Native Floridian. They’re coming because there is no state income tax and the most significant taxation hits tourists (hotel, rental cars, property tax on vaca

Native Floridian. They’re coming because there is no state income tax and the most significant taxation hits tourists (hotel, rental cars, property tax on vacation homes, etc.). The winter weather isn’t bad, either. ;) Property tax is probably the highest tax for a resident who owns a home, and even so, it tends to be much less than many other places. There’s a misconception Florida is an inexpensive place to live. I hear it all the time from newcomers. It is becoming increasingly expensive for general cost of living, housing and insurance. Home prices now exceed where they were 15 years ago during the real estate bubble. Also, the state doesn’t invest in nearly the amount of infrastructure it should for the number people here. For instance, hurricanes are a threat to the entire state, yet there are numerous counties in the panhandle which have no hurricane shelter, and those which do often have one only rated for a Cat 2 storm. Hurricane Michael hit the region in 2018 as a Cat 5. Unfortunately, it will probably take a massive environmental disaster (hurricane, red tide, climate change) to convince the all but the most hardened individuals Florida wasn’t a good place to move to.