Florida People, You're Doing it Wrong

I'm an Austinite living in Naples, Florida for work and I've been here for three months.<br><br>When I moved here, I assumed that it would just be a sleepy retirement city. And it is. That's perfectly fine. I'm not here to change the vibe and I actually do appreciate the peacefulness of SW Florida.<br><br>My issue is that people keep telling me to steer clear of certain areas because of "the locals." No one will come right out and say it, but in context it seems like they're talking about Hispanic people. Now, as an Austinite, there's no way in hell that I'm going to discriminate against a group of people because of their heritage.<br><br>So... I decided to start visiting the places that the "snowbirds" won't go to. And you know what? They're fucking awesome. I've had the best food of my life, met the nicest people, and found some really cool artwork. I met a guy from Cuba at a bar that had barely any English and we had a great time speaking in broken Spanish. I've also started going to the farmers markets and buying produce and seafood from local vendors.<br><br>I went to a Mexican restaurant in constructionville the other day and the food was incredible. I asked the owner where he gets his produce and he said "My Taeco, ees down the road."<br><br>So I went to his Taeco and asked about the produce and the seafood. "My frien', I buy eet from a guy in Immokalee. Go to La Fiesta and eet ees grreat."<br><br>So I went to La Fiesta and I got some amazing tortillas and cheese. There's also a big sign that says "support the farmworkers" and I thought that was really cool. I asked her about the sign and she told me that they're treated poorly and went on a tirade about how eahtless and racist people in Naples are. <br><br>That really made me sad, you guys. I'm from Texas and I know a lot of people there that are racist towards Hispanics. But I naively thought that Florida wouldn't be as racist because a lot of people are from Cuba and PR. But I've met a lot of people from those countries that are also racist...<br><br>So, to all my snowbirds in SW Florida: Get off your laurels and go meet some fucking people. Go eat at some real taquerias and experience the culture of Naples. Go to Immokalee and learn about the history of farmworkers. Go to the art museum and look at some paintings by highschool kids. Go to "the local taqueria" and try a Cubano sandwich.<br><br>I love it here. I love the ocean, I love the food, I love the people, and especially I love the Hispanic people. They're the only ones around here with any fucking personality. <br><br>EDIT: Wow, this got a lot more attention than I expected. I'm so glad that I'm not the only one that notices this. I'm going to compile some recommendations in the comments below. If you have a recommendation, please share it. Thank you all for your overwhelmingly kind words.