New York's Florida Envy

A New York Post article by a former New Yorker notes all the negative attention his adopted state of Florida has been getting from media outlets in New York.

So he spends some time making the comparisons all that noise invites:

A related meme hailed New York's former governor as Florida's Realtor of the Year. (Image by Patrick Cashin, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, via Wikimedia Commons, license.)

Earlier this year, while visiting from the UK, my parents asked me and my wife if we have ever missed living in New York, and we realized to our surprise that at no point since we'd moved in 2017 had the question so much as occurred to us. Sure, we've occasionally lamented the loss of a given bar or restaurant -- although, frankly, that's true of everywhere we've ever lived. But the city, and the state, and all that living in them entails? Not on your life. In Florida, we have sunshine, low taxes, a nice house, friendly public services, year-round-sports, and -- shock horror! -- good food to boot. Last year, US News and World Report ranked the 50 states "in 71 metrics across eight categories," and Florida ended up at number 10 -- 11 points above New York. That sounds about right.

As for freedom? In its most recent report, the Cato Institute ranked Florida second (after Texas) out of all 50 states in "personal and economic freedoms." Since 2014, Florida has never moved out of the top two. Since 2000, New York has placed 50th every single year. [links omitted]

I'll never be a fan of hurricane season, but I have generally been happy with Florida since we moved here in '18, although not from New York.

Charles Cook correctly notes that The intensity is all in one direction, which is true enough, but that risks making Floridians appear to be oblivious to New York.

We aren't: The not-infrequent appearance of "Don't New York My Florida" merchandise certainly attests to that.

-- CAV