Sorry I wasn’t clear: The I4 corridor, The Villages, Gainesville, and everything within a 30 min drive of the beach is transplant-land. The panhandle is an outlier somewhat although that is changing quickly.
Everything is. Was in Jax a couple weeks ago (hadn't been in a few years) and they've ruined that too. It's CA 2.0 without the great weather. They'll throw open the barn doors then have to tax the shit out of everyone on the backend in a constant game of catch up. Oh well, at least the Miami Developers are killing it.
I'm from SW FL (Immokalee) as well and have know that geographical area as LA for at least 4 decades.
Congrats. Speaking of Immokalee, always recall when new TV folks come to Florida and call it "e mo ka le".
Well at least St Pete isn't called "God's waiting room " like the old days. I actually like downtown St Pete, go there often for eats and music but the rest of St Pete is a hard pass. As for horrible traffic, TB is rapidly catching up to Miami, Atlanta, etc.
It definitely was better here too but we still have enough to fill a cooler most trips offshore. Bay fishing is nothing like it was. I think pollution has a lot to do with that.