HAINES CITY, Fla. — Not long ago, Polk County’s greatest draw was citrus rather of individuals. Located inbetween Tampa and Orlando, Florida’s citrus capital produces more boxes of citrus than any other county in the state and has dedicated 10s of thousands of acres to growing millions of trees.
But last year, more individuals moved to the county than to any other in the United States, practically 30,000.
Bulldozed citrus groves in current years made method for realestate and huge box shops that might one day combine the 2 urban locations into what has half-jokingly been called, “Orlampa.”
The migration — and residentialorcommercialproperty sprawl — shows a considerable kind of development seen all over the nation this years: the increase of the distant exurbs.
Outlying neighborhoods on the external margins of city locations — some as far away as 60 miles (97 kilometers) from a city’s center — had some of the fastest-growing populations last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Those neighborhoods are mainly in the South, like Anna on the borders of the Dallas-Fort Worth city location; Fort Mill, South Carolina, exterior Charlotte, North Carolina; Lebanon outdoors Nashville; and Polk County’s Haines City.
For some locals, like Marisol Ortega, travelling to work can take up to an hour and a half one-way. But Ortega, who lives in Haines City about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from her task in Orlando, states it’s worth it.
“I love my task. I love what I do, however then I love coming back home, and it’s more relaxing,” Ortega stated.
The quick development of distant exurbs is an after-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Census Bureau, as increasing realestate expenses drove individuals more from cities and remote working enabled numerous to do their tasks from home at least part of the week.
Polk County’s Hispanic population hasactually grown from one-fifth to more than one-quarter of the general population over the past 5 years, driven by Puerto Rican migration from the island after 2017’s Hurricane Maria and then from New York throughout the pan