Confessions of a Miami Girl in Gainesville

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When I first arrived in Gainesville from Miami, a wave of anxiety, confusion and nausea washed over me.

What do you mean there is no Whole Foods, LuluLemon or swimsuit boutique within a 30 miles radius of campus?  How are these people living? How is Gainesville even considered a city?

Coming from South Florida, what seems like just a five-hour car ride or a 45-minute plane ride (anyone from South Florida has taken a flight to Gainesville at least once) is really a ride into a whole different world. Not only do we feel like outsiders in Gainesville, but the insiders can pick out South Floridians quicker than they can pick out people from across the country.

“South Floridians just have that way about them,” said Tom Debicki, a UF student born and raised in Gainesville. “It’s obvious when a group of friends are from South Florida.”

There are a few obvious differences between north and south Florida that anyone could notice. The temperature will dip into the 30s in Gainesville, for example, but never goes below 60 in South Florida (although we’re definitely going to be freezing in 60). The population gets larger and more diverse the farther south you drive, while the people get more southern the farther north you drive. However, there are a few differences you need to experience firsthand to really understand the vast difference between the two regions of the state.

South Floridians grew up thinking that 12 hours laying in the sun covered in oil while day drinking is a normal day activity. In Gainesville, the heat makes people seek shelter in the bars or pile under patio umbrellas shouting at the TV screen to make a better pass. The majority of natives from Miami are not familiar with Gator football and nobody south of Palm Beach knows or really cares about the rivalry between FSU and UF. (Unless they are admitted to either university, and even then, they are probably faking it.)

I’m not trying to be rude, that’s just how Miami people are. They call it like it is and don’t sugar coat anything. In fact, I thought southern hospitality was an urban myth until I moved here.

“You can tell someone is from Miami just by the way they talk,” said Carina Krehl, a UF student born and raised in Tallahassee. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but you can just tell.”

Before arriving I was warned about the intense love for college football, country music and cowboy boots in Gainesville, but I was nowhere near prepared for the utter lack of heterogeneity I was so used to being exposed to on every block in Miami. The bustling explosion of art, music, food and entertainment of my big city life was reduced to cultural options I could count on one hand.

The 352 Walls that are popping up in downtown only make me feel nostalgic for the black- and white-striped wall near Del Toro Shoes and the Obey wall outside of Wynwood Kitchen and Bar.

After a little while in Hogtown, I realized how spoiled my Miami lifestyle once was. My daily cold pressed juices were substituted with run-of-the-mill Starbucks drinks, my intense morning workout regime on Nikki Beach was harshly diminished to a run around Lake Alice, and my spaghetti-strapped sun dress was stuffed back in my closet and replaced by a basic, oversized sorority shirt and Nike shorts combo. (While we’re on the subject of fashion, nothing was more appalling than being continuously slapped in the face by the sight of Tevas on every girl at UF.)

And Gainesville, be thankful the only “traffic” you experience is on one main road, Archer.

The most tragic of it all is not having a cuban bakery on every corner where I can easily get a croqueta (or seven) and a cortadito in a mini Styrofoam cup.

Although there are times I still feel like an alien in this town and still things I miss from home, Gainesville has grown on me. When you immerse yourself in the tailgates full of cheap beer, bonfires in the woods and the quaintness of downtown, a SoFlo girl can start to love this little town in north central Florida.

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