Reasons why millennials leave Florida

Posted by Betty on March 20th, 2020

Even though more and more elderly people are moving to Florida and the number of tourists visiting it is rising constantly, millennials seem to be leaving it. Now, we can simply say that millennials are impossible to please and that Florida is perfect as it is. But, it doesn't take much more than a single visit to Florida to realize that this is definitely not the case. So, what are the reasons why millennials leave Florida in such large numbers? Well, let's take a closer look to get the true picture.

Understanding millennials

The reasons why Millenials leave Florida have as much to do with Millenials as they do with Florida. After all, to understand why Florida just doesn't sit right with so many 30 something-year-olds we have to first understand what those young people are looking for. Their dreams fears and hopes are surprisingly far from those substantially older or younger them. So, it can be difficult at times to cross the age gap and get some true understanding going on.

What are Millenials looking for

The best way to sum up what Millenials are looking for is stability. Some wish to raise families and bring up kids. While others want to travel the world and develop their careers. But, if there is one thing that connects the two, its stability. Millennials are old enough to understand that most good things come with time and patience. Therefore, they are not looking for sudden adventures or unexpected excitements. Instead, they are looking for reliable work, a steady life situation and a foreseeable future.

Top reasons why millennials leave Florida

Now that we have a better understanding of millennials, let's take a closer look at why Florida is the place for them. Seeing that it is a big state with places like Miami and Orlando, it might be surprising that millennials are having a hard time finding a place suited for them. But, as it turns out, there are simply places outside of Florida that promise a much better life for your average Millenial.

The alure of other cities

It is usually at the age of 30 that people are faced with what their future lives are going to be like. Now, no two people's lives are the same, of course. But, it is usually around 30 that people forgo excessive partying and fun-seeking, and try to focus on either their work or their family. Once that happens, they tend to leave Florida. Larger cities like NYC and LA tend to provide much better opportunities for education and job than Miami. Especially for more experienced professionals, which most of today's Millenials are.

On the other hand, if family life becomes the priority, there are other places in the US that provide much better family conditions. Cities like Washington, D.C., Indianapolis or Raleigh are much better suited for raising families. They have excellent education and steady job opportunities. So, what happens is that married Millenials start over in another state and bring their kids up in a more family-oriented environment.

Florida weather

Florida is hot. If you only came here during summer vacation or for a winter getaway, you might think much off it. But, trust us. After a couple of years of living here, you will grow to hate it. And once you do it will come as no surprise that one of the reasons why millennials leave Florida is the weather. Not only can it be unbearably hot, but it even tends to change quite rapidly. In fact, Florida has more thunderstorms than any other state. Tornados, monsoons, and even excessive rains are all quite common in Florida. This is why a lot of Millenials tend to look for places with more stable climates.

Too many old people

Florida is known as one of the best states in the U.S for retirement. Plenty of beachfront property, warm weather, and decent living conditions all tend to bring in elderly people that want to spend their twilight years in sunshine. And, as it turns out, this has been the case for the past couple of decades.

This has made more and more businesses in Florida oriented towards elderly people, as their numbers tend to increase. But, one of the side effects of that is that businesses in Florida have streamed away from catering to Millenials. There seem to be fewer and fewer clubs and bars in Florida and more and more retiree bingo halls. Add to that the current average age of Florida residents is 42, and that number just keeps going up. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that more and more millennials leave Florida in order to find places that have more people their age.

Climate change

Climate change is a big subject that affects us all. And that effect is probably going to increase even more in the future. One of the more unfortunate possible outcomes of climate change is the increase in sea levels that lead to flooded beachfront property. And guess which state has a lot of beachfront property...

Florida has the longest coastline in the US. Some of its biggest cities are situated on that coastline along with numerous smaller places. And, unfortunately, the odds that those places will become flooded in the years to come and only getting higher. Now, it is true that our technology is constantly advancing and that we might be able to protect our coastline from rising sea levels. But, so far, doing so is terribly difficult. Therefore, if you are planning for the future investing in Florida real estate is not the smartest thing to do. Instead, millennials tend to take climate change into consideration and move to places that should be less affected by it.