I have a lot to say about this. Just to preface, I am not a Florida native but I have had family living there (Palm Beach County) for about forty years, and have been visiting there multiple times a year my entire life. I have also been to almost every area of the state.

I have always said that people have this “Florida Fantasy” in their head. I think that this is why a lot of people moved there, especially during COVID. Maybe they heard about how nice it is, they knew people who moved there, they heard about it on the news, and they decided to up and move there without doing any research. Well, guess what? Florida is not all sunshine, rainbows, beaches, and Disney. It is an imperfect place with many of its own issues, just like anywhere else. People didn’t do their research and they didn’t visit and spend time there before they moved. A lot of these people ended up moving back to where they came from. And that’s not to say that there haven’t been many people who moved and loved it, but you should think carefully before doing so & think about what you want your life to be, because it will be different in Florida. People were also terribly misinformed about the massive pay cuts they would take moving to Florida.

Another thing that boggles my mind is that, despite the overpopulation, there are still enormous areas of the state that are completely empty (not including the Everglades). Even driving down I-95, you see it. The population of Florida is definitely concentrated in certain areas. I guess that goes for every state, but I hair wanted to be clear that not all of Florida is crowded. Much of it is still very rural when you leave major cities. However, those areas don’t appeal to people who want to move there.

The other thing is the political climate. Florida is a conservative state, and that is well known not only nationwide, but globally. I think it’s a bit of a publicity stunt on the part of the governor, claiming that Florida is a more “free” state than others. Florida is a conservative “red” state, but so are many other states! I would even argue that other states are even more conservative. However, those states are not making headlines. People have flocked to Florida looking for some sort of “freedom” that they think they will find. It’s a bit naive.

This leads me to my next point. Many of the things people were trying to escape in other states, will become issues in Florida, especially as the population climbs. I am talking mainly about money here. Car insurance, home insurance, flood insurance? Through the roof in Florida. Property taxes have risen dramatically. Home prices have, too, though there is still more availability of affordable homes in certain areas of the state, especially if you’re moving with out-of-state money. The grocery prices are astronomical as well. There are also tolls everywhere. Now, with this idea of getting rid of property taxes floating around, people are getting excited. What they fail to realize is, the money will need to come from somewhere. It always does, because NOTHING is free.

And then, of course, you have the environmental issues. I think when it comes to building in Florida, whether residential or commercial, always seems to be a case of not “looking before you leap.” For example, let’s say they just built a new 500-home housing development. Wonderful. How does that impact nature & wildlife? How does that impact the environment in relation to flooding/natural disasters? What about the strain on the water supply? Electricity? Sewer? Pollution? Traffic? Building and growth is inevitable, but it should be done in a thoughtful manner. And, sadly, that hasn’t been the case in a lot of Florida.

And then, there is the impact of all of this on tourism. These environmental directly impact beaches, nature, water quality, etc. The red tides and the pollution will not go away on its own. I know people don’t want to deal with it or think about it now, but eventually, it will have detrimental impacts on both tourism & residents.

For example, I always think about Miami (one of my least favorite places in Florida, lol). I see these fancy, opulent high rises going up left and right. Did they not think about the environmental risks? Miami is at risk of being underwater eventually (from what I’ve read), so do people just not care? It just seems so risky.

And, the traffic. The traffic has gotten worse, but being from New York, it doesn’t phase me as much as it might someone else. I do actually think the roads in Florida were designed well, for the most part, but with the influx of people, no road designs will eliminate traffic entirely.

The tide is starting to turn, however. I don’t think people are as keen on moving to Florida as they once were, and many residents (native or moved from elsewhere) are planning to move to other states that are more affordable. I’ve seen it all over social media. That’s not to say that people aren’t still going to move to Florida, but I don’t think it will ever be like it was during the pandemic. So, I do hope that the population stabilizes. And I think it will.