It’s no secret that people are moving to Florida in droves from other lands. I myself made the move as a young man in 2007 when the Florida population was just 18.26 million people.
In 2021, the population is a whopping 22.2 million people, which makes it the 3rd most populous state in the USA, recently passing New York, where many of the migrants are coming from.
The reasons people move to Florida are obvious, and in addition to the sand, sun and Disney World; we have a **unique** culture that, if you at least don’t learn to love it, you will be thoroughly amused by it; we have the greatest state park system in the nation, we have the River of Grass, we are on the forefront of space exploration, we have really good Cuban sandwiches.
The Pros Of Florida
Weather – The average temperature in January is 58 degrees and is usually in the mid-60s during the day.
Theme Parks – Florida is the theme park capital of the world and Floridians get discounted annual passes.
Beaches – The finest beaches in the world can be found in Florida, and most population centers in Florida are within an hour drive of a world-class beach. Tampa Bay has some nice beaches.
No State Income Tax – One of the big reasons rich New Yorkers and celebrities move to Florida.
A Lot Of Protected Nature To Explore – 175 state parks, the Everglades, Big Cypress, Ocala National Forest, etc.
Year-Round Sports – There are sport leagues you can join year round for just about anything you could want to play. Florida also has 2 MLB teams, 2 NBA teams, 3 NFL teams, 2 NHL teams, and 1 MLS team.
Camping / Outdoor Activities – Camping and hiking is good 9 months out of the year (summer is too hot). Kayaking, wind surfing, diving, etc. is good all year.
Trillion Dollar Economy – Florida hit a trillion dollars in 2018. At a trillion dollars, and if Florida were a country, it would rank 17th for GDP. Come get your piece of the pie!
Easy / Cheap Travel To The Caribbean- Just a 1 hour flight from Miami to the Bahamas. Jamaica, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are close too.
Burgeoning Tech Scene – California will always be king of the tech scene, but California’s high cost of living and the rise of remote work are driving tech companies to Texas and now to Florida. Miami is abuzz.
Culture – Florida has an awesome culture, but you will have to learn to love it. Florida is by far America’s weirdest state. If you don’t know who Florida Man is, you will. Besides being the weirdest state, Florida has amazing literature, music, festivals/celebrations, and a diverse culture.
The Cons Of Florida
Summer – Evenings in the summer are nice….but goodness, the heat of the day is so terrible you will melt if you are not in a climate controlled space that is spitting snow flurries out of the vents.
Corrupt Government – Sure, I know. Your government is corrupt too. But the Florida government takes the cake–such as building a baseball stadium in Miami that nobody wanted and sticking Miami taxpayers with a $2.61 billion dollar bill, even though the stadium cost $515 million to build. Doesn’t make sense? It doesn’t have to! This is Florida! Right now our government is busy pushing through three enormous toll roads that nobody wants except for roadbuilding companies. Who do you think is going to get stuck with that bill?
Political Elections – There are no landslide elections in Florida. They are always razor thin, and, unfortunately, Florida is a mighty political prize. That means during election season you will have election ads violently shoved into your face 24/7 whether you like it or not.
Hurricanes – Every couple years or so Florida gets smashed with a hurricane. Good news is the early warning system gives you enough time to take a trip to Costco to load up on beer. Bad news is the hurricane still smashes things. Watch out for sinkholes too.
Farther Away From The Rest Of The Country – Drive/fly times are much longer if you need to go somewhere else in the USA.
Florida Man – Although Florida Man is a folk hero of sorts, the reality is that he frequently runs around naked committing bizarre felonies while high on meth.
Traffic – Like all high-density population centers, traffic is bad.
Population Increase – When you come to Florida, you will find a nice place and think “Wow, what a nice, wonderful little slice of Florida I have.” Not knowing you are about to be steamrolled. 10 years ago cows lived down the street from me. Not anymore! Now I am surrounded by three, separate mega shopping centers, apartment complexes, car dealerships, and loads of traffic!
What To Know Before Moving To Florida
1. Florida Won’t Fix Your Personal Problems
Any personal problems that you have will come with you to Florida. I know the Florida marketing sales team makes it seem like your problems will simply melt away…but, no–they won’t. If you are unhappy right now, it’s likely you will be unhappy in Florida as well.
With that said, while Florida can’t fix personal problems, Florida can still make your life better and you can be happier here. You just won’t go from unhappy to happy–changes in latitude won’t make changes in attitude.
2. Come With A Job
If you’re not coming to Florida to retire, come with a job lined up. This is an easy mistake to make and has been made for centuries going back to the first Europeans in Florida who thought all they had to do was show up and the locals would hand them gold. But instead, well…you know. It would have been better if they had something better than a fantasy lined up.
The good news is that it is pretty easy these days with the rise of remote work. A good bet is to get a high-paying job in high-cost New York City and work remote in low-cost Miami.
3. Come With Savings
Florida sings a pretty good siren song to the young and broke, middle-aged and broke, and old and broke. Too many times the broke come to Florida looking for gold, but all they can find instead is a trailer park.
If you have savings, then you can get a hotel for a week in your preferred area while you search for a house to rent. While you certainly can get rich in Florida, the general trend is to get rich somewhere else and then come to Florida for the sun and cheaper living expenses.
4. Your Social Network Won’t Come With You
Chances are you have very fond memories of trips to Florida; these trips were great because you were with friends and family, not to mention you were on vacation! But when you strike out by yourself to the land of sunshine, mermaids, and alligators you will be doing so alone.
It doesn’t hurt to have a hobby that has a strong, built-in community, such as Crossfit, basketball, mountain biking, board gaming, etc. There are also rabid theme park groups. If you plug into one of these communities you will get instant friends.
5. Learn About Hispanic Culture
Florida is enormously impacted by Hispanic culture, specifically the Cuban and Puerto Rican cultures. About 21% of Florida’s population is Hispanic (70% of Miami’s population is Hispanic/Latino).
Your new neighbors will be thrilled to learn you put in a little bit of effort to learn about them and that you picked up a few phrases of Spanish.
6. Learn About Florida Culture
If you wanna piss off a Floridian, all you have to do is arrogantly start a sentence by saying, “Well, let me tell how we do it in New York…” We get it! New York (or other place) is so super-duper awesome that you abandoned it for Florida and now it makes total sense to try to make Florida like New York (or other place) instead of embracing Florida culture. Start by reading the Florida Wikipedia page and you’ll be better educated on Florida than 98% of the people who move here!
Get Ready For Some Florida Livin’
If you made it through this article and you are thinking “Heck yes! I’m definitely still moving to Florida!” Then all I have to tell you is “WELCOME TO FLORIDA!” and that, yes, this really is the greatest place on earth to live. That’s why it’s the 3rd most populous state and keeps growing everyday!