Population Drops In South Florida
June 6, 2008
According to a report in the Sun-Sentinel, the population in South Florida has dropped for the first time in years. The reason for the decline: the high cost of living coupled with a gap in wages, and a national economic slump that is forcing people who would otherwise move here to have to leave to a more affordable environment. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing at all.
The exodus of some actually makes the quality of life better here in South Florida. Less people equates to lighter traffic. Shorter checkout lines at the grocery stores. Shorter wait times at movies and restaurants. Fewer students in class less strain on natural resources and even less crime as undesirables can not afford to live here.
Slow-growth advocates say more people would strain water supplies. New power plants would be necessary, and the county would have to find new places to put garbage because the dumps are running out of room. And they wonder how an even more crowded barrier island could be evacuated quickly if a hurricane approached.
In the Fort Lauderdale real estatearea, many homes are east of the Intracoastal and evacuation in that regard can be quite a problem for some.
Two years ago, Stacey Miller’s family left Coral Springs for a job transfer to Knoxville, Tenn. Although excited about the prospect of a less expensive, quieter place to live, they soon missed Florida. So three months ago, the couple and their three children moved back.
“People tend to think the grass is greener elsewhere,” said Miller, 39, a native Floridian who works in insurance claims. “We’re just thrilled to be back home.”
A new UF study projects Florida will add about 209,000 residents a year between 2007 and 2010, compared with annual increases of about 418,000 during the 2002-2006 housing boom. However, Smith said, outside forces could change that.
“One of the big unknowns is hurricanes,” he said. A major hit and a spike in property insurance would drive people away, as it did in 2004 and 2005.
After decades of its cities ranking among the fastest-growing in the nation, over the past two years the Fort Lauderdale real estate market, and Broward County overall saw 55,808 more residents leave than move in from other states, according to the census. They’ve been replaced by foreign-born residents, but even that influx has slowed.
In addition, the federal government’s push to deport immigrants without permission could curb growth, said Richard Ogburn, of the South Florida Regional Planning Council. Since 2000, three out of every four new Broward residents were foreign-born.
The Fort Lauderdale real estatemarket is no longer the haven for retirees that it once was. Coupled with the elimination of Spring Break and the development of AIA into a multi-cultural, affluent hub for the jet set crowd, the landscape is changing here…and that’s not necessarily a bad thing when looking to relocate to the Fort Lauderdale real estate area.
article source: Sun Sentinel
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