Blinky DeSantis made an appearance yesterday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where he accused leaders in blue states like California of being “lockdown politicians” and claiming that the nation’s coronavirus crisis created “a great test in governing philosophies.” Via the Washington Post:
Speaking to a sold-out audience, with some 1,300 tickets sold and nearly 1,100 in attendance, according to organizers, DeSantis touted how Florida has led the nation in net migration — even though that is a trend set into motion long before he became governor.
“We’ve witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideologies and delivering poor results. And you can see massive gains in states like Florida, who are governing according to the tried-and-true principles that President Reagan held dear,” DeSantis said. He said that Americans “voted with their feet” by leaving some blue states in large numbers as Florida’s population boomed.
But many experts have argued that the shift in migration patterns, particularly from states along the West Coast, has stemmed largely from the lack of affordable housing and the greater flexibility that the pandemic created for work-from-home or hybrid work arrangements. DeSantis’s remarks served as the latest example of him advancing arguments in defense of his record in Florida that sometimes mask much more complicated debates.
Yeah, that’s bullshit. Anyone who has friends or family who moved to Florida knows just how expensive it’s gotten. Remember, one of the big attractions for retirees was always affordable housing, and that’s history. Maybe that’s why so many of the people who move there, uh, move back out. Via Entrepreneur.com:
51-year-old Kimberly Lovelace previously told Insider she left Florida only five months after moving there in May of 2021 due to high housing costs and stifling heat, among other factors. As of November, the median home value in Florida had risen 22% over the prior year, per Zillow data, compared to an 12% nationwide increase over the same period.
“At first, it still felt like that vacation feel,” she said. “But as reality sinks in that you’re actually living there, that wears off. Living there is just such a completely different planet.”
Miami real estate agent Michael Bordenaro told Insider in 2021 that 40 to 50% of his clients who are new to the state move out within a few years.
“So many people come for a week or two on vacation, and they think their life is going to be like that every day,” he said. A nearly 14,000-member Facebook group for people moving out of Florida has cited severe weather, low wages, crowded beaches, changing politics, and steep housing prices as reasons people left.
Speaking of the “no lockdown” state!
For Greg May, Florida’s high temperatures were the main reason he left for North Carolina, he previously told Insider.
“My mental health started declining from being stuck indoors almost 10 months out of the year,” he said.
Well, yes. It is very, very hot in Florida. WE THOUGHT YOU KNEW THAT!
