You might think that Miami, a city that's home to just about every nationality on the planet, wouldn't have a whole lot of American pride. But you'd be wrong.
Just in time for Independence Day, two separate studies this week have indicated that you, dear Miamian, are living in one of the most patriotic places in the whole U.S.A.
The first study comes from Amazon.com, which ranked American cities with 400,000 residents or more according to their recent "patriotic" purchases of American flags. Between January 1 and June 24 of this year, Miami residents had bought the more American flags than any other city in the country except Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Of course, flag ownership does not a true patriot make. (Especially not in a World Cup year; a good number of the flags purchased in recent months were surely meant to demonstrate their owners' support of U.S. soccer, which is the unique kind of patriotism that only peaks once every four years.)
But the second study, researched by the real estate blog Movoto, used more factors to determine that Florida is among the most patriotic states in the union. Based on its historic landmarks per capita; veterans per capita; money spent to fund veterans; percent of residents who voted in the last presidential election; people who list America as an interest on Facebook; and, yes, people who Googled "American flags," Florida ranked sixth most patriotic. The states above us included South Carolina, Maine, North Carolina, Wyoming, and Virginia.
Movoto notes that more than 4 million Floridians are Facebook-friendly with America, and the Sunshine State is especially good at funding its veterans. And remember last year's presidential election, with wait times stretching on for hours? The high percentage of voters who stuck it out contributed to Florida's ranking in the top ten, too.
So Miami's one of America's most patriotic cities, in one of its most patriotic states. What else would you expect from one of the country's biggest melting pots?
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