Once the dream of many a retiree and young person seeking to live in paradise, the prospect of living in Florida seems to be less attractive in the current economic downturn.
Data from moving companies and the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles suggest that fewer people are moving to the state and, at the very least, an equal number of residents are moving out.
Atlas Van Lines moved a total of 5,277 households into the state in 2008, but moved out 6,367 households, according to the moving company’s migration study.
Those numbers compare with the 9,069 households moving into Florida and the 7,180 moving out in 2004, when the state’s real estate market was just heating up.
Locally, 43 households moved out of Bradenton and 19 moved in between Jan. 1 and June 22 of this year, according to Atlas officials.
In a similar study, United Van Lines designated Florida a “balanced” state, meaning roughly as many households moved in as out in 2008.
During the year, 13,487 households moved in and 13,470 moved out, according to the study.
Read the complete story at bradenton.com