A Record Number Of California And New York Residents Moved To Florida Last Month

It's no secret that New York City Mayor Eric Adams and California Governor Gavin Newsom hate our Florida Governor. So why have so many of their people moved here to Florida? I'm not going to turn this into some political thing. As a Florida resident I would just like the wave of people moving here to slow down. Just a little. Instead - we're seeing record numbers.

For the data, we go to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles who have released information from August license applications. The New York Post reported "A record-breaking number of Empire State residents switched their driver’s licenses to the Sunshine State version last month, according to a Post analysis of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data.".

And now the data. In August  5,838 New Yorkers switched their licenses to Florida. That's the most we've ever had in one month. Ever. For the year that's 41,885 New Yorkers who have switched their license over to Florida ones. But it's not just New Yorkers.

A record number of people from California also switched out their residency to Florida. 3,059 last month. A new record. There's more. Washington, Oregon and Pennsylvania — all set new records for Florida driver’s license applications as their residents moved to Florida. In total for the month of August, there's been 321,881 out-of-state license trade requests in 2022.

So, what's the draw? Why leave New York to come here? Renowned fashion designer Alvin Valley told the New York Post “A lot of families just began to feel like New York was becoming unlivable,” Valley said. “Especially for younger couples with kids in their 30s and 40s. They don’t want to get on the subway. It’s a safety issue, it’s a schools issue.”  A retired NYPD lieutenant who has relocated to Florida "argued that vaccine mandates for public-sector employees left thousands of working-class New Yorkers disillusioned with city government and eyeing the exits."

Snowbirds don't usually switch their driver's licenses over to Florida ones. These are people leaving other states and moving here. To stay. And the trend doesn't appear to be slowing.

I don't get it. Why would anyone want to move here to Florida?