Walt Disney arrived in 1963 to survey the swamp land he planned to convert into a “magic kingdom”, Floridians understood how fantasy could boost their allure. In the 1800s St Augustine was a “pitifully poor fishing village”, so it was embellished to draw visitors, says Jim Clark, a historian. The fabled fountain of youth, which the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León supposedly found here, was the creation of an industrious woman who in 1910 scattered the site with Spanish artefacts.
Tourism and citrus may be symbols, but property is Florida’s heart. Generating around $160bn a year, the development, leasing and sale of real estate represents almost a fifth of state. Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida, says the state “relies on population growth as an economic model”. Cranes are as ubiquitous as beach chairs. Eight of the country’s top-ten hottest neighbourhoods for 2022 listed by Redfin, an estate agent, were in Florida.
Another way Florida could change is in its value-proposition and affordability. Underlying the state’s success has been the ability to attract cheap labour for tourism and development. Florida lacks a diverse array of star firms that pay high wages. Publix, the supermarket chain, is the largest employer. Next is Jabil, a manufacturing giant with a small public profile. The mean hourly wage in Florida is just around 90% of the national average.
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