Sunshine Sentinel

A large number of individuals and businesses are moving to Florida from blue states that enforced strict lockdowns due to COVID-19, according to the Daily Mail.

In a recent interview with Sean Hannity, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed this migration from blue states like California to states like Florida, where lockdowns were less severe.

“These people that are coming, they are registering as Republicans, and I also have come across a lot of people who were Democrats and lockdowns turned them into Republicans," DeSantis told Hannity. "They said, 'I am in California and they are locking my kids out of school; I come to Florida they are in school and people are free and happy.'”

Jacqui Budrow, who recently relocated to Florida from New Jersey, said many of the state's COVID-19 restrictions prompted her to move south, according to Bay News 9.

“New Jersey has been very constraining," Budrow told Bay News 9, "Not just in COVID, but taxes are insane there and you don't really get much value for that increase in taxes. You feel more at home [in Florida]  and more included in the community as well."

Additionally, Mark Hickman of Hickman Homes in Lakeland told Bay News 9 that the migration to Florida has resulted in an inflated demand for housing due to fewer COVID-19 restrictions in the state.

"It's actually a challenging time," Hickman said, "There's a shortage of home sites, escalating cost of materials and a shortage of manpower."

According to a report by the Business Journals, 845 individuals are migrating to Florida daily and are expected to continue to do so until 2025.

The report also found that numerous companies are also relocating to Florida from New York and California, bringing thousands of jobs with them. Crossborder Solutions CEO Don Scherer told Business Journals regarding Florida. “We think being here is a big draw, and not just locally. It's drawing people nationally, it has become a top destination in this new climate.”

Additionally, the report revealed that St. Petersburg is a particularly appealing location for tech companies, with several moving their headquarters to the area in recent months.

Nicholas Genest, CEO of formerly San Francisco-based CodeBoxx, told Business Journals that “one of the reasons we picked St. Pete is that a lot of companies in California are moving there.”