New Yorkers escape coronavirus: Why Florida's always been a favorite
South Florida has earned the nickname 'the Sixth Borough'
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on boosting the economy and helping Americans protect themselves from the coronavirus.
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South Florida may have earned the nickname "the Sixth Borough" because so many New Yorkers escape to its sunny climate, but that same trend is now prompting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to tell anyone who's been in the New York area to stay away because of coronavirus.
New York's stay-at-home order had repercussions hundreds of miles south in Florida, DeSantis said at a press conference on Wednesday.
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"People started fleeing the city. They started getting on flights ... Many of those flights are here in Florida," DeSantis said. "That's a lot of traffic of people from the top hot zone being brought into Florida's communities. Once we saw this uptick, I issued an executive order requiring everyone arriving from the New York City area to self-quarantine for 14 days."
DeSantis has also ordered anyone who has recently been in New York to self-isolate. Florida's Miami Dade County has the most cases of any in the state with 616. The state's total is 2,355.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks during a press conference at a coronavirus mobile testing site Monday, March 23, 2020, in The Villages, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
More than 63,000 people moved from New York to Florida in 2017 alone, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Cities in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and, of course, Miami, are popular destinations.
It's a trend that's captured the attention of pop culture — from the 2018 documentary "The Last Resort," about Jewish retirees, to the latest season of Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," when title character Midge goes to Miami but is followed by her family.
Rachel Brosnahan in a scene from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." (Nicole Rivelli/Amazon Studios via AP)
Well-known as a haven for retirees, Florida collects no income taxes. It also levies no statewide estate tax. The median real estate tax was $1,938 as of 2018.
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In fact, President Trump announced in October he and his family were leaving the Big Apple for Palm Beach, Florida.
"1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence," Trump wrote on Twitter.