How Florida Got So Weird

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Writing by Sam Denby and Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Animation led by Josh Sherrington
Sound by Graham Haerther
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster
References
[1] www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/bo...
[2] www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/us...
[3] • Golf, Booze & Guns: In...
[4] www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...
[5] www.amazon.com/Acts-God-Unnat...
[6] www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us...
[7] www.politico.com/magazine/sto...
[8] theconversation.com/why-so-ma...
[9] www.newyorksocialdiary.com/pa...

[@michaelsommers2356]

You left out one of the most vital things that led to the growth of Florida: the invention of modern air conditioning. Without it, Florida would still be nothing but a swamp.

[@mynameismaxdowis]

Yeah, that's integral to Florida's modern development. I'd argue more important than (non-ac) electrification and automobiles.

[@SpaghettiMan95]

yes, anyone who has got their AC knocked out during summer knows it would be impossible without it

[@hbmustangs]

Like 1/2 the world lol

[@mage1over137]

@@SpaghettiMan95 so I grew up in San Antonio, without AC. Basically it was 105 with 80% humidity from mid April to October.

[@majahanson311]

Having your AC break in Florida in the summer is a life-threatening emergency. The state is nearly uninhabitable without it

[@jjjccc2508]

Please, Wendover. Please don’t forget what’s important here. How does Florida factor in to airline logistics?

[@tz8785]

Well, there is that partially completed (one runway with parallel taxiway) airport in the everglades. A video is on HAI.

[@mikemotter3685]

He made a video about budget airlines. Those kinda come into play in Florida more than any other place

[@lonyo5377]

Also how many houses are made of bricks and what bricks

[@adampetten1009]

A cool one I seen Orlando airport sees more than the population of Canada each year… one single airport.

[@dan_youtube]

Yes! $60 tickets will be a deciding factor for a 47 million mansion

[@CZsWorld]

I was hoping this video was going to be about the Florida man phenomenon.

[@TheSolidSnakeOil]

I know right.

[@davidfinch8744]

the sunshine state law mandates that all records kept in a publicly maintained database be publicly accessible which includes all arrest records. Crazy men are in every state but every one in Florida has their details published

[@mustang8206]

its much to feature news stories in Florida. There are village idiots in every village but Florida reports them more

[@dungeondeezdragons4242]

Oh this is easy, in florida police cannot hide all the crime records as much

[@hobojesus9817]

Florida Man convinces a bunch of people to move to a stormy swamp for fun

[@alex5308]

As a Floridian, I can tell this guy is not from Florida. It was a good history lesson but it doesn’t explain why Florida is weird. It explains how Florida became popular.

[@kclayne7241]

exactly. enjoyed some of the history but he left out true Floridians don't want anything to do w Villages, Cape Coral or PB - they're made up of predominately midwest politics and northern $ w very little appreciation for true FL.

[@Juwellz18]

​@@kclayne7241 as a non Floridian, what is considered true Florida?

[@kclayne7241]

@@Juwellz18 kinda a wide ? and i'm not an expert but i'd say someone who was born or raised here, or someone who actually LIVES here year round working to make it better for everyone vs someone who comes to part of the year to claim the tax break and contributes nothing to the community

[@lewisheinbockel3555]

@@Juwellz18 The real old school Florida is somewhere between Orlando and Gainesville. There you still have large cattle and citrus farms plus some horse farms in Ocala. Florida is still a top 10 cattle producing state in the US and the land Disney world was built on was originally citrus farms. Once you get up in the panhandle, you get more “southern” since that’s where people who could STAND to live in FL did before air conditioning. This is why Tallahassee is the state capital but is so far away from any major city now. That’s sort of old old Florida outside of the development along the coast this video talked about. They didn’t mention the cigar culture in Ybor in Tampa or the Cuban/PR population in Miami which makes it really like 2 states in one (North of I-4 and South of I-4)

[@kclayne7241]

@@bipo4715 not even a lil bit

[@compromisedssh]

Always interesting to see an outsider’s perspective. Henry Flagler did a lot to help Florida take off, but he’s an afterthought compared to air conditioning. Once AC became widely available, the population skyrocketed.

[@woaddragon]

Same with Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, etc

[@soco13466]

There is the Henry Flagler Museum in Palm Beach.

[@ccoder4953]

@@woaddragon Not sure what you're talking about in Colorado. I live in Colorado Springs. To this day, quite a few houses don't have AC. It's really only helpful for a couple of months. And even then, it's generally only particularly uncomfortable for a few weeks (and even then only really in the day). And you can deal with that quite well with a swamp cooler because it's so dry.

[@woaddragon]

@@ccoder4953 to be honest, basing my opinions on my friends experience, I live in New Mexico, but I got friend all over the southwest. Nothing wrong with swamp coolers, but Given how they talk about their new HVAC units....

[@acemarcola]

Nobody’s from Florida I don’t understand your "outsider" and if you can track your tree to Florida it probably doesn’t branch. just saying

[@andreasviken2949]

I'm Norwegian and naturally I've grown up and lived my entire life in a post-glacial mountainous country with forests and fjords with no sunlight for almost six months of the year. Florida seems like a totally different planet to me. I was in Jacksonville in April and it was so bizarre. It was so warm and sunny and flat.

[@KawaiiBakaAi]

I live in Florida and this makes me want to visit norway cause THAT sounds like a different planet to me! And Florida is literally "the sunshine state" so it sounds totally opposite. I'm so used to flat landscape that anytime I go up even a small mountain (in a different state) my ears start popping cause im not used to the elevation. Like as if I'm on an airplane

[@eragonlindemann7236]

I live in Montana and Florida sounds hellishly warm. Already can’t handle the summer heat wave.

[@andreasviken2949]

@@eragonlindemann7236 For me it was amazing because I really don't like the cold and dark. We have absolutely amazing summers where the sun literally doesn't set for months and the entire nation just glows up, quite literally, during summer.

[@justankitty1795]

I’m sorry to tell you but Jacksonville isn’t usually like that. It’s either rainy or so humid you feel like you’re drowning. Must have gotten really lucky with the weather

[@kkondor1081]

I'm from San Diego, where you are from sounds bizarre to me. I don't know what I would do without sunlight for half the year.

[@zackaryfender]

My family has lived in Florida since before the Civil war. I was raised on a citrus nursery in central Florida for most of my life. The pace of development makes me sick, I'm 25 now but even in my lifetime seeing how things have changed is disheartening. I think that sometimes change can be good depending on the circumstances but change too quickly can be catastrophic. I have traveled for work seasonally as an adult and have been blessed to see much of the U.S. but each time I come back home to live in or visit family there's another subdivision, some new construction. I hear people in almost every state I've been to complain about outsiders and developers but the scale in Florida just seems unprecedented as a local. If you are a new resident or considering moving to Florida, even if you are a local, please be respectful of the land, the hardship that went into developing it and the ecosystems and cultures harmed because of expansion. For many years I thought that I hated Florida but in reality, I hated my own personal situation in it and the seemingly unsustainable growth going on here. Although I still prefer the mountains, Florida, REAL Florida, is a beautiful and unique state.

[@wesleysullivan8047]

What is REAL Florida? Genuinely curious.

[@zackaryfender]

@@wesleysullivan8047 @Wesley Sullivan By my comment I meant the natural landscape. Not the roads, subdivisions, and cities that take over the state and our country in the U.S. now. In Florida specifically, development made it a much more hospitable state compared to swamps and wetlands that used to make up a large portion of the land. However, what we have gained in population and infrastructure I think we've lost in living closer with the land and enjoying it's natural beauty. I just think that the pace of the population is too large to live like that fully any more for most residents unfortunately. There are still pieces of old Florida remaining at state parks that you can visit, or the vast somewhat imposing Everglades National Park. Florida has almost 900 springs, more than any other state. We have some of the most beautiful beaches in the U.S. Rivers, lakes and swamps are all present. Florida has tropical and subtropical climate zones meaning a large variety the food can be grown there year round. To me that's the Real Florida, places like that are going extinct.

[@ShakaCthulu]

I’m almost 20 years older but I relate. Grew up in Orlando. Back then there was still 1,000’s of acres of citrus groves & processing plants. I don’t know if it was disposal of refuse from the juicing process or trees killed by freezes, but it often smelled like burning orange peels. Whenever I smell it now I have flashbacks from childhood of 80’s Orlando, before the city became Toon Town, before Castro’s Marielos criminals made their way up from South Florida, before Pine Hills became “Crime Hills”, swimming in limestone quarry off Hiawassee, Mystery Funhouse, and a Rock Springs that had twice the flow it does now because development wasn’t squeezing the aquifier. Seeing it now is crushing.

[@darinfort7537]

Amen brother! My family has been here since the beginning. I grew up in a tiny old fashion town of Oxford. The villages destroyed it, along with thousands of aces of beautiful, pristine FL lands.

[@ulysseswarnero]

@wesleysullivan8047 take a walk brotha you’ll see 😂😂

[@AMagicProduction]

Wow, surprised there was no mention of how Walt Disney completely transformed central Florida. Without Disney World, central Florida would be just another sleepy town because it wasn’t on the coast with a beach.

[@YerpDerp17]

I think a lot of people truly missed the whole point of the video. lol It was supposed to explain what makes Florida "werid". Not the full history or every attraction that exists there. That would take hours upon hours. lol I don't see where Disney would fall into this video to make sense. Wasn't the point.

[@cmdr_ultraviol3nt]

As a Floridian, I’d like to add something: the Ocala National Forest. This is a massive region of thousands and thousands of acres, with almost no major roads running through it, but just enough minor and unpaved roads that the really weird people can find places and form communities away from the watchful eye of the government. Around here, people are able to do a lot of illegal shit, but no one will really care, if they even knew. Imagine the deserts of New Mexico, but with a fuck load of trees to hide you. It breeds insanity.

[@adamtedder1012]

It's OK one man's insane is another's sane. Ad long as we agree to let each other be in the places we live.

[@lindsaybencick8267]

Tell us more…

[@matthewblackwelder6487]

Can confirm! Ocala national forest is an incredible and lawless place

[@Toledoblade326]

From Gainesville can confirm

[@officially-ROB]

I wanna get high there

[@aTotalDerp]

As an ecologist working in Florida. Words cannot describe how depressed it was watching you talk about the wonderful engineering that took place that absolutely decimated. The Everglades ruined the watershed and has led to countless algae blooms and die offs just so we can have more land south of Okachobee, where no one wants to live anyway.

[@lvl5lucario]

Was gonna say this. I thought there was gonna be mention of how the development has caused irreversible damage to that entire region's ecosystem, but the video just ended with only the barest of mentions.

[@calamitysangfroid2407]

yes, especially since it was all for profit. not because there were people who needed homes in that place specifically. not for...need. these widespread problems, which no doubt impacted the neighbouring states as well, which cannot ever be fixed. all to make a place for conservative white americans to live in a fakey beach neighbourhood.

[@GaryFerrao]

It made me depressed too. One of the fine meanings of the word "exploitation" of natural resources.

[@KaterynaM_UA]

@@lvl5lucario that’s self explanatory tho?

[@pervertt]

How the hell do they flush out all of the waterways I can see at 3:26? Is there any tidal movement? Does the water turn green and goopy when it gets hot?

[@coachtash]

As a local I’m blown away with your great job doing the research on my hometown. I live in West Palm Beach and so many folks don’t know that we live in the servant quarters. A lot of us start out in life at restaurants on the island. The locals and new comers to our state that is. I remember my first time on the island without my parents. I was in high school and my girlfriends and I got a gig serving food in one of the mansions. Not many outsiders know our history with the island or Flagler but his name is plastered all around Florida. There are plaques everywhere teaching about our history and not many people read them. I do hope you enjoyed your time in our weird world that I absolutely love and adore because Flordia is my hometown. I am surprised that the Palm Beachers allowed you to take video footage especially the drone footage on the island. I’m sure you noticed that a lot of their homes are blocked off of Google earth. The island is all about exclusivity and secrecy.

[@lordlurk7968]

My guess is he got the footage from a 3rd party source, who probably just went out into the waters with a good zoom on their camera to get the footage. They can not want photos/videos of their homes as much as they want, but really not much to stop it. I remember hearing about some fuss that was kicked up because people were out there in their boats doing the same thing decades ago lol.

[@omgitzpaige2013]

My dad’s parents lived in the Villages in the last few years of their lives when i was in my early to mid teens. I visited when my grandfather died when i was maybe 16 and something just seemed so off to me. like it was a fake town masquerading as a real town. but i just couldn’t put my finger on what i meant by that. like is this a development or a town? it totally weirded me out. like i was in a simulation.

[@darinfort7537]

And they destroyed real towns to build it

[@tw8464]

Exactly they destroyed real towns all over the USA to build their rotten fake "town."

[@jaredjensen1418]

Just a couple points worth mentioning: mangrove trees are literally what kept Florida intact before all of this. They keep the shorelines intact with their roots even during hurricanes. This also keeps the areas inland from having to get hit as hard by the water surges. By removing the mangroves to create beachfront property, they horribly ruined their own safety net. Not only that, but after Seminole tribes had been forced to relocate to Florida, now their land was being taken over AGAIN as the wealthy elite decided to create this miserable fantasy world for themselves.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Florida isn’t exactly miserable

[@wadehorne]

@@KanyeTheGayFish69 It sure can be, depending on the location. A lot of FL is a shithole (or pristine area) waiting for someone to develop it either way.

[@ecglaw0]

Several programs are underway to plant thousands of mangroves throughout the state.

[@autokrator_]

@@wadehorne Every state "can" be miserable; portraying the entirety of Florida as such isn't accurate.

[@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7]

@@KanyeTheGayFish69 An important ecosystem destroyed by developers, sinking into the ocean due to climate change, which its conservative voting block doesn’t believe in and won’t need to deal with because everyone there is going to die of old age by 2040. Yeah, sounds like paradise…

[@heddadybvadskog-nebb5603]

My best friend is an international student at a college close to Tampa, so when hurricane Ian hit the students had to evacuate, and where were they evacuated to you ask? The villages. Imagine some hundred college students just hanging out in this massive retirement community for like 4 days during a hurricane.

[@Alex-km7so]

Did they party with the residents?

[@jamesinkeys]

And a good time was had by all....

[@crisremr6894]

@@Alex-km7so It sound like a Great place to party and piss off on the local retired residents ngl haha

[@Kvothe4]

I can tell you the residents were probably pissed. I visited there once and if you were under 35 you had to swim in the kids pool and weren’t allowed in the adult pool. We got quite a few unfriendly looks, just for being at the villages while in our 20s.

[@dustysidepanel3075]

@@Alex-km7so allot of the residents there are swingers and there is a massive amount of STDs that are passed around there. i live about an hour south of the villages and its only good for driving through

[@ritalaurennoel4584]

I am a 4th generation Floridian, and I'm beginning to pay avid attention to this state's history. Every corner of it seems to have a fascinating story. Thank you for making this video.

[@jeltoninc.8542]

I’m a fourth generation native as well! And same about the history! My grandfather used to go on and on about it. His stories fascinated me. I really miss him. My grandmother as well. He was from Holmes County and she was from Orlando. He always called her “the big city gal” 🤣 of course, Orlando was not a big city back when she was a girl… but if was much larger than Bonifay.

[@mabelpines1533]

Florida's wilderness is incredible, it's so tragic that the masses of people moving there see the environment as an obstacle to destroy instead of one of the best parts of the state

[@YourFunkiness]

The explanation I heard of for why Florida is weird is that their laws make police reports a matter of public record. So it's not so much that they have more weird crimes per capita as those weird crimes get reported on more often.

[@ajslam41]

yea the Florida sunshine law, while other places can hide wrong doings Florida doesnt

[@robkorczak]

Pretty sure police reports are public knowledge nation-wide.

[@jblover_3014]

I dunno man, ive travelled through florida by road...that swampy air, the cocaine bricks washing up on shore, the insane heat and humidity...i bet those are just a few factors why florida is probably crazier than all the other states

[@willtheprodigy3819]

FLORIDA MAN

[@funveeable]

Also, Florida has the least restrictions on life. In California, we have the same type of crimes but the criminals get away with it so it doesn't reach the media. In Florida, the victims are allowed to retaliate, with guns, traps, animals, or anything at their disposal.

[@JoshuaFagan]

It's amazing how quickly the state has changed. My father lived in Florida as a kid on the 50s, when it had about 25 percent its current population, and he always talks about it being swampy and barren. He was shocked when I told him it had more people than NY.

[@garrenshot]

I mean did he live in the rural region

[@KitsuneRogue]

@@garrenshot As someone who lives in one of the few remaining rural areas of north FL, There are less and less distance between what's rural and what's not anymore.

[@Matt_from_Florida]

My family moved here from Colorado in 1958 and I was born here in 1962.

[@judy3827]

11:56 THAT DOG WITH THE LITTLE SAILOR HAT ABSOLUTELY MELTED MY HEART

[@byfedericojimenez]

I’ve watched your videos for years, but this video actually spoke about my research: the central and southern florida project. Excellent summary video! You brought to light a piece of history most don’t know about. Though you did leave out three key things: how the drainage affects hurricanes, and how DDT and Air conditioning also allowed people to move here. without it, it would just be farmland rather than swampland.

[@hi-friaudioman]

As a 3rd generation Floridian I can absolutely attest to the changes that have taken place over the years. From the days of my grandfathers birth, having to bring the doctor across by boat, to the days of my youth in a middle income household hearing stories of family members commuting by horse and buggy in the mid to late 50's/60's. Florida has changed a lot.. Shoot, there are streets named after my family where multi-million-dollar properties lay today and I can guarantee that not a single person knows about them, or the casino my family owned in the 20's before a massive hurricane washed it away. Florida is full of history, much of it not the good kind, but it is my home... For now. Another thing... back in the 90's growing up as I child our house was flanked on all sides by people who were all from out of state, people who spent six months out of the year vacationing in the place I called home... I personally didn't mind it because it meant more friends for me to play with and more money mowing lawns but the issue is I never did really get to know my neighbors... Until more people started moving in. Another feature of Florida life was asking. "Where are you from?" Because you just assumed everyone was from out of State... And when you met someone else who said "I was born and raised here" it was almost as if you had some unspoken bond because you knew they experienced a lot of the same things you did growing up, a lot of stuff the vacationers would never experience. There is both a love and a hatred for out of Towner's, aka "snowbirds" they are both a life blood to our economy giving it a shot in the arm every season, no matter the economic climate, but also they clog our roads, hospitals, bring their unwanted customs, leave trash, empty properties littered everywhere. They treat our beaches like a disposable cup... However a lot wouldn't exist without them. It's been an interesting life here in Florida. One with gators, citrus trees, palm trees and sweltering heat. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Six months out of the year the climate is amazing, and the rest of the time it's relatively peaceful.

[@gregoryanon2449]

I was born and raised here as well, 3rd generation as well from the Palm Beaches. I work for the railroad (a particular railroad that coincidentally was mentioned in this very video) and we're expanding rapidly. Myself and 2 other people are the only ones from this state that drive the trains there, with everyone else being from up north. We always tell them "If you live in Orlando or north of that, you live in Florida. If you live south of Orlando, you live in Flawida." and none of them really understand that until they spend around a year here and venture northwards. Its practically 2 different states. As for the snowbirds, I completely agree. Their money is welcome, but they are not. Especially with our housing market now.

[@beeb6809]

I live in a small town in North Central FL where over the last two years they've been putting in a huge RV park. They barely had the first part finished before people were already staying there. It always looks like it's completely full and they are still building it bigger and bigger. I've noticed that our one little grocery store is much more crowded and they're often out of things (although I guess this could be due to the supply chain issues too). I've already met several people who are living there full time with no plans to move. We have one tiny little government office with two clerks, usually there's no wait. But when I went to update my driver's license recently there was a line with almost ten people. I know this probably sounds small to any big city folks but what's crazy is every one of them was there to change the registration on their RV to Florida. When a city expands it takes time and as people move in new services and roads and things usually come with it but in this case we didn't get any of that, we just got the population explosion.

[@murdelabop]

I'm Florida native, and a lifelong resident of Pinellas County, in St. Petersburg for the last 25 years. As much as I love this place, I'm right there with you on the "for now" part.

[@JJacobs803]

Same thing is happening to South Carolina

[@thepatriarchy819]

Boy stop capping its get hot as hell down here

[@theonlybuster]

That feeling when you're standing on the driveway of one of the inconceivably expensive homes being talked about because your construction company was hired and over-paid to complete a very simple task.

[@mamotalemankoe3775]

Milk em good.

[@MrIansmitchell]

Better over-paid than not!

[@williamyoung9401]

You forgot Jeffery Epstein. He was a class act. =P

[@GODHATESADOPTION]

I did home automation in South Florida from Port Saint Lucie down to South Beach... Crestron 1000$ remotes and Lutron light and blind systems... I can name names but it wouldnt be professional... needless to say some people like to over pay so they can brag about how much they spend; profligates!

[@analyticalmindset]

Take their money !!

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Another thing to point out Cape Coral just got hit by hurricane Ian last summer which was an extremely powerful category 4 hurricane. I was tracking the storm everyday and other amateur weather people were discussing with us how absolutely stupid it was that they built cape coral the way they did right on the shore because of this exact disaster one day occurring and that day was the day it finally happened. All of it was pretty much underwater and a lot of them died there who didn't evacuate

[@denimchicken104]

Anybody else expect this to be a documentary on Florida Man?

[@Stevethe11th]

While modern Florida couldn't exist without it, the draining of the everglades and building of straight canals has wrecked the natrual ecosystem. It has to be the most manufactured place in the US.

[@Distress.]

To be fair we've been in the process of restoring the everglades.

[@KafshakTashtak]

Yeah. They basically destroyed an entire ecosystem to build upon it.

[@perfectallycromulent]

half of Boston used to be underwater, and much of the rest was swamps.

[@funveeable]

Much of the US wouldn't exist without modern tech. Hell this world wouldn't exist without modern tech. The reason being is because modern tech was introduced after the tech was already developed. I seem to recall there were quite a number of people living in Florida in the 1820s.

[@babagandu]

Come to India

[@natureguitarrunman2637]

Its really depressing to see that Florida's entire history as a state is just a long saga of destroying its natural ecology.

[@Dman9fp]

Pretty much. I mean, most people romanticize the Native Americans/ Spanish exploration phase (altho Spanish eradicated the original Timucuan and likely most other groups, led to Seminoles moving in from up North and eventually 2 wars with those before Usa gave up/ compromised them), if not having some civil war/ steamboat history... then yeah, eventually loads of destruction & exploitation. Don't think most Floridians realize even there was about to be a big man made that directly cut across the state (utilizing/ destroying sections of 3 rivers along the way), whole 'nother topic worthy of study, before mass public outcry/ it being not all that economical put a stop to it (but it was 1/3rd completed and traces of it still remain, especially around the Lower north most Withlacoochee river & lower Ocklawaha river... I can go on & on, pretty apparent just looking at urbanization centers which areas have been most impacted. Tho at least somehow some wild areas remain/ restored, alligators almost went extinct in whole u.s.a. in late 1950s to early 60s (state protections allowed them to rebound), and many rivers & lakes not as grossly polluted as they once were... but still far too many people invading, even around the outlying areas away from Tampa, Orlando, and other fairly newly suburbanized areas. & water districts are run by crooks, much much more business leaders than not, when it should be scientists, tourism directors, etc. making the important rulings/ decisions. But what can you do, tragedy of the commons-- slow death of the aquifers, springs (lots of very nice ones in north Florida, losing flow and getting choked with increasing algae), cancerous human growth on both nature & the infrastructures... Not to mention sea level rise will have Tremendous impacts in the coming decades, well as water shortage crises from drought years and business/ human consumption demands not letting up (& only going to go higher as more people & businesses keep moving in).... But that's the short sightedness of this flawed system. Make the illusion to most of the lay people the "waterways/ springs are being restored" (by throwing money at it instead of tackling the root causes), "we aren't full", etc. it is Sickening. Even this video makes it seem perfectly fine to alter a huge interconnected wetland system (with a shallow aquifer), but humans always mess things up, regardless of our intentions. This "profit now, clean up out mess/ restore nature later" is Very inefficient, and Will catch up with humanity/ this state sooner or later... and I didn't even address hurricanes messing up insurance availability/ desirability to live in flood zones, which is already happening So to those who want to move here, think long and hard. There's massive pro's and con's alike, and also take into account even many life-long natives who love this state are moving out. -Sincerely, a nature loving native to this likely doomed full of idiots on all levels peninsula

[@mikefields225]

Yep. Every bad American idea all done in one state.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

@@mikefields225 how is that an American idea? That’s a human thing, people do that everywhere, many more so than America. Don’t see how you’re reaching that conclusion.

[@diodelvino3048]

Every major decision about Florida's landscape is based off of money or some corporation paying off the right person, soon enough they'll destroy all the inland marshes and swamps that keep the nature beautiful here and turn it into a soulless retirement sprawl - it's sad to see 5 years from now i probably wont be able to afford a house in my OWN home state in an area with actual job availability

[@Dman9fp]

@Dio Del Vino Pretty much. Don't mean to sound overly optimistic or fixy, wild FL (what's left) still way more screwed than not. But technically water districts buy up land sometimes which includes swamps, wetlands along streams or for instance along the Florida nature corridor / FL trail (but even that isn't completely uninterrupted by some development/ fragmentation iirc) so efforts are happening... But is very disheartening to think right now is the best it'll ever be, much more likely than not-- ecologically. And I've seen lots of damage, still lots of nice stuff sure. Paynes prairie, green swamp, Suwannee river/ Santa fe river, Alexander spring, Salt spring, silver/rainbow/ Ichetucknee rivers, etc particularly come to mind. But still all have been impacted and continue to be. Lots of people already grieving them in that they aren't what they use to be (loads of springs have less flow, full of algae and 90% reduction in fish population, for instance). More and more overpumping, over pollution, more waste from people, land fragmentation and invasive species are definitely at least heavily impacting, if not Outright Killing nice ecosystems (even those already "saved") over time Eco grief/ living in confusion is an ongoing thing with no easy solution. But I just don't see how living in delusion that the governor throwing money at the springs or a vague proposed clear water bill will be effective long term solutions. Think we are better off realizing there will be wayyy less nature(&/or heavily impacted, also climate change and increasing sea level rise and saltwater intrusion are very inevitable, + of course water shortages, there's already debates on whether or not to drink our own treated sewage water, may become an inevitability by 2030 in most of FL, idk) and more ugly suburbia all over, even by 2030 or so, but especially by 2050+ at these rates. Better to accept/ start to deal with this grief now while society is still relatively stable & intact than in the future imo

[@hustle_simmons]

"Figuring it out as they went along" is the entire history of construction in Florida.

[@EricSoundsBad]

Floridian from The Villages (Wildwood before it turned into it) Lake Sumter landing is just one of the 3 “squares”. Each section of the villages has its own “Square”. Lady Lake is Spanish Springs, Brownwood is Wildwood and the one you mentioned is the second one built which is Lake Sumter Landing which is between lady lake and wildwood

[@zaidvargas830]

I’m surprised this video didn’t mention the influx of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans from the 60s-80s that has made south Florida uniquely a majority - minority area and has established a distinct culture in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

[@ecglaw0]

Any discussion of Fl cannot leave out "Little Havana" and the Cuban/S. American influences that are virtually everywhere.

[@manicpixiecoffeelovr]

honestly there’s barely any Dominicans here most of them live in nyc/ up north

[@manicpixiecoffeelovr]

like they’re here but not a lot most of the hispanic people here are mostly Puerto Rican/ Cuban

[@ang3lica2k]

Still mainly Cubans though because when Castro sent them off the island. Physically enforced to the point they’d make them swim off the island, so they literally had to figure out how to boat to the nearest place they could and that would accept them. There was even water routes cubans would share with each other in order to escape to Florida. Which led to generations of Cubans that exist today to be there. This also led meant alot had extended family who are from there, which only led to more Cubans immigrating over there over time due to this. Majority of Puerto Ricans still mainly went to New York.

[@alyssaurus17]

Same with Tampa with the cigar factories. I was very shocked it wasn't mentioned at all--and how this has added to the conservative voting of Florida, since Cubans especially typically vote republican.

[@AlthewizardofOz]

As someone who grew up in the state, fantastic video. I would make one major correction: Florida was NOT late to statehood. It became a state in 1845, same year as Texas, before California, and before the Civil War. Nevertheless, Florida was a swampy backwater until the railroads and air conditioning transformed the state.

[@humzauddin105]

That’s what he meant when he said “late to statehood” only Jacksonville and Tampa were developed. A grand majority of Florida was still a swamp

[@laurenthompson8228]

Perhaps he was referring to Florida being late to statehood in the context of Eastern states

[@truejim]

The point about air conditioning is especially key here. No sane person wanted to live in states like Florida or Arizona before central A/C became affordable in residences. So these and other "brutally hot" states didn't really start to develop until the mid 1960s. Once central A/C became commonplace, Florida population went from about 5M to about 22M now -- about a 4x population increase in a little more than two generations.

[@NuncNuncNuncNunc]

Oh, charming, Floridians think that they weren't late to statehood. --the rest of the eastern seaboard.

[@Ksins1]

USA is doing everything to make the people of Europe live badly! So that the European economy will fall! USA does this in order to rule the people of Europe and send them to war with Russia, so that the people of Europe will fight and die in the war with Russia! USA in this war will sit across the ocean and sell weapons to Europe and laugh at the Europeans! USA needs a war between Europe and Russia in order to survive itself, as the Anglo-Saxons have always done!55

[@yodorob]

The Yucatan Peninsula - particularly the eastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo (where the world-famous resort areas of Cancun and the Riviera Maya are located) - has seen a similar spurt of phenomenal growth. That has taken place even later than in peninsular Florida - pretty much just the past 50-55 years. And the topography (mainly flat) and geology (mainly limestone) of Florida and the Yucatan are very similar as well!

[@DouradaBambina]

Both beautiful places

[@marknewton6984]

Native Floridian who has been to Yucatan. Very similar. Could live in Tampa or Merida..or both. 😎

[@JohnnyEscopeta]

As a non-American, Florida always feels the fakest state, it's like the entire place is a theme park.

[@DrWarBear]

I was born and raised in Fort Myers (directly adjacent to Cape Coral), and lived here and commuted into Cape Coral my whole life, have numerous friends who live there, and let me tell you. Wendover fucking nailed it! Yes the lots are cheap, house prices have gone up but still affordable, and yeah you’ll likely have a canal behind your house you can canoe or boat in, but you are going to live 45 min away from the nearest grocery or doctor, and the traffic will be INSANE! Imagine 300k residents all trying to leave to go to their job across just 2 bridges, funneled by narrow residential roads that also have houses and driveways on them so speed limits are always 30 mph. Fuuuuuck ever trying to live in that place. Also see Lehigh Acres, same issues but with no canals. Just a sprawling city-sized neighborhood with no amenities and labyrinth style roads going for miles that eventually lead to just 2 ROADS leading out of the city with no interstate access. That traffic is as bad as the east coast of florida, every day

[@breadmaster1714]

Cape Coral is not a city about a bunch of suburbs and strip malls connected with roads

[@benjaminchen2795]

Do you think public mass transport will help since everyone is going to the same place anyways

[@ozymandias3097]

My favorite memory of growing up in Ft Myers was dying of boredom in the car because my parents would always insist on going to the beach for July 4th and we’d sit in traffic for hours 🙃

[@km1cn]

@@ozymandias3097 That's crazy

[@skylineXpert]

Been to Sanibel myself before my aunt got alzheimers. She had her winterhome on S yachtsman dr. It was always a blast and I did do certain things that would scare her. a lovely 13 hour plane trip from europe to a place with little cell reception and alligators on the dunes golf course. Even made the 4 hour drive to the dreaded orlando highway around Disney several times.

[@ciararyan9370]

Florida is being ruined by overdevelopment, largely by big companies who come from out of state to capitalize on our resources and then underpay all of the local subcontractors. It’s become increasingly crowded and expensive over the past several years and many of my friends have moved away to escape these things, as well as the insane heat and humidity that descends anywhere from May to June and refuses to leave well into the fall.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

I mean, that is precisely what Floridians vote for. Unfettered capitalism. Enjoy :)

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@Birdman Lol, imagine being so deluded.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@Birdman LOL, no one is flooding texas or Florida. Stop watching FOX

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@Birdman Lol, And look at how many people leave after 2 years. LOL. Only reason why Texas is getting anyone is because companies opening up 2nd headquarters out there.

[@michaelsnachez5747]

@@Adrian-wd4rn we had a 2.2 million people increase in 3 years, yes they are

[@dzamadzama_llama4536]

One thing that you seemed to leave out is that not all of Florida has been built up like the Villages. In fact, if you go a little further north of the villages you will run into more Florida wild. If you go to places like Kerr City you'll feel like you went back in time 60 years ago, except still with AC and modern electronics in your home. Not to mention the Everglades is still massive, except compared to what it was previously it is tiny. This was a very interesting video to watch, I enjoyed it a lot.

[@marknewton6984]

Parts of Florida are wild. I know them. You can't go.😮

[@totallyuneekname]

One of my favorite videos of yours. Thanks for putting it together

[@safye4]

Palm Beach is actually insane. I went last year when I was in the area and it's one of the most surreal places I've ever been. There was hardly anyone besides one Rolls Royce that I was driving behind. The beaches are all supposed to be public in Florida but you'd be pressed to find any way to access the beach on the island. Every single plant and blade of grass is perfectly manacured. The homes go beyond 9 figures. One of the homes at the time was the most expensive home currently listed in the U.S., and it was on the top corner of the island with 270 degree views of the ocean. I felt that you perfectly summed up the area by saying essentially its where the ultra-wealthy hangout around other ultra-wealthy people in order to escape their reputation in the real world.

[@hewitc]

Palm Beach is not "Florida". It's sui generis. There are many homes on in the Town of Palm Beach (on the island) that pay far in excess of $1M annually in property tax and have six-figure monthly water bills.

[@isunlloaoll]

So it's like the Florida republican boomer version of Martha's vineyard/ the Hamptons.

[@davidcrosthwaite]

Could you use a boat to access the “public” beaches?

[@memeindustry672]

@David C Its illegal to drive boats up onto a beach anywhere along the coast afaik. Maybe not true in really secluded areas but idk. You have to maintain a certain distance from the coast at all times.

[@GODHATESADOPTION]

ehhhh thats really JUPITER ISLAND the richest place in the USA

[@benmcreynolds8581]

What blew me away was how I learned how the Florida everglades was a fully functioning properly filtering, cycling, flowing system and the development and canal systems that were built without understanding ANY of that... Now ruined the natural flow that once naturally occured in the everglades outflow.

[@DoomFinger511]

yup, that's essentially the function of a swamp. It's nature's water filtration system, and all the junk it filters out becomes a gold mine of nutrients for plants and animals to absorb. That's why, despite human intervention, there are still a ton of wildlife that infiltrate all the urban environments.

[@chasbodaniels1744]

That’s all driven by the greed and arrogance of land developers. Builders Gonna Build, and they don’t take “no” for an answer.

[@Magrior]

Ah, but I'm sure one day we will look back at all the nature we destroyed and say: "It was totally worth it, to build these mega-mansions for the rich."

[@sillybirdy1994]

Thank capitalism for that, and basically all the Republican shitters of the world hiding out in Palm Beach.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

@@chasbodaniels1744 that was way before they understood any of this

[@entombedentity7059]

I'm from New York but have been in Palm Beach Gardens for the last 10 years now. As someone who's been all over this state this was a fantastic watch, thank you for crafting such an informative experience.

[@JayTaylorXx]

This was excellent. I'm excited to binge all your content

[@TheGrandDurian]

As a Florida native who traces his family heritage back to a Florida property deed dated 1854, this is one of the best presentations of the uniqueness of Florida I have ever seen. There is always something a little more to say, but for the short duration of this viedo, this was excellent. The pacing, the historical footage, the bio-diversity, narration, etc. were all well done. Thank you! I am going to share this video far and wide.

[@sallysmith7664]

What part of Florida?

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

My great great grandaddy came to what became 'Arizona' back in the Mexican War and took over the place long before the Civil War. Arizona was a no slave state partially because my great great grandpa and his political buddies didn't want slavery and indeed, protected run away slaves. Today, no one in my clan lives in Arizona anymore after the mass invasion when air conditioners made life too easy. I grew up dealing with the heat. That is, more than half a century ago.

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

At my grandfather's funeral back in 1959, I met one of the former slaves who was over 100 years old. He told me how my grandfather hired him at the University to help with astronomy work and taught him back when schools were segregated! I was stunned. I knew grandpa was liberal but didn't know he did this sort of thing! Yes, pre-statehood Tucson had many people like this man and my ancestors.

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

As a Florida native I have to ask is what many say about Florida true? The crazy part?

[@Maggie_b]

@@theteeshirtman 😭 you messed up for that jit

[@laneylion]

This is a good video but it is sort of left out that a lot of us that are born here are in poverty. Our most famous cities and attractions do not represent our state with good understanding. This video kind of brings it up when it mentions those who worked on the railroad as opposed to the hotels. So many people think of Florida as alligators, oranges, and tourist attractions, not a place where people live.

[@ayyahwaska]

Maybe because it's basically the same everywhere else.

[@janejones7638]

It leaves out a whole lot. I would call this Yankees and the Elderly move and develop parts of South FL. I wouldn't say The Villages applies to even what he was talking about in terms of the growth. But to be honest you could make a twenty hour series to discuss all of the issues of FL which make it unique, make it why it's now the 3rd largest state in population, why it's major diversity in people (Southern, Yankee, Mid-western, African-American, Native American, Foreign born American or person with a visa, etc.), why despite Hurricanes people are still clamouring to move here.

[@rohiko4433]

This is exactly how I feel after watching this. I live in Florida and have grown up here my whole life. My family is definitely not upper class though, far from it. I kept waiting to hear about the part of Florida where the people like me lived, and it just..never came. It's probably understandable because compared to whatever the heck they were doing on the east coast we weren't really doing much, but still

[@BrokenBluebird6]

Exactly, struggling to stay above the red each month bc my pay barely covers bare necessities and rent. Can't afford to move out of Tampa 🙃

[@panangramgepearanan3974]

@@BrokenBluebird6And laws for workers are terrible, you protest in any way at all and you are immediately fired.

[@davisgeorgemoye9689]

"Late to statehood." March 3, 1845? "No rivers around which to centralize." The state song (unofficial now) is, "Way down upon the Suwannee River," and until the 20th century the most economically important cities (Apalachicola, Jacksonville, and Pensacola) were on the Apalachicola, St Johns, and Escambia Rivers, respectively.

[@DarkSnP]

Being from Florida the villages were actually a place to go check out or have swinger parties. Being for old folks you see a ton of young ppl and it is kinda a locals spot to visit

[@kentb8621]

I’m an 8th generation Floridian. Definitely a rare breed, I’m actually related to governor broward (broward county). I grew up in Orlando and yeah this video does describe some of the oddities of Florida but A/C was definitely the big game changer. What’s so interesting about Florida though is the various pockets, Orlando is different than Tampa, Kissimmee is it’s own Disney ecosystem, Miami is like little Havana, Jacksonville more resembles Georgia, Gainesville is southern college town, the keys are their own oddity. Panhandle is basically Deep South, and one interesting fact is Florida is the cave diving capital of the world due to the aquifer. Central Florida used to be entirely orange groves. Every time I go home it’s more developed. I remember in 2010 I had a friend who lived out by Disney and there was a whole massive area out there that was completely undeveloped and remote. Four years later I drove back there intending on joyriding and was shocked to discover it was completely gone and totally unrecognizable. All you could see was the suburban housing development a for miles. Empty land was rapidly converted from cow pastures and fields to a land of cookie cutter suburbia. It’s sad to see the development in just my lifetime, let alone my grandparents and their parents lifetimes who were born here at the turn of the century.

[@patrickmoorhead4843]

I see the same thing in my Floridian hometown. When I was a kid in the early 2000s it was a slightly suburbanized town where a bulk of the land was celery, sod, and citrus groves. Now, There's hardly anything left undeveloped. A few spots have been built up with good foresight, being mixed use, dense, and with varying price brackets for residencies. But, far too much has been built out as the same old cookie cutter suburbia, claiming tens of thousands of acres of nature, and getting increasingly out of reach for those who grew up there. It's amazing to me how Florida's political climate seems so independent and dynamic (always a swing state), but its development climate is almost entirely dictated by those who move here from out of state and just want to pave over all of what's left of nature.

[@jthomeskillet]

@@patrickmoorhead4843 get politically active locally

[@alexrogers777]

"Beautiful orange groves being turned into cookie cutter suburbia", god I hate this. We have more than enough suburbs in this country

[@alexrogers777]

@@patrickmoorhead4843 " its development climate is almost entirely dictated by those who move here from out of state and just want to pave over all of what's left of nature." Is it any surprise that those people are so thoroughly conservatives?

[@patrickmoorhead4843]

@@jthomeskillet If I still lived there I would

[@markgrayson7514]

Theodore Roosevelt should have included much of Florida in the National Park system. That would have preceded the first wave of build up by over ten years.

[@Dman9fp]

Yep yep too bad it was largely uninhabitable/ seen as undesirable swamp full of malaria until fairly recently. Much as I want to keep things secret, they're going under as is/ people tend to find out about them anyways. Besides the everglades going clearly under (most people know about that, invasive species, sugar cane industrial ag making major pollution, hydrologic changes, so on) just as spectacular if not more in Central North FL you've got the Suwannee river, one of the largest relatively unspoiled river systems left in America, hundreds of freshwater springs many that are swimmable, some nice geology along the river, unique species... but of course unfortunately the state of FL doesn't care about protecting our water resources (quality or quantity) but just making big bucks, allow all the dairies & industrial ag into North FL (nevermind that the soil has Never been great for agriculture, sandy and thin, unlike South FL) many of the springs already essentially dead (covered by "pond scum" filamentous algae, low oxygen, not many fish) & for the florida aquifer to be riddled with chemicals/ pollution (where the springs come out), yeah the amount of overuse has to be bad. Don't get me wrong, lots of wild FL has good to very good "secret spots". But most tend to be intimately linked with water. Of course lots of FL the biggest water user is water lawns/ domestic use, not industrial ag. I know sprawl will continue. All the more reason I believe "the springs heartland" should have national protection. Maybe I'm naiive, delusionally thinking there's a chance for redemption for some of FL environmentally. I don't blame people who don't want to visit, only want to once, or just ocassionally check in from a distance, because such places are unique/ worthy of protection or grief if they continue to go under. But yeah, the more people/ Florida lovers outraged the better (maybe a lost cause ? Or may swing eventually, as more Floridians explore, are born here, etc) definitely the best documentary on water/ springs issues is "Fellowship of the springs" on amazon, well worth a rent, even if have seen it in person/ know a lot going into it Especially as the alternative is- my home state of FL may eventually be a urban / suburban metropolis (already largely is in peninsular Florida, with some pockets of forest and rural) just with some alligators, but much less uniqueness long term

[@matthewwhite5513]

“Weird attracts weird” is that a nod to the Florida Man

[@markjohnson-ku5xc]

Great video. As a native Floridian, the only critique I have is that agriculture was and is a big deal here. We are a leading producer of Citrus (before canker) and cattle. While a lot of that land has been eaten up by development, the panhandle and parts of Central and South Florida are still very agricultural. You nailed it on Henry Flagler and the railroad. One big factor in Palm Beach was that the state granted his companies a certian number of acres per mile of railroad or canal built. This ended with him getting a lot of the land in southeast Florida through various land grants.

[@johnshoemakerpbc]

And sugar cane too.

[@Tuna224th]

@@johnshoemakerpbc Yes I was going to say this! Many years ago my home was surrounded on all side by sugar cane farms, when they cut the stalks down and burned some of it to help the soil I always remembered the sweet smell. Nowadays its all developed housing communities and none of the farms are still around, but I know there's still lots of it happening elsewhere

[@markjohnson-ku5xc]

@UCo3Yj1KerPQE57OPy3h6BlQ a leading producer, not the leading producer. A lot of our cattle industry is devoted to breeding and selling calves to other states. According to the FL Dept of Agriculture, we have the largest brood herd and three of the five largest cow/calf operations in the US. The Midwest certainly finishes a lot of beef, but Florida isn't all palm trees and beaches.

[@JBinFL]

Add in carrots and sweet potatoes as major row crop products in the northern part of Florida.

[@grantforester1864]

True, I forgot we’re pretty good at cattle here. I can’t go 2 mins on the road without seeing cows

[@MaxItUpwithMarta]

It is so sad to see how the natural beauty of Florida was destroyed. As a native Miamian I can tell you that there is a high price to pay. People think that they can disrespect nature, but they cannot. Miami and other Florida cities flood constantly. The over development is horrible.

[@JBinFL]

As a native of rural North Florida I can tell you that those who daily leave Central and South Florida are having a similar, if not as overdeveloped, impact here.

[@firemarshal2629]

It is not that bad, chill boomer

[@VitaKet]

@@firemarshal2629 If you don't think it's that bad you are either ignorant or in denial.

[@Mcgridddle]

if miami fell into the atlantic florida would be alot better.

[@tomsko863]

There is no such thing as a "native" Floridian. Each person that settles there tells the next that they're "native" to feel like their opinion holds more sway. Whoever was there before you can think that once you and your ilk arrived, things started going downhill. The whole state started an unliveavle swamp. It should go back to it.

[@petercha01]

No mention of the Kennedy Space Center? The most significant events in history, the Apollo missions to land mankind on the moon, were launched from here.

[@megapangolin1093]

Cracking story, I really enjoy all of your videos, they are the best researched and presented/narrated on YT. Well done and thank you.

[@matthewwypyszinski4873]

You missed the main attraction of the villages, the swinger culture and rampant STDs lol. They managed to spawn their own strain of highly antibiotic resistant clap for example lol. I live 20 minutes from there and it really is an odd place

[@babagandu]

Come to India

[@dannysulyma6273]

@@babagandu where you can buy antibiotics to take for whatever you think you have? Explaining all the antibiotic resistant bugs they have.

[@dadrumer]

Would love to hear more about all the ecological consequences of that drying of the everglades....

[@ShroudedWolf51]

Agreed. It's very much disappointing that this entire critical topic went completely ignored.

[@robcampbell3387]

Yeah, the video really glossed over this critical point. Draining the Everglades was disastrous for both Florida's ecology and for people, since so many ecosystem services were lost. It's a large part of the reason tropical storms do as much damage as they do there. Wetlands are natural barriers for storms. When you remove them, storms become much more deadly and damaging.

[@Kokonutzlz]

I'll send you a link to my senior seminar presentation about the Everglades that I gave literally the same day that this video came out

[@dadrumer]

@@Kokonutzlz Yes please. Me too.

[@Rinkerbro]

My environmental professor was staunchly conservative and he still emphasized the destruction of the ecosystem that was caused by "draining the swamp"

[@stanleysoldao8293]

I’m watching this after the reveal trailer of GTA 6

[@mrbutch308]

Former Floridian here. The claim that before air conditioning Florida was nothing but a swamp is mostly untrue and dismissive. There was Flagler's first Florida land boom in the 1890's and early 1900's and then the "Great Land Boom" of the 1920s - both before A/C. Electricity provided electric fans and ceiling fans, perfected swimming pool technology and other improvements made Florida livable. Two things that must be mentioned was #1 - mosquito control, and #2 - agriculture. It was Miami founder Julia Tuttle who sent Flagler a box full of oranges from Miami in the late 19th Century when the citrus crop in northern Florida was wiped out by a hard freeze to convince him to build his railroad to South Florida. As a Floridian I had to leave the state for multiple reasons: it had become over-developed, over crowded, horrible traffic, higher cost of living, and the reality of climate change causing increased flooding, tropical storms, diminished sources of fresh water. As many have said "Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."

[@MonaLisaHasNoEyebrows]

I’m in the Tampa Bay Area, in a city particularly known for its white sand beaches, and I can definitely attest to the Snowbird Season between Thanksgiving and Easter. Entire neighborhoods of $300,000 homes sit eerily silent all summer and fall and then BAM your going to work one morning in late November and there is an Ohio or Montreal license plate going 10mph under in front of you for the next 6 months.

[@rumham7631]

Sarasota?

[@MonaLisaHasNoEyebrows]

@@rumham7631 Clearwater, but close lol

[@georgeklimes7604]

Even north Pinellas (Tarpon Springs area) is getting more traffic!

[@JohannGambolputty22]

I like the quiet months, basically August-September and April-May. So when Canadians aren't here, and kids are still in school. Any other time it's a shit show. Winter is Canadians and Summer is vacationers. Beaches are worse around me in the Summer though. In Winter everyone on the beach and in Costco is speaking French.

[@camanderson9954]

300k house nice or something? in Ontario Canada with the conversion basically gets you a shit hole in the hood

[@legiondaryspyrospyro8334]

I live in Fort Myers and I hate how Cape Coral looks. You enter Cape Coral and suddenly there’s like barely any trees. Also during hurricane Ian EVERYONE came to cape coral in the beginning to get gas and supplies. It was a nightmare driving.

[@rubiesofgold7698]

As a life long Floridian, there is so much uniqueness in our state that we have done most of our family vacations in our own state (seriously). We'll go to the mountains from time to time but there's so much to do here it really isn't necessary. It's convenient when the kids are young to drive a few hours and you are in a different world than you just came from.

[@Replyingtoclowns]

🤢🤮

[@AssBlasster]

I would agree that Florida has an intriguing amount of nature and things to explore in reasonable travel times (which I took for granted since moving away), but I wouldn't say it's that much different across areas of Florida. The coastal areas are certainly more varied than the swamps/forests of central Florida.

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

I live in North Carolina ans most of our family vacations are in-state too. Mountains? we got em. Beaches? we got em. Sounds, waterways, barrier islands? all depends on how far you wanna drive. That having been said I will still drive an extra 5 hours to vacation in Florida because it really does feel like a tropical foreign country without actually being a foreign country. I love it.

[@phil_matic]

>Mention of Florida being Weird >Not once ever referencing Florida Man You've let me down, Wendover.

[@benjaminsnell3393]

Driving from Miami to the everglades is incredible, it is the sharpest contrast between urban and wilderness I ever saw.

[@JohannGambolputty22]

If you think that's sharp, Coral Springs and Parkland is even more so; One side of Sawgrass Expressway is houses, the other side is swamp.

[@davidslaton]

Yea it’s only about a 15 - 20 minute drive!

[@Kokonutzlz]

Hopefully it doesn't get developed :)

[@rushingyew]

I grew up looking at the everglades from my backyard. Funny how normal it is to me when you put it that way.

[@sbclaridge]

@@JohannGambolputty22 you are definitely correct about Sawgrass Expressway. East of there it is highly developed, and then you have a canal just west of the expressway, with swamp on the other side. In the Parkland area you just have the canal separating the development from the swamps, as the Sawgrass Expressway turns sharply east between Coral Springs and Parkland.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

The Florida Man would be pretty happy for this, an entire video dedicated to their home.

[@SkyGuyChris]

nah this is a video dedicated to the ultra wealthy who cultivated florida. If it weren’t for them the working class wouldn’t have gotten weird enough to be known as “florida man”

[@funveeable]

I'm glad Florida exists. The mistakes they make can be for me to learn, as well as their successes. They are the free state of the fewest regulations while having as much opportunity as California. You can try anything there. Succeed equals wealth, failure means poverty, salary job, or the ability to try again.

[@njpme]

The Florida Man is pleased

[@nighteye4042]

I am very happy for this, brings me to tears to see my home taken seriously

[@SableDrakon]

I dunno... There's not enough meth and Miller Light to appease him.

[@hadrianos1]

Wow!! Didn't know anything about this towns!! Now want to visit them!! Amazing!

[@violetmarie9983]

As someone who grew up here its crazy how separated our city is, the rich people have their stores and restaurants and on the other side of the bridge we struggle to even have rent. They even have their own schools. Thank you so much for speaking on this❤❤❤❤

[@guilhermetavares4705]

In the last 10 years the Brazilian community in Florida has increased a lot, the state is seen as a paradise for Brazilian immigrants, especially Orlando. The downside is that sprawling urban development ends up being advocated as a solution for our cities here in Brazil.

[@spektree8448]

Fax a bunch of girls at school been wearing the Brazilian jersey everyday for the world cup

[@Potatofarmer1898]

É nóis!!!!!!!

[@tydaftpk38]

Oh no! Not urban development in Brazil!😱 Brazil needs more abandoned unfinished concrete buildings

[@alexandreandrade5365]

Flórida é uma Barra da Tijuca gigante. Pro bem e pro mal.

[@Booz2020]

Many Brazilian Immigrants, Restaurants, and Churches and Communities in South Florida (Miami, Miami Beach and Ft Lauderdale) nowadays 💯

[@airtrafficman972]

Man I never thought I'd be able to clearly see my childhood home and high school on a Wendover video. Growing up in Cape Coral I didn't fully grasp how bizarre of a place it was until I went away to college.

[@TheHomerowKeys]

You grew up in that development?! What was it like?? I can't imagine growing up there. I grew up in Philly with towns built off of colonial settlements. When I got the bus in a snow storm, there was a possibility of us going off the road if the super intendant didn't give us a snow-day.

[@LeDowling]

Watching this video from my couch in the Cape. Ive never lived anywhere else idk what’s so weird about despite how white everyone is and the massive amount of non- local retirees

[@areyoukind5645]

@@TheHomerowKeys I lived in Cape Coma. There's nothing to do. It's hot year-round. It's mostly boomers. Its not a good place.

[@ScreenFavorites]

Not me in Cape thinkin he’s right.

[@nousername2942]

I've lived here for three years and I absolutely hate it. Sorry bro.

[@texaspineywoods3879]

This is the best video you’ve done, in my opinion. It hits the nail right on the head relative to the question.

[@kulturfreund6631]

Great documentary, as always 👍

[@JoyRidaPR]

Very informative and well-paced video, almost makes me sad. I’ve lived in Tampa/Orlando for 30 years, and the biggest problem I see Florida has is also it’s selling point: bringing in too many people, way too fast, especially after covid. There simply isn’t enough infrastructure to handle the increased demand of population, especially traffic. It’s practically broke. All that matters is real estate, giant new housing construction, and increased commercialism/inflation. Historic locations like Ybor, Sanford, and 5-Points are holding on but there seems to be no cap as to how much land real estate investors can buy just to squeeze in cookie-cutter apartments and homes. The originality of Florida is decreasing in favor of streamlined existence to appeal to out of state residences. Some of these original locations are being bought out and replaced with bland white-painted modernist structures that stick out like a sore thumb. The friendliness and charm is fading due to a stark line being drawn in the middle/upper class. Most OG locals are simply moving further into central Florida just to avoid the trending influx of residents and make a stake in their own quiet piece of land. Personally, I believe Florida has a bigger epidemic of losing its identity more than anything else.

[@nlx78]

When it was mentioned that people going into business, pitch their ideas as being different rather than successful. So Trump actually didn't lie for once when looking for funds. On the being different he probably mentioned that it could well be THE resort he would bury his ex wife on.

[@frankharr9466]

My mom and her brother and a number of their relatives left the state altogether.

[@Christian-is-thriving]

I'm a native Tampan and I've lived in Ybor for over 20 yrs. It's both exciting and heart breaking to see what happening to the area and the state in general. It doesn't feel like a sustainable situation. Something has to break.

[@iaintookthatbb6599]

I moved around Orlando for the reason that southwest Florida is getting big too fast. And the traffic where I used to live made it unlivable. Idk how it is now since the hurricane.

[@djinn666]

Now you know how California turned into what it is today. Thankfully the growth has leveled off post-Covid so infrastructure should have time to catch up.

[@bobwiegers]

I grew up in South Florida in the 80s and 90s. I loved boating, fishing, scuba diving, and everything about the ocean. We mostly ignored Disney and all the other weird stuff. We mostly missed the major hurricane years. It was fabulous. But I haven't been back in 25 years and I'm content to never go back again.

[@justfrank5661]

Where do you live nowadays?? Just wondering

[@bobwiegers]

@@justfrank5661 New England. I love the snow and mountains.

[@cobalt3738]

@@robierahg17 Not all of us, Florida is quickly becoming just like every other state in the Northeast. Commercialism, industrialization, tourists, the dying ecosystem...it's all sad, I can understand why one would not want to be around to see the decline

[@chewy99.]

The people that come down here to live in the winter are what we call snowbirds. Usually they’re older and want the warm weather. Usually them being older goes hand in hand with being more conservative.

[@ieiazelsimone5087]

I lived in Florida as a child, it’s a unique place and weird and crazy in many ways . I love it!

[@jon-michaelharris5840]

Also, talked about Flagler, but you can’t tell the story of Florida today without Dr John Gorrie and Walt Disney. Without those three, Florida would be Mississippi.

[@omarrolle3842]

He also should’ve talked about Henry Plant who was basically the Tampa/Gulf coast version of Henry Flagler

[@DrumBum561]

As a native Floridian, Florida is the uncle that comes to Thanksgiving, gets way too drunk off of whiskey, says something racist, yells at you about politics, then falls asleep on the couch. Then they wake up and tell you they love you and buy you tickets to Disney and Universal and take you there and spend all day with you, and that they love you. Then they go to drop you off at home before getting in a road rage incident on I-4 with someone who just had the exact same experience. Rinse and repeat for 365 days.

[@mokisan]

🤣🤣🤣

[@emurphy42]

Shut up and take my money!

[@Crosbie85]

🤣

[@ricequackers]

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! That's Florida!

[@user-ho4fe9mh4c]

The ponce de leon hotel is now a college and the city of st. Augustine (where flagler and his family are entombed) is like one large museum of the mans life. Great tourist spot.

[@cameroncrerar347]

18:25 hey! That’s the blockbuster on hwy-6 in Owen sound! Never thought I’d seen something local in a wendover video!

[@ethanmagnuson2988]

The Villages are exactly what it would look like if someone were to design my personal hell

[@elisabethseaton6521]

Someone did

[@franilan2591]

😂😂

[@susanbaran9549]

Amen. I am 67 and would rather die first.

[@ekkoashley3388]

Native Floridian here, one thing that's also talked about when the villages are mentioned is the crazy STD rate it's known for.

[@ecglaw0]

Urban myth without any factual basis whatsoever. The Villages comprises 3 counties "Compared to Florida overall, however, the three counties containing The Villages tended to have significantly lower rates ( of STDs). "Sumter County had one of the lowest rates of sexually transmitted diseases among older adults in 2019 -with about one in 10,000. That’s compared to six in 10,000 seniors statewide. Marion and Lake bore similar trends. The same patterns emerged for diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HIV, among Florida’s older adults. At the county-by-county level, The Villages similarly fared better than most." Myth turbo charged by a fallacious 2009 story in the NY Post which cited false source and unamed persons. The myth "has legs" and is more interesting than the intractable fact that the claim is utterly false. No I do not live there. I DO study urban myths. Google this one if you like because it is one that is very easy to track its origin and why it persists. It is false BUT the odds are high that you will repeat it again. The myth is a conversation starter and attention getter. The facts are boring.

[@Joelswinger34]

I guess it must be a fun place! It sounds too artificial and too conservative for me though.

[@ecglaw0]

Urban myth that will not die. STD rate for the 3 counties which The Villages are located in is no higher than anywhere else. The myth was started in 2009 by a reporter from the NY Post. Don't take my word for it. Google it. Great sound bites trump boring actual statistics every time.

[@ChiliCheeseD0g]

Lemon parties everywhere. lol

[@pluspiping]

I do hear that life after menopause can turn very horny very quickly, just by hormones alone

[@nickharmon2157]

Floridia also has some of the highest rates of minorities voting Republican. You seemed to focus on how those white communities were conservative, without even mentioning that Miami went republican in the last governors race.

[@DavidRodriguez-mi1eu]

I live in the keys (the island stretch connected by the bridges) and during hurricane ian we suffered next to no property damage due to the mangroves encapsulating our property. While where settlers had cut down the mangroves it was total chaos.

[@SeanA099]

I visited The Villages once and it just felt like that weird town that Squidward moves to with all the other squids

[@Mikey.spikey]

My whole family is from Cape Coral. I have an aunt and uncle who live along a canal and their house was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. It's kinda crazy seeing how much of the impact was from poor infrastructure. Also, ironically, it happens to be my favorite place in the world...

[@NamelessProducts]

I'm just north of you in Punta Gorda Isles. Its awful. The whole state is awful. Hurricanes, heat, bugs, flooding, red tide, demographic homogeneity, and the worst of all... Extreme Car Dependency. But yup my house went through the eye of Ian. I've had enough.

[@mirceskiandrej]

Better to have a destroyed house and potentially dead relatives then pay small tax for the proper infrastructure.

[@Enzo187]

Blaming the damage on poor infrastructure is wild when the problem is a bunch of retards building ocean front property and ignoring meterologists

[@denniswhite166]

@@NamelessProducts You sound like my late Father. My parents moved to Florida when my Dad retired. Mom loved it, Dad not so much. Dad called Florida "The Land of Bugs and Scams".

[@lamegaming9835]

thats what happens when you sprawl out so much you cant afford all the miles of water pipes, roads, school busses, ect ect plus no taxes coming in

[@dustysummit3900]

This was an insane video. Well done

[@tumultuousTuna]

The minute you mentioned Cape Coral, I cackled. You're absolutely right about it being haphazard; it's such a hell to drive through, barely any gridding, and there's not a singular tree in the miles of concrete. It sucks and I hate it

[@lauribeckham1223]

I have lived in Florida my entire life. I absolutely love my state. But over the years it has changed so much. I live on the east coast and work in Palm Beach. The amount of people that have moved here, especially since covid, is insane! Everywhere I look there is a new gated community or apartment building being built. The roadways, especially 95, are crammed with impatient drivers. The slow pace lifestyle of Florida no longer exists. The diverse ecosystems are being destroyed daily and the native animals are being pushed from their homes because of all the humans taking over. I absolutely love my state and all its weirdness. I am glad I got to enjoy it before all this development., because everyday it's being destroyed by developers. If you have decided to move to our state, please take care of it!❤ thanks for the video!

[@nathangray4601]

Yup y’all are literally destroying the everglades so quickly it’s terrifying. Same kind of situation with Las Vegas. People shouldn’t pour resources to terraform environments humans haven’t naturally withstood on a large scale.

[@lauren8407]

That’s where I lived a grew up and we moved because of the crazy!

[@noah22261]

The current politicians unfortunately do not care about those issues despite the recent bill passed to send more water back thru the Everglades

[@gettingintrospective]

@@lauren8407 Did you go to NC? I feel like everyone I meet in NC left FL.

[@pumpnix7243]

Texas is becoming the same way.

[@adsaga13]

I am from Cape Coral and have lived here for majority of my life. In high school we used to call it Cape Coma but, it has definitely seen a lot of growth in the past 10 years. A few things to note, not everyone is far away from grocery stores and other amenities or live on a canal. It just depends which area since the city is pretty big. Where I live there has been lots of development when it comes to shopping and dining. The video is right about the water system, it's a mess and there are still areas under sewer water (it stinks btw) and there can be water boil notices. Also, when developed it ruined the natural ecosystem such as mangroves which did so much for the land. Another downside are the canals which make it sometimes annoying to get to places. Also more people are moving here and the current road infrastructure is not prepared for it. So rush hour can be long depending where you live. Then there are hurricanes. Ian showed us just how vulnerable we are to damage but, thankfully it wasn't as bad as it was predicted when it came to flooding. Another note is that demographics have changed over time. We have a large Hispanic community and it used to be a lot of old people. Now we still have plenty of seniors but, there are more younger people as well. I have seen a shift in the area and I really believe in time we will see an even bigger change. I love where I live.

[@zeloganbrothers]

@adsaga I grew up in Cape Coral, went to Island Coast, but lived in South Cape Coral. I loved the rush hour traffic driving to and from school everyday :/ Could make a whole video on how shitty Lee County School Choice is

[@adsaga13]

@@zeloganbrothers Agreed! Lee county school choice is weird. I went to Ida Baker and lived in NE Cape. And traffic definitely made the commute even longer.

[@alexismiller288]

Everywhere in Florida is terribly designed. Best place I've been able to find is Seaside. It's very pretty, with nice architecture and access to bicycles.

[@absolutezerochill2700]

rewatching this, i love how casusally he said "Villages Lightsaber club" i missed that the first time lol

[@bill7102]

Even thought I thought this was going to be a hit piece, it was enlightening even for a long time resident. Other than Tampa and Orlando -- which have similar vibes, the other major metros have their own identity.

[@irritatedkitty7301]

Before Disney it was all orange groves. Now it's a huge traffic jam called Orlando and Disney.

[@x77punk77x]

It’s a puff piece instead.

[@kms1.62]

@@x77punk77x How is it a puff piece? In what way does it lack substance?

[@chrisstadler7111]

As a resident of Cape Coral I can tell you your 50K number for canal access is grossly understated

[@angleralex2427]

As a Florida native, I would have liked to see some things about North West Florida. Pensacola, Destin etc. the history is different from the Atlantic coast florida, but just as interesting

[@diodelvino3048]

The most beautiful beach in Florida but now its kinda ruined, way too many tourists and the beach gets too overcrowded

[@OuterHeaven210]

Yuh I stayed in Destin. North Florida is Def different

[@davidknightx]

"....to escape the media attention that comes from extreme wealth...". Florida in a nutshell. I lived there most of life as a lower-class, retail clerk. The Great Recession turned me into a refugee where, luckily, family up north took me in. There's a reason the governor at the time forced drug testing on those that lost their jobs through no fault of their own to enrich his wifes investments in the company that made the kits (Floridians WERE cool with paying that tax because it meant hurting the poor). There's a reason it's now illegal to be homeless despite proof jails cost more tax than building housing (again, they'll pay taxes if it means hurting the poor). It was once illegal to have a work pickup truck on your own driveway in Cape Coral (had to be in a garage). Same with hanging your clothes out to dry. Why? Because that's what poor people do. Florida is the civil oligarchy's own private club house. Everyone else is just living off their scraps. Watch Bright Sun Film on KZbin and "The Florida Project" movie on what it's like just outside Disney. All these years later, my heart screams Florida is my home, but it was a toxic relationship that needed to end. I'll never truly belong there. Now, I eagerly wait until climate change completely levels the state. All I ask for is to live long enough to see it happen. And it WILL happen. There's no stopping it at this point. And it's what the state deserves. They deserve Trump and DeSantis who will bail on them when the hurricanes are more than the federal government will bail out. And like a plague, the oligarchs will find a new nest.

[@bdw_things]

As someone that’s lived in Florida their whole life, this video really showed me that the massive issues we’re having with an increasing cost of living and low wages isn’t a bug of Florida but a feature of it. It was always meant to be a place where the wealthy came to and the working class would service them. These last four or so years have just made it even more awful with the massive influx of people moving here and driving all costs up.

[@tw8464]

Exactly

[@tw8464]

The working class should leave Florida. It's only going to get more expensive.

[@MadDog6945]

I am 52 years old. My father, who was born in 1942 in Jacksonville Florida lived in a Florida with a population of 2.6 million people. He died last year. The population had ballooned to over 24 million people. Florida has become the most congested, sprawled, nightmare of a state you could possibly imagine. I own a small business in Jacksonville, and I want to get out so badly. Traffic is like a horror, film, people hate each other, and there is no brotherly love. Neighbors come and go so fast there’s not even a chance to meet them. And I could write a book on Florida and the growth that has ruined this state.

[@xTrickifiable]

Fernandina and Yulee is becoming the same way. The county went from 30k residents to close to 100k in the last 10 years.

[@waitaminute2015]

I followed my retired parents to sw FL and now I feel stuck. I've never gotten the feeling that I'm home here, only a place I'm staying.

[@BadForYourKidneys]

I live in Atlanta, it’s like this everywhere. The population exploded and the infrastructure was not planned properly for such a population explosion so we are suffering because of it.

[@krasnograd]

We need De Population of the Planet Earth to about 1..2 billion people 😂

[@JohannGambolputty22]

And where will you go? I lived in Chicago and Hawaii, regularly visiting North Wisconsin, Michigan, Pacific Northwest, California, and Boston and I see what you talk about EVERYWHERE. With increasing "homeless" populations everywhere you except for Chicago for some strange reason. So where you gonna go?

[@abyrupus]

It's interesting how wealthy enclaves in Florida appear much more manufactured and restricted than wealthy enclaves in New England, which have charming town-centers and public waterfronts. Your video explains a lot of factors why.

[@GamerBen87]

That's simply a result of age. Those charming northeast towns have litterally been there for hundreds of years. Florida for maybe a few decades. In 200 years Florida's town-centers will feel charming as well.

[@baronvonjo1929]

Definitely because of cars. Everything now is about cars. I assume the Northeast had a lot built before cars were as big.

[@jira6423]

Old money vs new money. Learned that in the great Gatsby.

[@darklazerx7913]

@@GamerBen87 No, cause everything is made for cars, and looks the same. Old buildings where solidly made, with artistry. Driving for a long time to get anywhere isnt the future.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

@@GamerBen87 Yeah, charming for fish.

[@danmanwick]

Looking forward to your video on Owen Sound xD ... That blockbuster / Timmy's at 18:24

[@rlc7766]

It’s not just shops in west palm there are many country clubs/ communities for those who cannot (with some outliers) afford homes in palm beach but are still very wealthy an example of this is Ballen isles country club (it’s a gated community built around a country club and golf courses.)

[@weirdfish1216]

cape coral is the most disgusting example of urban planning i’ve ever seen

[@koghs]

Cope

[@jamie_edwards7090]

The suburbia and highways in the video disgust me

[@BatCaveOz]

It looks like a nice place to live.

[@marsrover001]

I do struggle to think of a worse place. Where floating on an air mattress is quicker than walking on the road as there's no sidewalks.

[@cartel_papi]

@@marsrover001 bruv that's bs, I live in Cape Coral yes there as sidewalks and the traffic is only horrible for like 2 to 3 hours out of 24, yes it's annoying but I'm sure in most major cities it's no better

[@spencerpare]

I appreciate you explaining the draining of the Everglades. Wish you could have highlighted where that water goes, now that it doesn't flow south. The Indian and Caloosahatchee Rivers have been forever ruined by the Army Corps of "Engineers"

[@PORKCHOPSH]

As a Florida man myself I must say you did a good job covering the state. Truly a tip of the iceberg kind of thing, if you truly want to understand Florida, read Tim Dorsey and Carl Hiassen and that will give you an idea.

[@WyvernYT]

It's all decades out of date, but I learned about Florida reading John D. McDonald.

[@ki1jahdhin]

Everything by Dorsey is EPIC. Serge Storms is my hero.

[@almostrox7270]

I was born in central FL and will live here all my life, it’s paradise!!

[@marknewton6984]

Same here...The Florida Beachcomber 😎

[@Embassy_of_Jupiter]

Floria city planning and houses are the architectural equivalent to secretly licked McDonalds food

[@erinmac4750]

Sounds about right! LMAO ✌️😸🍀

[@RedCoalsSweatSouls]

Brutal truth assessment.