Flori-duh: Is Florida Getting a Bad Rap?

by Catherine Giordano

Reason #2: Too many tourists

Florida has recently nudged New York out of third place in the race to become the most populous state. According to 2014 census data, Florida is now third in the nation with about 19.9 million people.  (Texas has 27.0 million people, California has 38.8 million people, and New York has 19.7 million people.) 

Florida has a lot to offer--a warm climate, beautiful beaches and other natural areas, theme parks, resorts, and no state income tax.  

Orlando, where I live, is bustling metropolitan region—great universities and colleges, a thriving arts community, great museums, many exciting businesses, fine restaurants, and one of the busiest international airports in the state. We even have a shiny new commuter rail line called Sun-Rail which may help with traffic congestion on I-4. 

I'm glad I moved to Orlando in 1995. But new people keep coming into the state at the rate of about 850 new people a day. It’s getting to be a little crowded. 

So I wrote an article about why people should not move to Florida.  It’s a long list. There are a lot of weird things about Florida that have helped us earn our nick-name of Flori-duh. 

I’m not the first to compile a list although my list is longer than others. This list could have been even longer, but I had to stop somewhere. It's a column, not a book. This is my list of the top 20 reasons people should not move to Florida. 

(Note: It will make you laugh; it is written tongue-in-cheek and meant to be funny.)

Twenty Reasons Not to Move to Florida

 

Jon Stewart recently had a field day making fun of Florida. His jumping off point was the reaction of some of the more reactionary elements in Florida to the legalization of gay marriage in the states.  Jon Stewart Rips Florida

Here is what Scott Maxwell had to say about Florida’s growth spurt in a column in the Orlando Sentinel: Flori-duh? Sure. But People Still Flock Here, for Better or Worse

 

If you want to some more about how weird Florida is, read any of Carl Hiaasen's novels.  Here is his latest:

 

 

CLICK HERE

If you want to move to Florida anyway, here is a book to give you all the information you need.

 

CLICK HERE