Living in Florida for the past 23 years I’ve come to a conclusion, everybody here is from somewhere else. I include myself in this number as I was born in New Jersey and lived there until the age of 13. Last summer the New York Times released an interactive map proving me wrong, only 64% were born somewhere else. The greatest proportion of non-native Floridians came from outside of the United States, not surprising in a state known for having a large influx of Hispanic immigrants. Also, many in Florida are originally from the Northeast, particularly New York. This goes with two patterns that are critical to Human Geography: 1. Retirees are drawn to warm weather environments as has been previously discussed on this site. 2. A recent shift of the population to the Sun Belt as people pursue better weather and growing job opportunities. Other patterns emerge on a national level:
1. When compared to maps from 1900 and 1950 people today are much more likely to live in a state other than where they were born.
2. Besides Florida the only other states with a native born population under 40% are Arizona and Nevada. Both fit the same profile a Florida, with large retiree and Hispanic populations.
Large cities like New York attract international migrants as well as people from around the United States.
3. The Southwest as a whole has a large percentage of people born outside of the United States due to its proximity to Mexico.
4. California has the greatest percentage of people that were born in another country. This is due to them drawing in large numbers of migrants from both Latin America as well as Asia.
5. New York has the second highest percentage of people born outside of the U.S. at 25%. Migrants tend to flock towards large urban centers and New York City fits this pattern perfectly.To check out the map and see where people in your state are from follow this link.
