The first time I saw a gated trailer park in Florida, I took a picture so my friends and colleagues would believe such a thing existed. But the bowling alley with valet parking was the icing on the cake.
I do HVAC work. I'm always surprised by how much money trailer park retirees have. The interiors of these trailers are beautiful and they have the money to renovate and maintain.
Please cover the Front Range! As a resident of suburban Denver, I would put the borders from Cheyenne, Wyoming to the North to Colorado Springs in the South. Not sure where to put the E or W limits.
They have them in California to but they’re really nice upscale neighborhoods with only triple and quadruple wide Mobile home completely different to the ones i’ve seen in Florida which were completely trashy and run down
As a Pensacola native. This city has exploded in growth, and we’re in the start of the panhandle. I used to live in a trailer for $480/mo, now I live in a studio for $990/mo but that same trailer listed is now $1,300. It’s getting so sad and ridiculous that our locals have to flee to Alabama or godforbid Mississippi just to survive. The cost of living and population growth is just awful.
My family bought a 3 bed/2 bath on a neighborhood across Bayou Grande (the neighborhood is considered low-middle class) for 166,000 in 2018 and we sold it for 265,000 in May of this year
I was in Pensacola yesterday( I live in Alabama) and tbh I think it kinda sux compared to other cities in the panhandle. It’s too crowded and not as much to do, too many uppity places in downtown and old folks with money.
Omg stop with that hippy bull crap! Southern Florida has many southern culture based areas, as there are gentrified snow bird transplant areas and immigrant populations. So to say it's SE how northern as I'm culture is weird to us native Floridians. We don't know why you people who never even lived down here say stuff like that!
@@mikaels6009 As someone who lived in fort Lauderdale area for pretty much my whole life, what garrett said is pretty much true about south Florida. Its pretty much all new yorkers, new englanders, cubans, and jamaicans- There really isn't much southern culture besides New Orleans culture, which has a agruement to be their own culture for sure. But there is a few pockets of southern culture like in homestead / davie- But over all Florida is a melting pot state where there's chums of every flavor of culture. ngl
@@mikaels6009 As a Miami resident, I can confirm that I have nothing in common with people from the South. Brickell and Downtown Miami is like a miniature version of Manhattan. I would much rather deal with a New Yorker than someone from Alabama.
Tbf, it's much the same way many cities formed in Europe but with Cathedrals. They were massive projects so the builders would move there, people who made food would need to be there for the workers, people needed to be there who provided that food to those people, and so on. The world tends to recycle history quite a bit and it's pretty neat.
Air conditioning has been a big part of the explosive growth of the sun belt...I've driven the I-4 corridor and it feels like city or suburbia all the way. On the map it looks like there are gaps between Tampa and Lakeland but it doesn't feel like it from the highway. Ditto Lakeland/Orlando/Daytona Beach.
I can completely understand the air conditioning thing. I live outside of Houston and grew up here. I work outside. Our AC was 28 years old, roof is slightly newer but not by much. We chose a new air conditioner because its just hot here
I feel this way driving between Austin and San Antonio on I-35... on a map it looks like theres gaps but while driving there really isn't. At least not any more than a couple of miles.
The infamous I-4 corridor ❗️ THE Worst stretch of Highway in the U.S.‼️ ((I’m in Jacksonville, have 3 suppliers in Orlando area)). You are right, driving I-4, certainly seems like driving through a city, all the way across. 🚗😬
This is very true. The way how Kissimmee connected to Davenport through the Four Corners region is insane. Add the insane build up of residential housing along US 27 up until Haines City. Next is Winter Haven which has expanded rapidly over the last 10 years. With for now small Lake Alfred and Auburndale making it a city triangle. Auburndale is only a small leap away from Lakeland, followed by Plant City just over the county border. The only last maybe 10 miles to I-75 is possibly the most rural area between Orlando and Tampa. Quick note: I know also from exit 44 to exit 55 on I-4 is very rural. But about 5 to 7 miles south of the Interstate all of the aforementioned communities connect together along US Highways 27, 17 and 92.
I live in Miami. Video is pretty accurate when they say you don’t really leave the city area. From Miami to West Palm Beach on I-95, you never see any wilderness or rural areas.
I've lived in Orlando and have family in both West Palm Beach and Weston and I totally agree. Between West Palm and Fort Lauderdale it's pretty much continuous suburbia and continuously urban from Miami southward until you get to around Homestead.
Miami and LA were one of the few places Ive seen like that (if not only). NYC, Phili, and other cities had a lot of forestry going on that it didn’t match up with Miami and LA.
I was born in Miami in 1959, lived in South Florida, Jacksonville, and North Central Florida (Ocala). I have witnessed the growth. I can see a day Florida will become a solid metropolis, from Jacksonville to Homestead on the east coast, Crystal River to Marco Island on the west coast, across the I-4 corridor, and don't forget The Villages.
Having grown up in Naples FL area (my parents immigrated imn 68), I sadly see it too. I understand why so many folks want to live here but the laid-back tropical paradise that I grew up with is turning into a frantic commercial tourist trap that has lost all its southern charm. 😭
I’m honestly kinda surprised you didn’t mention the Ocala area in this video. It’s closer to Orlando than Gainesville is, and has a larger metro population (375k as of 2020). I will give you that Gainesville is larger in city proper population though, and you can’t get to every city.
Beaver: “So, that’s all the cities.” Ocala: “Am I a joke to you?!” Rest of Florida: “Yes” (jk, as y’all have said Ocala is a real city and also growing thanks to boomer migration) Loving the mention of my hometown Haines City! Polk County used to be a rural area but now it’s all built up and traffic sucks lol
I live is the Fort Lauderdale area (Miami metro as the video calls it). There is currently a good amount of empty land between Fort Lauderdale and the Naples area. Thankfully, some of this is protected by the Everglades and other parks/recreation areas. But, farmers continue to sell since the land is so valuable. Hopefully the high-rise buildings remain in/close to the cities. I like the suburban/rural area I live in now. Hopefully it stays this way for 20 years (or more)!
The only land west of the Sawgrass Expressway that can be developed in Broward County is along US 27. There really is no land in Broward open to development that isn't already developed.
Agreed. As Dan Z mentioned, with pretty much all available land developed, plus the growth boundary to the west, Broward County will have to tear down existing buildings, increase densities, and build up to keep addressing housing demand.
More than half of Palm Beach county, the southern half west of 441 is protected because its part of the Arthur Marshall Wildlife preserve. The preserve is massive. That’s all that’s stopping development in PB county. In the northern half of the county, development keeps pushing westward in an unincorporated area called the Acreage
The gap from Deltona to Daytona is due to the St. John’s River being a giant swampland at this point and being basically impossible to build on. The other gap from Daytona to the Titusville-Mims area is due to the swamp of the Indian River lagoon ending. It is also right next to the government owned shore of Cape Canaveral
I’m also guessing the high amount of conservative minorities like Cubans and Venezuelans shifting to the GOP. Miami Dade County swung heavily to the right in the 2020 election because of this.
Not only that but conservatives moving here from blue states that heavily locked down. We tend to vote (R), which is why Florida is moving further right and heavier red. Desantis is GOAT governor too
South Florida is hiring cops like crazy. Crime and murders at record lows. Either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale just hired 200 cops from Chicago that quit. LOL! The woke protests lasted one day here with cops arresting people. They all went to other cities. LOL!
I am Venezuelan living in FL and I don’t have a political party yet, but please do not mention to us anything that sounds like “Socialism” that’s all what we avoid. Thanks.
Finally somebody admitting how much of a stretch it is to put the Northeast Megalopolis to Boston. I think a ten mile gap is fine if the gap is unsuitable for development. Also any growing megalopolis without a governmental restriction, will absorb such a small gap by people wanting to live in outer suburbs.
It's def not a stretch. In the same way it's described that you can drive all around Florida without leaving development for more than 10 minutes you can do the same from Boston to Washington DC. You just wouldn't go from Boston to Hartford- you would go down to Providence and then swing around the coast hitting New Haven, the NYC metro, all across NJ, through Philly and Delaware, where you would find the closest stretch of "remote" driving between Wilmington and Baltimore (but you would still see development), before continuing on to the nation's capital and Alexandria. Google Maps estimates this ~480 mile trip would take about 10.5 hours to drive. That's ignoring the "branch" of this megalopolis that goes to Hartford completely- the development sticks to the coastline rather than connecting further inland. With that said, I think it is silly to exclude Hartford from the megalopolis. People here commute to Boston, Providence, and even NYC regularly. Just because the NE megalopolis "unravels" (if it could) to have two branches at the northern end, doesn't mean it isn't fully connected. If you think 10 miles is enough to disconnect it, I think you just haven't experienced the commute that goes on there daily. Geographical distance is not the sole definer of what makes a megalopolis. Something to note is that trains make up a significant portion of commute in this region, especially more than any other. You can be in Alexandria outside of DC in the morning and make it to Boston by the late afternoon. Indeed, people do travel such a commute like this relatively often in the NE as compared to any other part of the country. The cities where people regularly fluctuate between is more important than just how the bird flies between cities in a megalopolis.
Having lived in the Tampa Bay area my whole life I feel like my idea of population density and cities are slightly skewed. Whenever we went down to Charlotte County as a kid it would feel like we were in the middle of nowhere in a completely rural area. In reality though it's decently dense itself. And it's so trippy being in those weird planned cities where they projected out miles of roads. And then half of it is a ghost town. The satellite view of it is weird but actually being there in person is like wtf.
I was born in Port Charlotte. It was quiet, from what I remember, when I was a kid. We moved to GA, and I haven't been back down to see family in several years, but the last time I was down there, I couldn't believe how much more crowded it was.
@@Phish620 Growing like mad here! Too many people and crowded roads with idiot drivers. I have lived in N. Ft Myers for 53 years and the amount of growth is unreal with property values sky high. Decent priced/vacant rentals are scarce too.
@@Phish620 Millions have moved to Florida in the past decade. I haven't been to Port Charlotte since about 2010 so it's probably night and day the way you're saying it is.
I live just 30 min north of Gainesville in Lake City. The growth here has been explosive 35,000 in 1980 to 75,000 to today. Theres multiple SQUARE MILES of industrial property for sale for millions of dollars, multiple pending, there’s a 3.75 square mile industrial park under planning, multiple shopping centers and neighborhoods are under plans and construction. It’s been utterly insane.
Something to note about the State's more Republican shift is that there are a lot of Cuban refugees who have established themselves in Florida. When Bernie Sanders (someone very adjacent to the Democrats) praised Fidel Castro, it irked a lot of Cubans who lived in the area. Not only that, but a lot of Hispanics live there too, and they've been swinging pretty hard to the right as well.
Sanders praised among other things Castro's highly effective literacy program. But condemned all authoritarian regimes around the world including Castro's. This was of course spun by FOX.
Another great video Beaver! I’ve visited Florida a few times, been to Tampa, Jacksonville, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami and the explosive growth of that region never ceases to amaze me. I’d say my favorite city was a tie between Ft. Lauderdale & Jacksonville. They’re both great, lively places that are close to the beach and aren’t as expensive to live in as Miami. Ft. Lauderdale especially feels like a dialed back version of Miami and Jacksonville has some of the friendliest people and best food I’ve ever had. Plus with the growth of Brightline rail, soon you’ll be able to travel from Orlando to Miami on a comfortable and fast journey!
I live in Fort Lauderdale and I agree with you. My bestie moved to Jacksonville a few years ago. I visit her like every 4 months. It’s got it’s own cute charm.
From what I read on the blogs, Broward county sometimes gets a bad rap, but I've visited several times to several different cities and I kind of like it. I've been to Pompano, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Dania, and Hallandale. It's busy, but as The OP said, still dialed back compared to Miami. I can't comment on areas inland much, but all these places, at least closest to A1A were decent. There were some sketchy places I passed through in Hollywood and also just south of the Fort Lauderdale airport that were rough.
Why do people say "growth" as if it's a good thing? I would rather be broke and barely getting by compared to having to deal with the anxiety of biodiversity and economic collapse and all those desperate people needing food. It's a matter of when.
@@fuxan I think the common thought is that growth is generally viewed as a good thing in that It is associated with increased economic opportunities which typically means more jobs for more people. Where you typically get criticism of growth is Florida- style growth where cities and counties don't widen roads and don't address other growth related issues.
Not quite sure how ... But I'm glad this vid was recommended. As someone who moved to the tampa Bay area when I was 4 in the mid/late 90s; this was very interesting in a sort of odd / unexpected way. I was always mesmerized by all the old aerial land photography that local businesses had that showed the drastic geographical chances over the years... Typically these can be found in libraries/post offices / local (non-chain) grocery stores....Although admittedly, I have even seen some interesting historical pictures in Publix.
A lot of times when I explain where I'm from, I usually say, "a small city under Melbourne, Florida," and completely forget that Palm Bay has a population of 120k people.
I’ve never even heard of Palm Bay Florida and I live 30 minutes north of Florida and I’ve been to Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Pensacola and Panama City Beach
We’re gonna turn into another California. (Urban planning wise not politically) Most of the new developments are single family homes that revolve around the car. The traffic is only going to get worse and worse with no escape since you cant do much with out a car.
crap, I can't find it offhand, but there's a famous example in the Orlando area of insane bad planning. There are two houses in two developments that share a rear property line, but it's something like an 11 mile drive from one's driveway to the other.
Great job. I live in SWFL. I have been saying something similar for years, you gave it details. I call it the inverted beltway city. Take Atlanta: you have a urban core, a freeway with suburban/industrial around it, then Georgia. The loop of 75, 4, and 95 with suburban/industrial connecting Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. Put those three together and you would have a huge city. The center is the rule and farms. I also say the South ends at I-4. Above 4 is the Old South, going as far back as the first European settlement to stay. Below 4 basically got started in the 20s then hit hard in the 30’s. Because the Army figure out we were the best place to fly they built an airport base in almost any town with a train stop. It is an amazing history. This introduced Florida to a lot of people and the growth started. Then affordable AC made the population explode. I understand your inclusion of Gainesville and Jacksonville. One place to look at is the Villages just below Gainesville. It is very new, however it has a lot of influence on the state. They created our new golf cart culture.
In South Florida, there are a lot of empty farm land from an old dairy farm that the cities and suburbs grew around. Now those are being sold to build up more housing. I’m interested to see how it all grows the next decade or two
@@ToothlesstheNightFury510 Where? LOL! The Everglades is a national park and the Atlantic ocean is a ocean. Tell me where? The only way is up and and higher up. Friends family will probably get the electrical contract for the tallest building in Miami. Close to 100 stories!!!!
@@ToothlesstheNightFury510 Everglades and swampland needs to be preserved As for it being underwater, that´s entirely the fault of Asia (and everyone else) for having more old people than Florida that keep reprouding Don´t believe me: Search up China/South Korea air quality
@@jonathank5289 The tallest building in Miami is projected to reach 1050 ft. The highest 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 point in Florida, in the panhandle very close to Alabama, is a piddling 345 ft. So from the top of the building you can see the whole state!
I've looked at Florida properties for a decade. What has happened is insane, but it has happened to before - - prior to the Great Depression. What I see are hair-raising increases in real estate prices, but I'm also seeing hair-raising increases in insurance costs, etc. In short, Florida is becoming a very expensive place to live. When I was down there last year I couldn't believe the price of groceries in some areas - - simply stunning. What I do know for sure, without a doubt, is that in a bad hurricane season, it's going to be absolute hell going north out of that giant peninsula. I don't want to see that, but two of my friends down there are worried about the same thing.
Im from Melbourne FL and i remember when my parents moved us to the woods to keep us out of trouble in palm bay. Back then it had about 3-5 houses per street and TBH it was fun playing manhunt in the woods. Back then you could buy a lot for $1500. It's crazy to see rush our traffic in a place that other people in Florida didn't even know existed...Not only are all of these metro areas connected by roads they are already being connected with high speed rails.
I moved to Palm Coast in 1989. This is about 30 miles north of Daytona. Back then, the entire county (Flagler) had a population of about 20k. Now Palm Coast alone has about 90k. Not quite the numbers of these other cities you mentioned, but it was enough to convince me to leave.
Hundreds of square miles of parking lot, populated by extras from Mad Max, just one particularly bad hurricane away from being Atlantis. Truly, there's a bright future ahead.
Lol acting like we dont deal with hurricanes every year. But yeah the parking thing can be annoying especially if you want to develop commercial land, nearly a quarter of it has to be devoted to parking.
I left Florida decades ago but have returned to live out my remaining years on the beach. Plus no state income tax and most importantly not run by democrats, at least not at the State level. As long as it stays The Free State of Florida and doesn’t turn into a leftist crap hole this is where I’ll proudly stay.
Loved the video. You failed to mention The Villages at all, which i would argue is the actual pre-planned capital of Florida, not Fort Myers as youve mentioned in the video. The place is an ever-expanding paradise for the elderly and its construction mirrors that of a disney neighborhood....created to be pristinely and practical for its population. It's also a huge red political hotspot
Good video. It’s crazy the amount of continuous density along the Florida coastline. That’s why Florida is so fortunate to get a passenger rail service like Brightline connecting several of the major metropolitan areas in the state. It’s definitely the future of traveling between cities 200 to 400 miles apart. One thing I do need to point out is that the Texas triangle definitely has more than 17 million people as of the 2020 census. Just the Houston metro and Dallas metroplex areas together have over 15 million now. And then the San Antonio and Austin metro areas add another 5+ million people.
!! I’m looking forward to ride in the Brightline train from Orlando to further south in Florida without having to deal with the huge traffic and stress of driving on the toll road. Actually I avoid driving on the toll road entirely anyway.
Great video of a state I recently left for greener pastures but I remain connected to through family and friends! (Also, I can’t believe I lived to see the day where I’d hear a RU-vid mention my old hometown of Deltona.) BTW, there’s a good reason why US 1 is relatively undeveloped in that segment: It borders the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge!
Hey! Thanks for the shout out! No worries. I live in a modestly sized city in California's Central Valley, east of the mega-opolis that is San Francisco, Oakland, & San Jose. We host a fairly sizable number of refugees from out of control housing prices, commuters that grimly make the 90 something mile march into SF, Oakland, or San Jose, or wherever... You get the idea. The all news radio station out of SF speaks of the Greater Bay Area which, apparently includes my little city, although I haven't the faintest idea as to what makes it so great. There is still some open countryside between outlying parts of the Greater Bay Area, but given the adverts I hear on the radio, real estate developers are doing their best to wipe out these open spaces with "affordable" housing which starts at a median price of just $500,000 or so as opposed to the 1 to 2 million that it would cost you to buy a home in San Francisco. To my mind, this is all the obscene result of greed, but who gives a shit about what I think? The northern San Joaquin Valley was once a very pleasant place, but now it's being turned into a paved over urban jungle, tentacles of a sprawling urban octopus.
@@hazevthewolf178 I have family in Modesto as well as Elk Grove and Fresno. One of my distant uncles founded one of the largest grocery store chains in the area, which still carries my mother's maiden name.
You mentioned Lake Ashby which i love visiting considering i live in Deltona. I honestly consider Deltona a suburb of Orlando and really anything past Deltona or Deland is pretty sparsely populated until you reach Daytona.
North Florida is very nice (quiet, good scenery) still at the moment, compared to suburban sprawl and out of state invader hell of Central & a lot of South FL. I may fear it is only a matter of time before that expands too to most outlying areas of FL to varying degrees. Already I've seen them expanding highways in Citrus and Pasco counties for seemingly no reason other than anticipating more communities. The proposed Northern turnpike toll road extension (from Wildwood to potential Chiefland near the Suwannee) has had huge public backlash as its an unnecessary toll route that would displace a bunch of residents and nature and put our resources at risk. And for what, spending billions just to anticipate traffic demands that might not even haopen? They paused plans for it, but I'm sure after elections or some time random they'll keep pushing for it. Absolutely blew my mind how guns ablazing to get a proposed route chosen the department of transportation was, when that area of FL Does Not have huge traffic issues. Maybe around I-75 near Gainesville, but anything west of that at the moment is super rural. For how long who knows, in my 30 year life time the vast majority of Hillsborough county near Tampa has become a bland suburban metropolis. Maybe I'm a nature nut, but this isn't sustainable, and I don't blame people getting out of the state before it gets too sad and crammed and even more expensive Def. Have a plan if you come to south FL, Lots to choose from sure. Many beaches are crowded even during the week sometimes. Lots of tourist traps. Disney isn't worth visiting any longer. Some museums, restaurants, nature spots are decent. Just probably saying this in general, FL is overall not a paradise people imagine. Not when everybody moves here and thinks they cam somehow keep it a secret/ deter other hordes of people from moving here too, somehow some way. More like NY part 2 with some swamps and alligators and no snow (not saying FL is the gosh darn most awful thing ever, but it can't stay nice and tranquil forever with unsustainable no limit to how many people are allowed to move here and mess up housing market and infrastructure that just cannot keep pace)
The drive from Jupiter to Miami on I-95 and the hundreds of miles of pure city is a great experience! The only other long city drive that compares is Southern California from LA to San Diego on the 405 which I'd love to see a video on. Awesome video!! I'm so happy you made a video on my home megalopolis! Keep it up man!
I’ve lived in Miami my whole life. Life here feels so fast Paced and overwhelming it also feels really crowded idk how ppl can live downtown even the suburbs feel crowded now. I live in a neighborhood in west Dade county built in the late 80s everything here feels more newer compared to eastern Dade county which is where the major bulk of the population is and where the population growth started. driving around here feels like u live in huge city where urbanization never seems to end
I loved in West Palm Beach FL for 25 years between 1983 and 2007. Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were THE major Florida megalopolis growing up. 1-95 wasn’t even completed in Florida when we came there. Every road was 2 lanes and by the time I left for central PA all the main roads were 6 and 8 lanes. Development was largely limited to 5 miles from the coast in 1983, by 2007 development expanded 15 to 20 miles west of the the coastline. There were probably 400k ppl in Palm Beach county in 1983; there were almost 2 million by 2007.
I find it stunning that I just watched a ten minute video about Florida’s explosive growth that didn’t once mention air conditioning. That’s the reason for the growth. The growth perfectly corresponds with the widespread availability of air conditioning. Also, as a native Floridian, you should know that your political diagnosis is wrong. Voter registration here is irrelevant because lots of people who vote GOP registered as democrats decades ago and never bothered to change. You’re right that lots of old white people move here. Many more immigrate here though. First generation immigrants generally cannot vote. Their kids can though, and lots of them turn 18 every day. I actually recommend doing this video over. I’m not trying to be a jerk in any way, and would be happy to discuss any of these things with you.
This video seems to be more sociology from the some what limited perspective of a young person. Your cantankerous historical take on the modern out come of Dr. John Gorrie's amazing invention can not possibly be disputed! Although with the advent of the railroad, Florida was having a land boom even before the widespread use of air conditioning. That was the era of the high ceiling fans and Mint Juleps. Well before Travis McGee showed up on the scene.
@@thzene4967 I moved here to be in the land of the free... and will vote SOLID REPUBLICAN in every election. I don't have time for racism, trans anything, or wearing masks. VOTE RED
Lakeland native, glad you included us. Lakeland is pretty big and we don’t get the attention we deserve😂 I work in Tampa, have lived in Tampa and visited every city listed. Miami is the only one with any kid of public transport, but that drive would take forever.
As someone who grew up in Detroit, MI, but most of my adult life was in Florida (almost 40 now) there is a huge housing crisis there now. It is such a huge megalopolis that landlords dont even realize where the real property value is and just extend it to the entire area.
Year-round warm climate, everywhere is reasonable driving distance from a coastline, recent major infrastructure upgrades for both highways and rail transit, a LOT of tech jobs thanks to NASA and the USSF and their various contractors, decently affordable cost of living (even Miami isn't too bad compared to similar cities), and a lot of open land. Honestly they should have seen this coming.
Great job 👏, this is a very well put together! One critique though, Gainesville does not have a pop of 339,000 not even alachua county has a pop that high. But it is still well put together as I previously mentioned!
Just a point of note, Florida is not trending right because of older white people. The percentage of white non-Hispanic people has plummeted over the last few years and Florida is a “majority-minority” state. This is even more true if we’re just talking about the Florida peninsula, white non-Hispanics would only make up about 43% of this entire region. The recent shift to the right in Florida wasn’t old white people but from Cuban and South Americans which are numerous throughout the Florida peninsula, not just South Florida. This happened because conservatives called anyone who wasn’t Republican, particularly a trump republican , a socialist. This tactic worked with great with Floridians from socialist countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and even Vietnam. Another thing to note, is that while the overall trend seems to be slightly to the right, that’s largely from a huge swing in dade county in the last presidential election. Counties like Duval, Orange, and Hillsborough have all shifted from red or purple to solidly blue. The Tampa Bay Area has slow growth because of Pinellas county which is essentially built out. Downtown St. Pete is seeing massive growth in terms of development but the growth is coming high rise by high rise not by large suburban developments like what we’re happening in the 50’s and so on. If you want to get an idea of the growth in Tampa bay look at Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. I hope this doesn’t come off as a rant, a lot of people don’t understand Florida and this becomes particularly problematic when someone tries to break it down through a more simplified lens.
You make it sound like anyone who is not Republican is not a socialist. If you vote for the democrat party, you are socialist. They repeat the same far left talking points and supports stealing the wealth of the rich and support corrupt and greedy labor unions.
@@yossarian6799 Everything I have said is 100% factual. Democrats want to tax the people who made this country great and support corrupt and greedy labor unions who have made America shit.
I think one of the best analogies to describe Florida's urban sprawl is Swiss cheese. In many ways it's one big mass with holes in it. There are lots of areas with gaps between communities of rural/undeveloped land (often environmentally protected or unsuitable for development) but these are just voids in an otherwise continual developed region.
I live in the Lakeland/Winter Haven metro area and despite the reputation of Polk County (which is the entire metro) I love living here. It's not as crowded as the Tampa and Orlando metro areas, but close enough (literally in between) that I can benefit from both of these areas facilities and the city of Lakeland itself (110.000) fills in the gap.
Here's the way I put it. Lakeland/Winter Haven (Polk County) is a smaller metro area with easy access to two larger metro areas (Tampa/Orlando). I live in Polk. The secrets out that it's a great place to live.
When I was visiting Florida this year, I listened to both sides. People moving there in record numbers; yet, slowing pushing people out because it is getting too crowded and expensive.
Ok, First of all I live in Orlando and let me tell you! This video is very accurate and honestly the reason why I chose to live here in the first place. The balance between City live and Rural areas has been unmatched. City planning seems to do a very good job and even the roads for the most part are great. On thing you said "The reason why Florida is republican, is because its mostly old white people who move out there" I used to agree with but after working around the whole state and getting to meet different areas, I can safely tell you, that is not the case anymore. I have spoken to the most diverse groups of people you could possibly think off (another pro of Florida, diversity) and have talked politics with them because I become interested in the same topic (not the politics but the voting demographics) and most people, no matter what race they were, they told me they'd vote republican and or voted for trump. At this point so much new demographic has moved to the area at an even more explosive rate than ever seen before. The way Florida dealt with Covid seems to be the main reason why people moved here. We only had a 2 week lock-down so that along all other factors made people move to Florida since it looked more appealing to them than their own states. So because of that, now I have a solid reason to believe that the white retired community has been out-phased by the new growth, which believe it or not, is comprised by mostly younger generations from various demographics looking to get a better life in Florida. What's crazy to me its that you talk to them and they tell you that they too, are republican. That may explain why Florida continues to be republican. Also Ron Desantis is praised out here for the amazing job he has done with Florida in general so as long as he keeps his reputation clean and does his Job, people will most-likely keep voting for him. But hey! If you made it through this message kudos to you!! This are my thoughts about the possible new Megalopolis and State of Florida
Melbourne and Palm Bay is growing crazy right now because it is becoming a Major Tech Hub on Florida's East Coast. Harris started it, but now we have a lot of companies using this area as a main hub for them
The USA seems geographically prone to this. While the Guilded Age saw cities go UP rather than OUT, that trend seems to be reversing due to "homestead culture" and the sheer amount of arable land. But that creates a LOT of logistical issues. I think it's reasonable that we may see a bigger push for public transportation due to the sheer number of cars and parking lots people would have to build. It wouldn't be an environmental issue, but instead a convenience one. Florida is PERFECT for the Hyperloop idea because it's a densely-populated peninsula, and from what I've seen, startups are using Florida as a testing ground for these projects once considered insane, instead of California and New York. This was unthinkable 20 years ago.
I suspect a lot of it has to do with the secret real estate monopolies that have formed in certain cities. In New York City for example there are large sections of completely empty stores and apartments yet the rent remains insanely high. In the guilded age those high rises meant that rent compared to income was incredibly cheap. In Florida a mortgage for a 2500 sqft house is cheaper than rent for a 750sqft apartment in NYC. As long as that's true Florida will continue to grow. But all things come to an end and I'm sure that eventually the same forces that destroyed NYC affordability will destroy Florida's as well.
I hope Atlantic Coast + Tampa + Orlando become even more of a megacity in my lifetime, and that they finally get some good high speed rail between the regions...
@@chadleach6009 Lack of passenger rail and reliance on cars as the sole method of transport causes us being spread out. If we never start with other transport, we will never stop being spread out- gotta start somewhere. We could have park-n-rides to start to reduce the strain and wear on our freeways, giving people a close to home point to the rail. Imagine the comfort of riding a train just 1 hour to Miami from Orlando instead of the traffic, gas and other drivers ( floridians know ). While we have the park-n-rides, we can work to expand coverage to other cities, link with the few existing passenger rail networks and also coordinate with buses and the sort to provide last mile coverage. But as a first step- park and rides have been used to great success in other cities across our nation who are also incredibly spread out- Phoenix is just one example. It's a great way to accommodate the car-centred realities of transport in our state while moving towards other methods of transport to allow for denser, less expensive cities at a pace we can take. I understand we can't just bulldoze and make for trams and light rail and protected bus and bike lanes overnight but park and ride is a GREAT first step for a high speed rail projects Floridians have voted majority support for. We almost had one for the i-4 corridor but it got tanked by corrupt past governors.
@@QueenoftheniIe uh no, we are spread out because of suburbs and the fact people like having space between them and their neighbors. There's a reason you only see hsr in countries that center their populations on cities. Your putting the cart before the horse. If you want hsr you have to convince people to live much closer together. Also we are getting a rail line from Miami to Orlando, the brightline is being expanded, there's just no reason to make it hsr as it has to many stops to make.
Florida has one major "advantage" when it comes to connecting its cities: It's an extremely flat state. I don't think it'd take much for the panhandle to get more connected. Tallahassee was selected as the capital as a reason, and it would be the link between the Panhandle and the rest of the state. That being said, the main catalyst I could see for this happening rapidfire doesn't lie primarily within the state itself. Florida only has two North/South interstates coming into the state, and they're pretty far on the eastern side. If there were an I-65B from Montgomery to Dothan to Panama City, the panhandle would be much more accessible from outside the state (primarily to the midwest) and development would skyrocket (as well as not make FL more interconnected, but the FL/GA/AL tri-state region more connected as well. Those three states combined are roughly about the size of CA in terms in land and population).
The problem with connecting to Georgia and Alabama is that there are few large cities in the southern regions of those states. The most likely connection imo is Savannah and the other coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina.
@@wwsciffsww3748 Savannah is almost a given as the most likely way for future growth. I was more talking the panhandle joining. Which is why I said Dothan, as a Dothan boom period could do the bulk of the work (A Valdosta boom would help too, but not as needed), and a possible trigger for that is something Dothan's wanted for years: an interstate. It conveniently would hit the 300+ mile stretch on I-10 somewhat near the halfway point between I-65 and I-75. A boom to around 300-400k would probably make the MSA absorb Enterprise and Ozark, and possibly Jackson county, Florida, with Eufaula and Troy in the CSA. In which case, Montgomery and Columbus, GA are already on the border. It's a bit of an ask considering Alabama stigma, but Dothan has enough other handicaps from lack of state support (not hated, but out the way and not obviously dying, so it tends to get ignored) that a sudden switch in state support could make a massive difference.
An interstate would be nice from Dothan Al to PCB or Destin or Tallahassee. So many tourists come down from up north and the bordering southern states to the gulf coast beaches. I live in near the Dothan area, it would be nice to go down to the coast on an interstate instead of country back roads most of the way
@@johnperic6860 I guess you missed the part about all the tourists and locals that frequent the area. It’s one of the most popular vacations destinations in the country. And did you say the same about every other interstate? Like it or not the land will be used for something eventually
I think it's kind of cool that my hometown, Deltona, and my pizza delivery area, Lake Ashby, made it into one of your videos. Osteen/Lake Ashby is definitely not urban or even suburban; but it is rural/ag as opposed to undeveloped wilderness, which is probably your point. Interstate 4 goes through 20 miles of forest. Side note: Deltona was founded by the Mackle Brothers, who are responsible for quite a few cookie-cutter residential monstrosities in Florida. In Spring Hill, over on the west coast, they recycled dozens of street names and even have one named "Deltona." You could probably do a whole episode on the Mackle brothers.
This one hit home, I'm born and raised in south florida, west palm beach to be exact. It has grown an insane amount since I lived there and recently so many people are moving down faster then ever. There are a lot of problems going on in florida like water resources, pollution, traffic, overpopulation to name a few. Also prices are getting out of control especially in real estate market. I couldn't do it anymore and sold my house and took off. I moved to the birmingham area in alabama and don't regret it at all.
@@twostop6895 The prices are out of control because of Greed & Evil. Get that straight. Supply & Demand is an excuse used to price gouge the poor. Corporations own most real estate now and care only about money. If more people are moving to an area, that means money is gonna be made REGARDLESS. You don’t screw over the consumer that’s putting money in your pocket.
We came from the Wash DC area and bought waterfront house just north of Cape Coral. It was a bargain 5 years ago, but prices have almost DOUBLED since then. My house is only 2,300 sq ft and is worth over a million Dollars today. That is just crazy!
The land between Daytona and Deltona will not be urbanized because that is where Volusia county replenish it's fresh water. I know because I'm a life long resident of Daytona beach. And being 55 I have seen the meteoric growth go from just the major cities to almost everywhere.
Actually it’s not just so-called white people that are Republican also some Anglo people vote Democrat but also people from Cuba are usually conservative since they’ve gone through them Socialism and communism in Cuba.
Like always, this is an interesting video. I have a suggestion for a video just because I am from Virginia. Maybe come up with a video about independent cities. I think it is interesting that Fairfax County has an enclave called Fairfax City that is a separate entity. And Fairfax City has an enclave of Fairfax County where the county's government offices are located.
As someone who lives in the Cape Coral Fort Myers area seeing someone mention our small slice of hell is very moving. Just don't move here! We have awful traffic.
Elite liberals love talking about "sea level rise", then Obama, Zuckerburg, and Gates all recently buy oceanfront properties. Looks like you believe anything.
As a Tampa native, I think the population has exploded since 2020... soooooo crowded... I drive a truck between Tampa and Cocoa several times a week and I4 is ridiculous....I'm honestly thinking about selling the house and moving to the east Tennessee hills
I went to college in Daytona Beach, FL. I loved the state and never wanted to leave. But my dream was to become an airline pilot and to do that I had to come to New York. I hate the city. One day I hope to move there again and become a Florida based pilot, but to do that I will need to gain seniority in New York and fight off the peddlers, and police who seem to assume that because I'm a pilot I have a lot of money. What I have is college debt. LEAVE ME ALONE NY!
Tell me you're a naive liberal without telling me you're a naive liberal. Elite liberals claim the water is rising, then Obama, Zuck, and Gates all recently bought oceanfront property. Yea, you're smart.
connectivity , you need to also look at the connection between New Orleans , Baton Rouge, And the Mississippi Gulf Coast through Mobile its all connected an it is its own mega metro that never been recognized.
Not absurd at all. People who are able to move will move to where the freedom is. The rust belt has a severe shortage of well paying blue collar jobs, punishing winters that can last 5-6 months, sky high energy costs, sky high taxes and over regulation at every level. Why wouldn't people move there?
Hey everyone! I live by Daytona Beach and can explain the small gaps we see in urbanization. The gap between Deltona and Daytona has the Tiger Bay state Forest between them. We love Tiger Bay and it's here to stay, and holds a few protected species. That gap is very intentional, and should remain. The jump to Oak hill is because it's a big fishing spot for the locals. Since the gap to Oak hill adds to the economy I think it's ok to count it.
Love the video but I'm kinda curious why the sarasota area wasn't included in this. Especially considering the growth the Sarasota & Manatee County areas have been expanding.
I thought the same thing, I guess he included them with the Tampa area? Strange considering that the SRQ area is consistently referred to as its own metro.
I moved to south Florida 27 years ago, and noticed the growth over the next 10 years. When hubby retired we moved about 70 miles north northwest of Gainesville. I am a sr. citizen, but lean left. I am so happy to live outside the megalopolis!
Having grown up in the freezing cold northeast, I totally understand why people keep moving to Florida, despite its political drama and highly publicized crime. Beautiful beaches, amazing weather, nonstop sunshine, mostly easy living, and relatively low cost of living for the amenities there. People can say as much as they want about Florida, but its population will continue to boom for the foreseeable future.
beaches are slowly becoming polluted, red tide getting worse each year. the weather is becoming hotter and hotter each year, the nice cool winters becoming permanent summers. the easy living becoming not so easy and what low cost of living? i got the heck out of there after living my whole life there last year. I looked back and saw I made the right decision
Florida’s housing problem will make them into Cali 2.0, construction on homes has not been keeping up at all with population increase, and single-family home communities will never meet the demand. Florida has a huge NIMBY problem as well. Florida needs to start building up now or it’ll go to shit soon enough.
@Casper's Studio and ya know the craziest part? So much of that housing aren’t built to last, mainly for tourism. Tourism has fucked Florida because the government doesn’t care about its people only the tourists and improving the quality of life for people who will be staying there for a month maximum.
@@erwina4738 Panhandle has the best beaches in Florida by far, not to mention an actual culture instead of just being the place people from New Jersey come to die lmao
@@kutterharrison7116 I’m ready to move to the panhandle at this point. Or maybe St. Augustine. The rest of the state is becoming either cookie-cutter suburbs or a giant retirement community
@@kutterharrison7116 Beaches are nice but so are the beaches in Southwest Florida. Theres hardly any culture in the panhandle compared to Southeast Florida, Orlando, and Tampa. South of Tampa and Jax id agree has no culture.
@@dude185704 land is still real cheap In the rural parts of the Panhandle. Tallahassee/PCB/Pensacola are expensive, but you can find small towns within 30 miles of them that are dirt cheap
Did you know that native Floridians are out numbered 1200 to 1 by out of state residents and out of the native Floridians 90 percent are first generation.
I do think that it might be unfair to say that the northeast isn't a megalopolis because if you go from Hartford to Springfield and then Worcester to Boston there really are barely any areas that are untouched.
@@ericfranco5336 Agreed, but I would argue the northeast megalopolis is in general much fuller. Outside of the Orlando metro and the areas that connect to it, once you get more than 10-15 miles from the coast, much of central and southern Florida are much emptier than anything in NE CT
