What Happened to the Off-Season?

Off-SeasonWhen I moved to Florida in 2001 there were very clearly two seasons. There was the “season”, which went from November to April every year without fail. During this time people from all over the country, and to some extent the world, descended on our little peninsula and enjoyed our great weather, beaches, fishing and theme parks. Then the offseason began and went from May until November. During this time you could get into any restaurant, enjoy roads and highways with significantly decreased traffic, and the population seemed a bit younger.

Then 2015 hit and we began to wonder, what happened to the offseason? Because it had actually vanished before our eyes. Every day during the summer the traffic was incredible, restaurants full and the crowds were as elderly as they were during the season. Here’s what happened. When home values came back Americans who were tired of the long winters in the Northeast and Midwest sold their homes there and became full time residents. At the same time, the global economy, particularly South America, suffered tremendously which brought foreigners here in record numbers. It was during this time that Florida surpassed New York for the title of 3rd most populous state in the U.S. So was last year a blip or the first year of the new normal? I think it is the latter for certain, from what I can see at this point well into the month of May.

While I suppose you could say this is progress economically speaking, I am a little wistful for the offseason of the past. It was almost a little club, the working and retired people who stayed year round, suffering through the heat and the rains. The new year round normal speaks to the area’s desirability and the fact that the region has grown an incredible amount during this economic cycle. Thousands of newly built residential units are coming to the market to accommodate the added population. Now all we have to do is figure out how to deal with the increased traffic to make sure we maintain our high quality of life that attracted people here to begin with. That will be the biggest challenge in the coming years and I hope that we are ready and able to handle it. Time will tell but I am optimistic as always. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

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