and those of us from “redneck country” are still hoping the bottom half of the state drops into the sea, taking you and all your midwestern/yankee bluehair friends and relatives with it.

curse you, henry flagler!

excellent tenacious d reference.

Also, Papa Lou BSU is right. Miami is full of New York snowbirds, but from what I know Naples, Fort Meyers, and Sanibel Island are primarily outposts for well-heeled refugees from Big Ten country, especially the Twin Cities, Chicago, and Detroit (well, suburban Detroit, anyway). There are a number of business from Minnesota (restaurants, at least one upscale grocery store, banks, investment firms) that have only one location outside of the Twin Cities–that being in Naples or Sanibel Island. If they have a third location, it’s in Scottsdale, AZ.

See, e.g.,
Jerry’s Foods (http://www.jerrysfoods.com/Store/StoreHome.aspx)
Lowry Hill
(http://www.lowryhill.com/profile/profile.htm)
D’Amico & Sons (http://www.damicoandsons.com/frame.asp?s=location)
Campiello (http://www.campiello.damico.com/)

See Minnesota Fast Facts and Trivia for more tidbits.

Papa Lou BSU is right. Miami and Tampa may be full of New Yorkers, but Naples and Fort Myers at least are major outposts for well-heeled refugees from the Twin Cities, Chicago, and Detroit (well, suburban Detroit, anyway). There are a fair number of Minnesota businesses (grocery stores, restaurants, banks and investment firms) that have only one location outside of the Twin Cities, that being in Naples. If they have a third location, it’s in Scottsdale, AZ.

West coast = Midwestern snowbirds. Your Tampa crack is just total BS. Ohio, Michigan, Illini retirees out the wazoo.

The east coast (southeast) is exactly like Seinfeld portrayed it. Del Boca Vista uber alles.

UF’s all the way up in Gainseville, i.e., in the middle of redneck country, and neither batch of snowbirds gives a crap about UF, but I suppose the ones from Tampa might drive up for a game, and there’s still a huge PSU alumni walking-dead contingent in South Florida which might watch on TV. Big deal – that’s worth about a buck fifty economically speaking, since UF already makes about as much money as a Big Ten school does, and as noted, they don’t have to send the lacrosse team 18,000 miles a year to do it.

And to continue the Messin’ With Sasquatch thread:
http://www.messinwithsasquatch.com/

Sure, Iowa City is only 1,000 miles, give or take from Austin, State College is only 1,500 miles from Austin (by comparison, Iowa City to State College is about 800 miles and about 900 miles to Syracuse).

I love Austin as a city and have enjoyed it every time I have been there. I’d love to have them in the Big Ten, but I’d also like several million dollars tax-free and a girlfriend that looks like Rachel Specter. I don’t see either one happening in this lifetime.