You’ve heard of the insanity of the “Florida Man.” (That’s me, by the way.) But why is everyone becoming one? Well, I’m going to break it down for you. Every day, almost 1,000 people are moving to Florida. Home sales have doubled. Many of my new neighbors are coming from high-tax states: New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and California. The pandemic was the last straw for people who are on the fence about moving south. And the normalization of remote work has made this all possible. But why Florida?
Florida Man
Florida usually is the butt of all of the jokes; we’re swampy, full of old people and crazy “Florida Man” gets into all sorts of trouble.
So first, the “Florida Man” only exists because of open record laws here. That means documents, photos and even videos created by public agencies – like the police – are available for anyone to see at any time: It’s news candy for journalists like me to use. That means Florida isn’t much crazier than any other state. We’re just more open. Trust me; if other states were more honest, we’d be hearing from California and Texas. The “Texas Man” and “California Man” would be a thing.
No state income taxes
Secondly – and I don’t mean to bury the lede – Florida has lower taxes. That’s because we don’t pay state income taxes. We don’t even have a form for state income taxes. This data has no idea how much money we make. So, for instance, I was working in Manhattan, paying crazy taxes and crazy rent. As soon as I moved down to my home state of Florida, I now take home hundreds of dollars a month extra.
Would you make the move down south?
I’m still trying to get my husband to move after graduating with his master’s from Columbia University. So we already know that when he’s done, there’s another new Floridian on his way. And who knows? You could be next. So a little bit about Florida … We don’t have snow. Our people are only slightly crazier. And we make more money. Doesn’t that sound like paradise? Maybe it does to you.