It’s getting way too crowded here in the Sunshine State, putting pressure on ALL our natural resources and infrastructure.
They’re escaping their wretched Blue hellholes (much of which they helped create), attracted by Florida’s freedom, NO state income tax, weather, and maybe even the state’s RED politics.
Floridians who have lived here for some time have mixed feelings about this in-migration. Most that I’ve polled are not happy about it. Wide open tracts are being mowed down for acres of Ticky-Tacky and stacked up apartment buildings.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put ’em in a tree museum *
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see ’em
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Arrrrgh! QUICK!!! We need a border wall at the State Line.
~~~
7 Florida Cities Dominated 2023 U.S. Growth
By Amy Connolly
Seven Florida locales dominated the 2023 U-Haul Growth Index, indicating the Sunshine State continues to be a sought-after destination.
Seven Florida locales dominated the 2023 U-Haul Growth Index, indicating the Sunshine State continues to be a sought-after destination.
PHOENIX – Seven regions in Florida lead in the highest number of one-way U-Haul moves in 2023, underscoring the Sunshine State’s continued allure and appeal.
The U-Haul Growth Index found Florida represented 28% of the top 25 growth cities – the seventh consecutive year the state has had the most cities represented on the list.
- Palm Bay-Melbourne (Located in my County)
- Ocala
- Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.
- Sarasota-Bradenton
- Austin, Texas
- College Station-Bryan, Texas
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Huntsville, Ala.
- Dallas
- Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Kissimmee-St. Cloud
- Panama City-Panama City Beach
- North Port
- Boise, Idaho
- Wake Forest, N.C.
- Conroe, Texas
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Surprise, Ariz.
- Auburn-Opelika, Ala.
- Lakeland
- Murfreesboro, Tenn.
- Wilmington, N.C.
- Queen Creek, Ariz.
- Henderson, Nev.
- Nampa, Idaho
In the Palm Bay-Melbourne market, 54.7% of all one-way U-Haul traffic was arriving compared to 45.3% departing in 2023. Ocala, the No. 1 growth city in 2022, fell back one spot in the latest rankings.
“Growth in the Palm Bay-Melbourne area has been increasing at an explosive rate,” Cal Conner, U-Haul Company of Eastern Florida president, said. “The Space Coast has many companies investing in this region and creating jobs such as Embraer, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies. We have a low cost of living compared to many of the northern cities people have left. Add to that our fantastic year-round climate, and you can see why Palm Bay-Melbourne is such a desirable area to live.”
U-Haul calculates growth cities by each city’s net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada. Neighboring cities in U-Haul markets are often packaged together for migration trends purposes.
© 2024 Florida Realtors®
Sadly, I see our Ocala area/surrounding communities, and our beautiful country side…. rolling hills/forests in Horse/cattle country is falling to the bulldozers, trucks and ugly developments….we’ve been saying this very thing for quite awhile…put up a wall, ENOUGH!! Typically the almighty $ is tempting to many town officials….ugh!!
I have a home in a beach community. The crooked officials there are changing it so much and my property taxes and insurance are raised every six months. The old appeal is being lost to concrete, more rules/restrictions and higher cost of living. Companies have came in and bought out a lot of residents just so they can rent with high rents forcing many to move and creating a larger homeless problem. I don’t want to sell my home. I could never afford to live so close to the ocean ever again. I want my children and children’s children to have that joy of living by the ocean.