One American county, often called “the guts of the citrus business,” now has many individuals flocking to it in groves.
Haines City in Polk County, Florida — positioned between Tampa and Orlando — joins a listing of a number of different southern communities that are experiencing a excessive inhabitants increase. Haines City has seen a rise of 30,000 new residents final 12 months, based on US Census Bureau information, snagging the title as one of many “hottest migration destination[s] in the entire country.”
(Haines City has seen a rise of 30,000 new residents final 12 months, based on US Census Bureau information.)
Labeled as “ex-burbs,” these areas are often 40-60 miles away from main metropolitan cities and may provide extra peaceable methods of life and “reasonably priced housing” choices.
Anna, TX, Fort Mill, SC and Lebanon, TN are among the many different scorching spots which are being lauded for witnessing excessive inhabitants will increase.
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Increasing its inhabitants by a 3rd since 2020, and positioned 45 miles north of Dallas, town dubbed as “your hometown,” Anna, TX, shared in a press release earlier this 12 months that its development could possibly be attributed to location, housing choices, and growth plans for each residential and business.
As for inhabitants development in Fort Mill, in SC — often known as the house to PuckerButt Pepper Company, the unique producer of the world’s hottest peppers — which as soon as sat at 24,514, and now has seen a rise of 37.2% since 2020, according to a local paper.
Fort Mill, in SC, has seen its inhabitants improve of 37.2% since 2020, based on an area paper. (LOGAN CYRUS/AFP through Getty Images)
In the center of Tennessee, Lebanon grew from 8.9% from July 2023 to July 2024, the inhabitants now sitting round 48,000 residents.
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Katy Worthington Decker, Senior Vice President of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, provided her clarification as to why “ex-burbs” are booming, particularly in Polk County.
“The Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA which incorporates all of Polk County, Florida, has skilled important development for a few years, however it accelerated during the last 4 years. We imagine that the expedited development is partly on account of pandemic-era insurance policies to expedite the reopening of Florida compared to different elements of the nation. The range of the sorts of enterprise in Polk County additionally contributed to our financial system bouncing again shortly after 2020, as we aren’t reliant on tourism as many different areas of Florida are,” Decker shared.
Decker continued, “Polk County’s location within the heart of the state gives the identical average Florida climate however with comparative affordability (median house value is ~100K lower than Tampa and Orlando) to our surrounding metro markets, low tax charges, connectivity to different metro market by automotive, rail or business air service, and numerous high quality of life choices from the city downtown way of life in Lakeland, to 55+ communities, to 554 lakes, to quite a few areas of farmland acreage.”
COVID-19 introduced on the development of extra migration to completely different communities for anybody who might make money working from home or wherever else, in the hunt for decrease housing and residing prices. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg through Getty Images)
Cited as one of many causes by the U.S. Census Bureau, COVID-19 introduced on the development of extra migration to completely different communities for anybody who might work from home or anywhere else, in the hunt for decrease housing and residing prices.
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Called on the time “zoom cities,” a number of American cities — like Bend, OR and Asheville, NC — noticed giant inhabitants will increase as staff have been ready to make use of instruments like Zoom to attach with their firm and colleagues.
However, as some major companies reinstate a return to office policy, it is unknown what the way forward for working from house, and residing within the “ex-burbs,” maintain.
“While return to the workplace insurance policies might actually affect these people who’ve chosen to reside someplace and work distant to make the most of the standard of life, I feel Polk County and Central Florida are well-positioned to supply employment to these people ought to they determine to remain,” Decker defined.
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Decker continued, sharing her ideas on whether or not returning to the workplace could be useful to each the corporate and the employer.
“We personally imagine that return to work insurance policies are favorable for the corporate’s tradition in addition to for the workers’ long-term profession development. We do, nonetheless, additionally imagine workers will proceed to demand flexibility and a better concentrate on work-life steadiness when deciding the place they work. Those employers that notice that shall be extra aggressive of their recruitment efforts. Polk County has a really restricted variety of corporations who’re nonetheless totally distant. Even our largest employers competing for nationwide expertise shortly reverted again to a full-time or hybrid schedule within the workplace inside a 12 months of the pandemic starting,” Decker concluded.
