Many Michigan residents migrate annually to Flordia for warmer and snow-free weather. Ask anyone who calls themselves a 'snowbird' about how sticky the air can feel in the United States' other Peninsula, and they'll reply "You don't have to shovel humidity", and then they will skip away with a little extra pep in their step.

Related: Jimmy Buffett Dies, Rock Reacts

That alone should show the special connection between Michigan and Florida but there's so much more, including our love of the water. Jimmy Buffet loved the life aquatic, and his songs fit just as well floating on a pontoon boat in one of Michigan's freshwater lakes as they do drifting in salt water.

Jimmy Buffett Credits This Southfield, Michigan Bar as His 'Start'

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Buffett may have felt that connection as well, but we do know that the Mitten State had a huge impact on his career. That came from the mouth of The Parrothead himself.

Related: Not Wasting Away: 40 Years of Quotes From Jimmy Buffett

In an interview on Fox 2 News and covered in Deadline Detroit prior to his show at Comerica Park, the late Jimmy Buffett expressed his love for the Mitten State:

Michigan audiences have always had a special place in my heart,  because, unbeknownst to a lot of people, I started out many many years ago playing in a little club called the Raven Gallery out in Southfield.

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The Raven Gallery was a hotspot for a slew of the country's current biggest names and soon-to-be icons who were just making their way into the world of entertainment. Much like German 'clubs' for the Beatles, the Raven Gallery served as a place for Jimmy Buffett to hone his craft, so that he could become a part of Americana. Waste away my friend, we'll keep looking for that shaker of salt in the Great Lakes state.

See Inside Jimmy Buffett's Staggering $6.9 Million Palm Beach Mansion

Jimmy Buffett sure knew how to live the good life. His former 3-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom, 4,039-square-foot mansion in the exclusive Eden Properties neighborhood in Palm Beach is exactly the kind of laid-back home you'd expect the superstar to relax in when he was off the road.

The interior centers around a combined dining and living room with eye-popping vaulted ceilings topped off by skylights, while a massive wall of mahogany-framed sliding glass doors looks out over the pool area outside. The kitchen is decorated in gleaming white, and each of the bedrooms has its own attached bathroom, while the massive master suite also has sliding glass doors that open to both the pool and a bathroom that looks like it belongs in a high-end resort.

The exterior of the house is just as striking, centered around a sparkling pool of deep cobalt blue. The pool area features plenty of lounging, and a loggia just outside the living room offers open-air dining. There are lush gardens, brick paths that walk through elaborate pergolas and a fountain. The property also features a two-car garage with a guest suite overhead, and it offers deeded access to the beach nearby.

 

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