Maybe it was waking up to an alligator in the driveway or throwing that first hurricane party. Learning to endure the swampy humidity. Accept the everlasting sandalwood tan on your feet.
Every person who transitions into this state experiences it: a moment when they realize they finally feel like a true Floridian.
The Tampa Bay Times asked readers to tell us how they knew they belonged here. (A few staff members also chimed in.) Posts have been edited for length and clarity.
Defy the weather
1. “When you get seasonal affective disorder after three cloudy days in a row.” – @chrislongview via Twitter
2. “Knowing where to find the shaded parking lot in the summer, even though you have to walk 5 minutes to get to Publix.” — @FranStrazzulla via Twitter
3. “When I was 6 years old, my family moved from Brooklyn to South Florida. I have vivid memories of being dragged through car dealerships in the blazing sun as one of my first encounters with the Florida heat. The parking lots felt like deserts. I remember realizing that this heat is just a part of life now.” — Tracey McManus, Times Clearwater and Scientology reporter
4. “Can’t swim until the water is 85F.” — @marmite_usf via Twitter
5. “I’m not complaining (much) about the August heat.” — @tranewman via Twitter
6. “That’s when I stopped going to the beach regularly because I didn’t feel like it anymore. Too much hassle for parking and sand everywhere.” – Lisa Merklin, Deputy Director of Design, The Times
7. “At this time of year, when the weather is in the 70’s, it’s pretty easy to tell Florida residents from the tourists. Tourists are in shorts and tank tops, hopping down the street while Floridians in pants and sweatshirts are shaking like lost puppies.” — Derek Miller via Facebook
8. “When you start appreciating the seasons in Florida instead of saying we don’t have any.” — @madabelle84 via Twitter
9. “When you finally turn on the heat because it’s 70 degrees outside and it’s been so long, the dust that’s been building up in your air conditioner starts to smolder and you have to call the fire department.” — @KittyTheOthrWay via Twitter
10. “When you realize that the afternoon thunderstorms make a great spotless conditioner for washing your car if you time it just right. A bathing suit and a bucket of warm, soapy water can make for a worthwhile 15 minutes.” — Jose Cabanillas via email
11. “When Denis Phillips shows up in your news feed more often than your family.” – Diana Southern Norman via Facebook
Love the local cuisine
12. “I think that was the moment I finally gave in to the idea that pub subs are actually great (after doubting for a while how good a grocery store sandwich could be.)” — Emily Mahoney, political editor of the Times
13. “When I quit making iced tea and just bought it from Publix.” — Dee Weir via email
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14. “When I gave up on ever eating a decent slice of pizza again. When I started calling it pizza instead of pie and when I replaced hoagie with sub.” — Paul Guzzo, Times culture reporter
15. “When you fall in love with your first bite of key lime pie!” — @mmwestheimer on Twitter
Comprehensive Florida fashion
16. “I grew up in Washington, DC in the 1980s. Every Christmas we would take the Amtrak to Miami to visit my nanny. When the train stopped in Jacksonville, my mom would say to me and my sister, ‘Okay, you can take off your pantyhose now.’ That’s when I knew I wanted to be a Floridian. … When I got this job and moved here in 2000, I gave all my tights to my best friend in Virginia. That’s how I knew I was a Floridian!” — Lane DeGregory, Times corporate reporter
17. “When you come to a funeral and find your flip flops don’t match your swim trunks.” — @dascheuer via Twitter
18. “When I broke down and decided it was cool to be seen in public in socks and mules while walking the dog. And ONLY walking the dog.” —Tony Marrero, Law Enforcement Reporter for the Times Hillsborough
19. “When you get off the plane and your hair is frizzy and you feel like you’re swimming in the humid air and it feels… right.” — @tranewman via Twitter
20. “As soon as you stop wearing your shoes outside.” — @GillStaw via Twitter
21. “When I was wearing a pair of favorite pants to work on a cold day and some friends at work said they’d never seen me in pants and I told them they might never do it again because I didn’t notice had how itchy pants were. I could never live in a place where I have to wear pants for months at a time again.” — Amy Gehrt, Breaking News Editor for The Times
22. “I lost my non-Floridian card one winter night while I was wearing leggings under my jeans because it was so cold. It was like the high 40s.” — Langston Taylor, Times data editor
23. “We moved here in 1997 and my husband stopped wearing socks.” – Margaret Smith via Facebook
24. “When I realized I was no longer wearing cold-weather clothing, just open-toed shoes.” – Lisa Grafe via Facebook
25. “When you have more swimsuits than sweatshirts.” — Deborah Frank Clough via Facebook
Getting to know the flora and fauna
26. “I’ve lived here since 1985, but I won’t feel like a Floridian until I’ve gone a whole day without seeing an insect that’s new to me.” – @MaggieDammit via Twitter
27. “We fell in love with Snooty and Winter (RIP).” – Michelle Guitard via email
28. “Stage 1: Having a Tupperware specifically for catching and releasing lizards that have come into the house. Phase 2: give up and coexist with lizard roommates.” — Lauren Peace, Times Systems and race reporter
29. “I became a Floridian when my dog bit off the tail of an iguana.” — Romy Ellenbogen, reporter for the Times Tallahassee
30. “Your camera roll is all sunset pics and super-zoomed videos of dolphins/manatees.” – Carly Thompson, engagement editor at The Times
31. “When palm trees stop feeling exotic.” – @BKingDC via Twitter
32. “Throwing a hurricane party for a Category 1 or 2 storm. Also, get used to alligators roaming your neighborhood in spring (mating season!).” — @meganisonline via Twitter
33. “Definitely your first toilet frog.” – @Mike_Canan via Twitter
34. “It’s when you pick up the palmetto beetle with your bare hands and take it outside! After almost stepping on a cottonmouth going to the lake.” — @KatherineMLewin via Twitter
Participation in time-honoured traditions
35. “After you were scammed for the first time.” – Rebecca Liebson, real estate reporter for The Times
36. “When you’re trapped in a 60-minute explanation of why the Rays aren’t filling the stands.” — @casspa via Twitter
37. “Put my snow shovel down [and looked] for pickleball courts.” — Dominic Grillo via Facebook
38. “When you learn how to dodge the hot lava on your car steering wheel, when mosquito season is more real than fall, and when you turn on the heater because it’s dropped below 70 degrees!” — Cindy Drake via Facebook
39. “I’m from Miami, but transplanted Yankee friends have told me they’ve finally realized how useful the word ‘y’all’ is. And if you’re using it to refer to a single person, then that’s just plain wrong.” — Sue Carlton, urban affairs reporter for The Times
40. “When, on the rainy and coldest day of the year, you plan a day after Disney with your season pass just to avoid the crowds.” — Jim Waschbusch via Facebook
41. “When you hear the phrase ‘The Bay Area’ and you know it’s not about a place in California.” — @WileESongdog via Twitter
42. “You tinted your windows as dark as is legal.” – Amy Baker via Facebook
43. “When you stop using your blinker.” – @WheresEbony via Twitter
44. “If you know how to pronounce micanopy.” — @killa_joulez via Twitter
45. “When you don’t care about the ‘Florida Man’ stigma or what people think of you for moving or living here.” — Felix J. Barajas via Facebook
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