Moving to Florida: How to Feel Welcome in a New Town

Moving to Florida is exciting because you’ll feel welcome in your new town.

Why are we so confident in saying that? Fact is, nearly everyone who lives in Florida today came from somewhere else. Florida was a sparsely populated state before the invention of air conditioning, so most of the population growth has been in-migration since World War II.

Whether you’re from Illinois, Massachusetts, New York or Virginia, you’re sure to find neighbors who also hail from your home state. They moved to Florida just like you and quickly made new friends.

Who Needs Snow?

For starters, you’ll love the climate. Warm weather means you can store away your corduroy pants, wool pants and down parkas for your occasional trips up north. What’s not to like about grilling steaks outdoors in your shorts in January?

And the weather isn’t the only great climate. Florida has a welcoming fiscal climate because it doesn’t impose a state income tax and residents get a homestead property tax exemption. So, if you’re moving from a high-tax state such as New York, the extra money in your pocket will certainly make you feel welcome.

Meeting New People

Meeting new people in Florida is easy. For example, at Babcock Ranch you can walk or ride your bike to Founder’s Square. That’s the new downtown area where there’s a dog park, a wellness center and a café where you can easily meet new people. Because the weather is beautiful year-round in Florida, people love to be outdoors. The homes at Babcock Ranch are designed to be inviting with lots of outdoor living space that encourage people to visit with each other. The 50 miles of trails encourage pedestrian traffic over the automobile so you’ll have more chances of meeting your neighbors.

Community Activities at Babcock Ranch

Getting involved in community activities is another way to feel welcome in a new town. At Babcock Ranch, there are many ways to get involved including joining the community garden, volunteering at the Babcock Neighborhood School, teaching a yoga class at the wellness center or mentoring startup entrepreneurs at The Hatchery. The town’s underpinning philosophy is “civitas,” a Latin term for civic involvement that benefits the community and its citizens.

Floridians are not a glum lot. In fact, nearby Naples ranked as the happiest city in the nation in the Gallup-Healthways 2016 Community Well-Being Rankings.

The welcome you receive isn’t lost on visitors who decide to call Southwest Florida their home and vote with their feet. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area was the fifth-fastest growing metropolitan area last year and Punta Gorda was eighth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Learn More About Babcock Ranch, Florida

So, come join your neighbors who feel welcome in a new Florida town such as Babcock Ranch. You can visit us online at babcockranch.com or give us a call at 877-484-4434 so we can welcome you in person.