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.”

  • @squirrelwithnut
    2•8 months ago

    Ft Myers does not have a 4.7% property tax rate. That would be ridiculously, catastrophically high. It decreased by 4.7% a years ago, but Florida is in the middle of the list for effective proper tax rate among all states in the country.

    But I agree with you. I’ve heard many people I know from my state say they are leaving for FL because of income tax. I feel like many don’t consider everything that actually goes into living there. Other than the politics, insurance companies starting to refuse home insurance is the scariest thing that would prevent me from ever living there.