Florida has seen a population boom in recent years, but many longtime residents and recent transplants say rising costs and divisive politics have them fleeing the Sunshine State.

Florida has seen a population boom in recent years, but many longtime residents and recent transplants say rising costs and divisive politics have them fleeing the Sunshine State.

One of the first signs Barb Carter’s move to Florida wasn’t the postcard life she’d envisioned was the armadillo infestation in her home that caused $9,000 in damages. Then came a hurricane, ever present feuding over politics, and an inability to find a doctor to remove a tumor from her liver.

After a year in the Sunshine State, Carter packed her car with whatever belongings she could fit and headed back to her home state of Kansas — selling her Florida home at a $40,000 loss and leaving behind the children and grandchildren she’d moved to be closer to.

“So many people ask, ‘Why would you move back to Kansas?’ I tell them all the same thing — you’ve got to take your vacation goggles off,” Carter said. “For me, it was very falsely promoted. Once living there, I thought, you know, this isn’t all you guys have cracked this up to be, at all.”

  • DarkGamer
    19•8 months ago

    Florida is on a Gilead speed run, I don’t predict good things will be happening there until they get their Christofascism problem under control.

    she said the final straw was when she couldn’t find a surgeon to remove a 6-inch tumor from her liver that doctors warned could burst at any moment and lead to life-threatening sepsis. After being passed among doctors, she finally found one willing to remove the tumor. But when she called to schedule the surgery, her calls went unanswered and her messages weren’t returned. After months of trying and fearing for her life, she returned to Kansas to have the procedure done.

    What’s with Orlando doctors? Is this sort of experience common there?

    • @brandonEnglish
      15•8 months ago

      I had a family member go through 3 doctors and many months of unbearable pain in their leg, all saying it was a simple sports injury that’ll go away on its own, before someone realized they had a pool noodle sized tumor in their leg. I blame this incompetence for their death.

    • @oopy_soup
      7•8 months ago

      It’s pretty common to wait several months just to get into a new primary care doctor in Florida.