Square in Key West while street performers entertain and everyone applauds the sun going down.
The Keys have their own culture—a “Conch Republic” independence streak, a tolerance for eccentricity, and a pace of life measured in island time. It’s Florida’s escape valve, the place where the rules feel a little different and life moves a little slower.
Natural Springs (Florida’s Hidden Gems)
While everyone talks about the beaches, Florida’s natural springs are genuinely magical and often overlooked. We have more than 700 freshwater springs scattered across the state—crystal-clear waters maintaining a constant 72°F year-round.
Ichetucknee Springs, Rainbow Springs, Wakulla Springs, Ginnie Springs—these aren’t chlorinated pools, these are actual natural wonders. The water is so clear you can see 100 feet down. You can tube, kayak, snorkel, or scuba dive in water so pristine it looks fake.
Swimming in a spring on a hot summer day—floating in cool, clear water surrounded by cypress trees and limestone caves—is a quintessentially Florida experience that tourists rarely discover.
The Absurdity (Florida Man is Real, and He’s Hilarious)
Look, Florida is weird. Like, really weird. And while “Florida Man” headlines have become a meme for all the wrong reasons, there’s something oddly endearing about living in a state that’s this chaotic and unpredictable.
Where else would someone steal a police car to go to a strip club? Where else would you find alligators in swimming pools, iguanas falling from trees during cold snaps, or someone calling 911 because McDonald’s ran out of Chicken McNuggets?
Is this a positive? Debatable. But it certainly keeps things interesting. Florida doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you. Embrace the chaos. Laugh at the absurdity. It’s part of the charm.
Theme Parks (The Happiest Place… or at Least the Most Entertaining)
Love them or hate them, Florida’s theme parks are world-class. Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens—these aren’t just tourist traps, they’re engineering marvels and entertainment empires.
For residents, having annual passes means spontaneous weekend trips to ride Space Mountain or explore Diagon Alley. It’s a perk of living here—access to world-class entertainment and escapism whenever you need a break from reality (which, given Florida’s politics, is often).
Plus, the innovation happening in theme park technology is genuinely impressive. Florida is pushing the boundaries of immersive entertainment, even if the state government is trying to control what Mickey Mouse can say.
The Resilience and Spirit of Floridians
Here’s the big one: the people. Floridians are tough, resilient, resourceful, and surprisingly optimistic despite living in a state that’s constantly trying to destroy itself through hurricanes, heat, and horrible governance.
We rebuild after hurricanes. We help our neighbors sandbag before storms. We show up with generators and water when the power’s out. We create community in the face of chaos.
Florida attracts people who are willing to take risks—whether that’s moving across the country to start fresh, retiring to pursue a dream lifestyle, or building a life in paradise despite the challenges. That pioneer spirit, that willingness to make it work despite everything, creates a certain energy.
And increasingly, Floridians are standing up to protect what we love—fighting book bans, demanding climate action, pushing back against authoritarianism. There’s a growing movement of people who refuse to let their state be destroyed by bad policy and political gamesmanship.
That’s the Florida worth fighting for.
The Complicated Truth
Here’s the reality: Florida is complicated. It’s beautiful and broken, magical and maddening, progressive and backwards—often all at the same time, sometimes on the same street corner.
You can love Florida’s natural beauty while hating what’s being done to it through overdevelopment and environmental destruction.
You can appreciate Florida’s diversity while opposing the discriminatory policies targeting LGBTQ+ residents and immigrants.
You can enjoy Florida’s freedoms while fighting for intellectual freedom and the right to read banned books.
Loving Florida doesn’t mean accepting what’s wrong with it. In fact, loving Florida means caring enough to demand better—better leadership, better policies, better protections for the things that make this state worth living in.
Why We Stay (Despite Everything)
People often ask: “If Florida is so messed up, why do you stay?”
Because it’s home. Because it’s worth fighting for. Because the beaches, the wildlife, the springs, the sunsets, the culture, the chaos—all of it adds up to something special that doesn’t exist anywhere else.
Florida has always been a little wild, a little weird, a little wonderful. That’s not changing anytime soon, no matter what happens in Tallahassee.
So yes, we’ll keep calling out the nonsense. We’ll keep fighting book bans and climate denial and attacks on democracy.
But we’ll also keep swimming in springs, watching dolphins, eating Cuban sandwiches, and celebrating sunsets from the beach.
Because that’s what it means to love Florida—embracing the beauty while refusing to accept the bullshit.
Welcome to the Banned In Florida Club. We’re here because we love this state too much to watch it be destroyed.