South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida’s three most commonly referred to “directional” regions, the others being Central Florida and North Florida. It includes the populous Miami metropolitan area, the Florida Keys, and other localities. South Florida is the only part of the continental United States with a tropical climate.

As with all vernacular regions, South Florida has no official boundaries or status and is defined differently by different sources. That area includes the Miami metropolitan area (generally defined as Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties), the Florida Keys, and the interior region is known as the Glades. 

Additionally, Southwest Florida, representing the state’s southern Gulf Coast, has emerged as a directional vernacular region. Some respondents from as far northwest as the southern Tampa Bay area identified their region as being in South Florida rather than Southwest or Central Florida. Confusing the matter further, the University of South Florida, named in part because of its status as the state’s southernmost public university at the time of its 1957 founding, is located in Tampa.

Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development agency, identifies “Southeast Florida” as one of eight economic regions used by the agency and other state and outside entities, including the Florida Department of Transportation. Some entities alternately designate this region “South Florida”. Its definition includes much of the same territory as Lamme and Oldakowski’s report (except the Gulf Coast and much of the interior Glades region) as well as additional area. It includes Monroe County (the Keys) and the three metropolitan counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, as well as the three “Treasure Coast” counties of Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin to the north.

It is known as “The Sunshine State”, it became a popular winter destination for the well-to-do from colder climates over a century ago, as well as the center for citrus production in North America. Its roots in agriculture are still present, with tropical fruits being a chief export.

Today, Florida is home to more than 20 million people and the state’s beaches and resort lifestyle are some of the biggest reasons travelers head to Florida. The capital of Florida is Tallahassee, located in the eastern portion of the Florida Panhandle.

The beaches in Florida are among the most popular attractions, sugar-white sands washed by warm tropical ocean currents and lined with palm trees. Florida has something to offer for any kind of traveler. 

The Miami accent is a regional accent of the American English dialect spoken in South Florida, particularly in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties. The accent was born in central Miami but has expanded to the rest of South Florida in the decades since the 1960s. The Miami accent is most prevalent in American-born South Floridian youth.

The Miami accent is based on a fairly standard American accent but with some changes very similar to dialects in the Mid-Atlantic (especially the New York area dialect, Northern New Jersey English, and New York Latino English.) Unlike Virginia Piedmont, Coastal Southern American, and Northeast American dialects, the “Miami accent” is rhotic; it also incorporates a rhythm and pronunciation heavily influenced by Spanish (wherein rhythm is syllable-timed)