Newcomers, please help us keep Florida, Florida

This is a message for the estimated 800 net new people who are relocating to Florida every day.

Welcome to Florida. We’re glad you’re here, and we hope you’ll help us keep Florida, Florida.

Florida is open for business, and business is better here. This state is like a magnet — for businesses, residents, students and visitors, and according to research by Florida Chamber Foundation Chief Economist Dr. Jerry Parrish, Florida is estimated to gain about 800 net new people per day on average.

While we welcome the $1.19 million in income relocating to Florida every hour, we need to ensure we keep Florida, Florida. Constantly ranked one of the best states for business and education, Florida is committed to keeping regulatory red tape and local business taxes low so we can remain a prime location with a competitive, pro-business, pro-jobs climate. This, along with a strong economy and zero personal state income tax, makes Florida a better state to do business.

Elections matter and we hope you’ll register to vote and help us keep electing people who want to keep Florida, Florida, and not let politicians who want Florida to be like New York, California, Illinois and New Jersey ever lead Florida’s Legislature, 67 counties or our over 400 cities. Florida is a special place and we want to keep it that way.

Floridians are not the only ones who notice the superior quality of life here. Every day, we see new businesses choosing to relocate from high-cost, high-regulated states like New York, California, Illinois and New Jersey to our high-value location with a low-cost of living. Who can blame them? It’s no wonder people are leaving New York. Florida has more people than New York but New York’s state budget is more than double Florida’s budget.

If Florida were a country, it would have the 17th largest economy in the world. Florida has a top five business tax climate, top five education system, offers a gateway to emerging markets in the Americas and for international trade, has a business-friendly government committed to fiscal stability and regulatory certainty, is a right-to-work state and offers an unmatched quality of life, making it the best place to live, work, learn, raise a family and retire.

Florida never really closed its doors. Under the leadership of Gov. DeSantis, Florida has reopened safe and smart, something some states still cannot figure out. Slowly, but surely, national media is acknowledging what I’ve been saying since last year — that Florida was, and is, a national and international model.

Florida’s economy is moving in the right direction. As we work to become the 10th largest economy in the world by 2030, we welcome new residents and businesses that champion free enterprise, but the last thing we need is for those choosing to relocate to Florida to bring the politics of their state with them, impacting and changing the Florida they chose to move to in the first place. We welcome you to Florida and invite you to help us keep Florida, Florida.

Now that you’re here, visit www.flchamber.com/openforbiz and help us share how special Florida is.