[Mattias]

How come Florida has only 18,2 million inhabitans for such a big state? The houses are cheap, to compare NJ with Florida... NJ is much smaller than Florida, but NJ has almost 9 million people.

And Florida should NOT be called "Sunshine State", ''Lightning state" would be better.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by Mattias

How come Florida has only 18,2 million inhabitants for such a big state? The houses are cheap, to compare NJ with Florida... NJ is much smaller than Florida, but NJ has almost 9 million people.

Read history.

This may seem far-fetched to you, but one factor is Florida's geographical and geopolitical position.

The mid-Atlantic states have been at the heart of Franco-British-American industrialization over the past two hundred or so years.

Florida has been on the fringe and has served as a military outpost, largely vis-a-vis the Spanish Empire and, until recently, even the Middle East (Desert Storm in 1990-1991 was managed from Tampa, I believe).

Give it time, if trade with Latin America and Africa continues to grow, Florida's population may continue to grow.

One constraint is energy; this goes for the entire US and global economy.

Another constraint is politics; isolationist backlash in both Latin America (e.g. Venezuela, Ecuador) and the US itself.

[Alphaman]

We don`t need anymore population! fix the other problems first!

[Lilybeans]

I think the question should be why is New Jersey so overcrowded? NJ is smaller. Why in the world would anyone want to live in such a crowded expensive place?

18 million people is a lot of people. Don't kid yourself.

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by Mattias

How come Florida has only 18,2 million inhabitans for such a big state? The houses are cheap, to compare NJ with Florida... NJ is much smaller than Florida, but NJ has almost 9 million people.

And Florida should NOT be called "Sunshine State", ''Lightning state" would be better.

You say this as if being a crowded state is a good thing.

If we used the same basis for naming states then I guess Joisey is the "Pollution State".

[Granny Sue]

Originally Posted by Mattias

How come Florida has only 18,2 million inhabitans for such a big state? The houses are cheap, to compare NJ with Florida... NJ is much smaller than Florida, but NJ has almost 9 million people.

And Florida should NOT be called "Sunshine State", ''Lightning state" would be better.

Because maybe we have a lot of swampland?

The only thing that NJ and Florida have in common is that it's in the USA. Why try to compare the two?

[markhunt]

I would say more fitting would be Floriduh the "Drop out state".

Feds Will Make Florida Face Up To High School Graduation Failures

and while the pollution state would fit for Jersey, having the highest graduation rate in the U.S. and a solid education system is likely one reason it remains "crowded" there.

Study: N.J. has highest graduation rates in nation | mycentraljersey.com | MyCentralJersey.com

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by Mattias

How come Florida has only 18,2 million inhabitans for such a big state? The houses are cheap, to compare NJ with Florida... NJ is much smaller than Florida, but NJ has almost 9 million people.

And Florida should NOT be called "Sunshine State", ''Lightning state" would be better.

especially northern NJ. How many people from there commute into Manhattan everyday for corporate high paying wages? When I worked in the coporate world, many of the executives lived in NJ, or Ct., and commuted into the city.

Southern NJ has a lot of pharmaceutical plants and offices. There is more work in NJ than Florida.

[DailyJournalist]

It could be the fact that you make slave wages in Florida and in N.J. you can actually make a living wage.

[Margel]

Many people try to "escape" city living of the neighboring areas of New York, where it is very expensive to live or Philadelphia, where it can be a very ugly place to live depending on the area. So many flee to Jersey where they can have a lawn instead of a cement pavements or a big back yard where kids can play. But Jersey comes with a price. You spend a lot of money for your home and even more in taxes. My in laws tried to retire in New Jersey, but they had to leave because my father in law said that "Jersey taxed him out of the state." Like everything else, it is all relative. You may make more money living in Jersey, but you will spend more too. But I do agree with your statement of Florida being called the sunshine state. With this rainy summer, I jokingly call it the Stormy State, but honestly, I am very happy to be here, rain and all.