Miami Beach, Florida. bloodua/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Nearly 730,000 moved to the Sunshine State between 2021 and 2022, while almost 500,000 people left.
Insider spoke with several people who have moved in and out of the state since the pandemic began.
Those who moved in love the lifestyle, while those who moved out say the state got too expensive.
Some people love Florida, but some hate it: the Sunshine State is undeniably divisive.
About 730,000 newcomers moved into Florida between July 2021 and July 2022, while 500,000 residents moved out of state, according to recently released census data.
It’s part of “the biggest migration” in a generation, said Holly Meyer Lucas, a real-estate agent in South Florida. People are tending to move in droves to lower-tax states, including Florida but also Texas and Arizona, she added. She also said that such dramatic relocation can result in tough realities, especially when wealthier people change the fabric of the new places they settle in, often pricing middle-class locals out.
Take Chris Brown, a 25-year-old startup founder who joined the hordes of folks who moved to Florida in 2020. He left behind chilly Chicago for the sunny shores of Tampa and enjoys biking, swimming, and surfing. But then there are Floridians like Ryan and Jami Wilson, who moved to South Carolina with their two children after becoming frustrated with the Sunshine State’s crowds, rising cost of living, and traffic.
Insider spoke with some Floridians who left because it was too expensive, too crowded, too hot, and too ritzy. They tended to move to places that are smaller and more affordable. We also interviewed several people who moved into the state, who say they love the food, the natural beauty, and the laid-back lifestyle. And experts and real-estate agents described the dynamics causing this movement into and out of the state.
1. Ryan and Jami Wilson moved from Fort Myers, Florida, to Greenville, South Carolina, to escape the crowds
Ryan and Jami Wilson with their two daughters. Courtesy of Ryan and Jami Wilson
A popular sentiment cry among Floridians moving out: the Sunshine State has gotten too crowded.
It’s one of the main reasons Ryan and Jami Wilson moved from Fort Myers, a city along the Gulf of Mexico, to Greenville, which is more affordable, family-oriented, and less crowded, the Wilsons said.
“We stopped going to the beach because you couldn’t get there anymore because the traffic would be miles long,” Jami Wilson said. “You could never find a place to park.”
In 2021, the couple sold their 1,800-square-foot three-bedroom home in Florida for $425,000, nearly double what they paid five years earlier. They bought a 2,400-square-foot, four-bedroom home with an acre of land in Greenville for about the same amount.
Read more: We left Florida because it got too hot, crowded, and expensive. Now, we live in South Carolina, where it’s harder than we thought to make friends.
2. David got tired of how new wealthy residents changed West Palm Beach, so he’s leaving for Savannah, Georgia
Palm Beach, Florida Crystal Bolin Photography/Getty Images
For decades, one West Palm Beach neighborhood was an “idyllic” place where everyone knew each other, said David, who asked to withhold his last name for privacy reasons. But during the pandemic, wealthy out-of-state movers swept in, paying millions for homes and changing the neighborhood fabric, he added.
“The number of people who were moving down and spending crazy amounts of money was insane,” David said. “Their attitudes were so different from what everybody was used to; they were demanding people not familiar with the kind of calm lifestyle we were living.”
To top it off, his homeowners insurance skyrocketed, and he wondered if he could afford it once he retired.
So he sold his West Palm home there for $2.6 million, making a $1.6 million profit, and bought a Savannah, Georgia, home for around $700,000.
“Savannah felt right,” he said. “The islands of Savannah reminded us of the old Florida.”
Read more: I’m fleeing Florida after almost 40 years because ‘Rolls Royces, Range Rovers and Maseratis took over’ and my home insurance skyrocketed.
3. Holly Meyer Lucas, a South Florida real-estate agent, explained how an influx of wealthy homebuyers is reshaping the state
Holly Meyer Lucas. Courtesy of Holly Meyer Lucas
“Keeping up with the Joneses becomes so much more significant when your kid is going to school with kids who fly private and have drivers and when the gala event for the school fundraiser goes from $100 per ticket to $1,000 per ticket,” said Holly Meyer Lucas. “It’s just exhausting having to keep up with that for certain people with these income ceilings like nurses, firefighters, cops, and even doctors now.”
For that reason, she added, many middle-class Floridians are moving to more affordable, down-to-earth cities in neighboring states such as Huntsville, Alabama; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Greenville, South Carolina — places she collectively calls “the Villes.”
Read more: Wall Street and money moved into South Florida, driving up prices. Now some residents want to move out.
4. The South Florida housing market is dominated by luxury units, housing market expert Jonathan Miller said
Jonathan Miller at City Hall Park in downtown Manhattan. Crystal Cox/Insider
The cost of a home in South Florida — a region that includes ritzy spots on the Atlantic coast like West Palm Beach and Miami — has increased substantially since the pandemic began.
New construction of apartment buildings and houses will skew high-end , housing expert Jonathan Miller told Insider, while fewer developers will build housing priced for the middle class.
The lack of affordable places to live pushes out many people looking for a cheaper cost of living — a pressure that’s unlikely to ease soon.
“Miami and most of Southeast Florida have rebranded into more luxury markets. I don’t see that as a fluke or an anomaly,” Miller said. “Price structure has reset.”
Read more: Why the middle-class can’t afford to live in Miami
5. Tampa is becoming a magnet for Gen Zers compared to cities like San Francisco, New York, and even Miami
Joe Steilberg and his business partner Parker Klein in front of the startup collective, Embarc, in Tampa. Courtesy of Joe Steilberg
Tampa is hot right now, and it’s not just the weather.
The city of over 398,000 on Florida’s West Coast is one of the most popular spots for Gen Zers to move to. One reason is its growing startup sector, which has attracted young entrepreneurs like Joe Steilberg, 27.
“As soon as I got here, it was such a warm, embracing environment. Everyone I met was like, ‘Let me introduce you to my friends. Let’s go to the beach,’ Steilberg said. “I’ve never looked back. For me, Tampa has been the 1A of Florida cities. It’s the perfect combination of a big city like Miami and a small community like Jacksonville.”
Read more: Tampa is becoming a Gen Z hotspot. 5 recent arrivals share why the city’s ‘becoming the new Miami.’
6. Alissa Musto moved from Massachusetts to Florida to advance her singing career — and found it much cheaper, too
Alissa Musto moved to balmy Tampa, Florida. Alissa Musto
Alissa Musto relocated from Massachusetts to Tampa in 2020 to keep her career as a singer alive.
“I was inspired to move to Florida because, while live music and entertainment was shut down nationwide during COVID, Florida’s economy remained open, making it one of the few places in the country where I was still able to work in my field,” she said. “I have been booked solid since relocating.”
She fell in love with it, and her cost of living is much less.
Read more: I moved to Tampa, Florida, to keep my career as a musician alive. It’s more cosmopolitan than I expected, but I still don’t own a car.
Terri Peters, an amusement park journalist, moved to Florida from Maryland and found more to love than Disney World
Terri Peters and her husband at the Dahlia Lounge. Courtesy of Terri Peters
Terri Peters moved with her family to Florida in 2016 from Maryland. She doesn’t see alligators much, which surprised her. She doesn’t mind the heat, but hates the traffic.
“Aside from the obvious things like no snow and exponentially more humidity, there’s a different political vibe down South and a lot more Southern hospitality,” she said. “Plus, Disney World is here, which makes me — a journalist who covers theme parks — very happy.”
Read more: I moved my family to Florida 7 years ago. I mostly love it, but life here has been filled with surprises.
Have you moved into or out of Florida recently? Do you want to share your story? Email reporter Kelsey Neubauer at [email protected].
