When you say "culture backwater" are you referring the the fact that the Space Coast has the highest ratio of engineers to population in the US, or b/c it just not near a major city?
A lot of people dislike Florida politics, state social policies and culture. It's very, very different from Seattle or Portland. Similarly the Floridians think people in Seattle are insane.
Could just be referring to a lack of concerts, nightlife, etc. If you're used to the frequency with which major acts visit LA or Chicago or Nashville, adapting to anything else can be hard.
To Californians anything that isn't California is a cultural backwater. This may also apply to New Yorkers. The amount of Californian "nationalism" I've seen is surprising.