Retiring in Georgia from Florida
By Dr. Charles Longino
Most of us are so accustomed to thinking about retirees who move to Florida, that we lose sight of those who leave Florida for other places. The exchange of migrants between Georgia and Florida is a case in point. The number moving between these two states in different directions favors Georgia. Actually, more retirees move to Georgia from Florida than the other way around (16,370 to Georgia; 11,515 to Florida). These numbers are based on the 2000 census, before the hurricanes of the last few years.
Are there any important differences between the characteristics of the migrants moving in these two streams? If so, we may begin to make some guesses about the motives that drive them. The profiles are similar in that most are under 75, married and living independently. There is an important difference we found, however. Over a quarter (26%) of migrants from Florida were born in Georgia. Less than a tenth of those in the opposite stream were born in Florida (9%).
Many Floridians have summer cottages in the mountains of Georgia. Migration choices are based, in part, on one’s past travel and vacationing experience. Living near Atlanta in retirement is also important to many potential migrants. And finally, for Floridians, not being too far away, not only allows them easier access to friends and family members who remain in Florida, but it also provides a place for them to come during hurricane warnings.
Three quarters of the migrants who come from Florida were born outside of Georgia. Most, probably, are long-term residents of Florida. A few migrants may have come from other states, sampled Florida and then decided that they like Georgia better and made a second retirement move. Regardless, Florida definitely has Georgia on its mind.
About Dr. Charles Longino, Jr.
Dr. Longino is a Wake Forest Professor of Sociology and Director of the Reynolda Gerontology Program at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is also Professor of Public Health Sciences the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He has authored or co-authored over 110 refereed journal articles, 65 chapters or encyclopedia entries, and 15 books, monographs, or compendia. He is an authority on retirement migration in America, and has lectured widely both throughout the United States and internationally.