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.”

  • EchoCraniumEnglish
    2·
    8 months ago

    Wife and I ended up in Tampa early 2006. No state tax, but man, they made up for it there in fees and licensing for everything imaginable. Seemed like a lot of service industry jobs and trades all required you to get a local license. Heck, even the gals working in strip clubs were required to get a license to perform. I know some skilled trade jobs typically required licenses, but Florida just seemed to go out of their way to try to squeeze lower and middle class workers who were just trying to get by.