Victor Zubriski has lived in Boca Raton, Florida, and its surrounding towns for the last 20 years. He said it's far from the paradise everyone's made it out to be.
"If I had $1 million, the last place I'd want to live is Boca Raton," said Zubriski, who settled in the area after a series of moves driven by his work in medical sales and clinical psychology. Over the last two decades he's watched housing costs soar alongside glassy towers that he said sit dark at night.
"There's no lights on," Zubriski said. "And there's at least a half a dozen under construction."
According to Redfin, the median sale price in Boca Raton is $585,000, an increase of nearly 17% from this time last year. It's increased 83% since early 2018, when the median sale price was $319,500.
Rents are also on the rise. The median rent in Boca Raton has increased $339 from the same time last year to a median of $3,675, according to Zillow. That's 75% higher than the national median rent of $2,097.
Add on top of that Florida's wages versus its cost of living, with job search site Joblist pinpointing it in a 2019 study as the state with the highest disparity between the two. In May 2022, CBS News ranked Florida as the "least affordable" state in the country.
Zubriski said Boca Raton and the surrounding towns have become less and less desirable to live in in tandem with its population growth, increased air pollution, and traffic.
Boca Raton's population has soared since Zubriski's arrival. He said overcrowding has ruined the quality of life once offered by the town. Miami Herald/Getty Images
"The essential factor down here in Boca Raton is overcrowding," he said. "When I first moved here it was a small little beach town. You could walk to the beach, there wasn't a lot of traffic. There wasn't a lot of pollution."
As Florida's popularity has surged, so have complaints about its quality of life from soaring insurance prices to low wages to severe weather — and defectors from the Sunshine State love to talk about what drove them out.
Now, Zubriski said, locals call Boca Raton "Manhattan South" because of the influx of northerners and folks from outside of the country who have contributed to its gridlocked streets and decreasing air quality.
"They would come down here, buy a condo, and think they'd be living in paradise," he said. "But they discovered paradise is rotten."
Zubriski listed the one-bedroom condo he purchased for $80,000 in 2014 for $220,000 in January, and plans to donate many of his belongings before leaving the country for Portugal.
He's eyeing the Algarve region at the country's southern tip, specifically a town called Lagos, where he wants to rent and leave the materialism of American life behind.
"I just want a place with a view, a comfortable bed, and someplace where you can get good food so you don't get fat," he said.
His piece of advice for anyone considering moving to Florida is to spend a month in the state before committing to it.
He added, "It may not be what you expected."
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"If I had $1 million, the last place I'd want to live is Boca Raton," said Zubriski, who settled in the area after a series of moves driven by his work in medical sales and clinical psychology. Over the last two decades he's watched housing costs soar alongside glassy towers that he said sit dark at night.
"There's no lights on," Zubriski said. "And there's at least a half a dozen under construction."
According to Redfin, the median sale price in Boca Raton is $585,000, an increase of nearly 17% from this time last year. It's increased 83% since early 2018, when the median sale price was $319,500.
Rents are also on the rise. The median rent in Boca Raton has increased $339 from the same time last year to a median of $3,675, according to Zillow. That's 75% higher than the national median rent of $2,097.
Add on top of that Florida's wages versus its cost of living, with job search site Joblist pinpointing it in a 2019 study as the state with the highest disparity between the two. In May 2022, CBS News ranked Florida as the "least affordable" state in the country.
Zubriski said Boca Raton and the surrounding towns have become less and less desirable to live in in tandem with its population growth, increased air pollution, and traffic.
Boca Raton's population has soared since Zubriski's arrival. He said overcrowding has ruined the quality of life once offered by the town. Miami Herald/Getty Images
"The essential factor down here in Boca Raton is overcrowding," he said. "When I first moved here it was a small little beach town. You could walk to the beach, there wasn't a lot of traffic. There wasn't a lot of pollution."
As Florida's popularity has surged, so have complaints about its quality of life from soaring insurance prices to low wages to severe weather — and defectors from the Sunshine State love to talk about what drove them out.
Now, Zubriski said, locals call Boca Raton "Manhattan South" because of the influx of northerners and folks from outside of the country who have contributed to its gridlocked streets and decreasing air quality.
"They would come down here, buy a condo, and think they'd be living in paradise," he said. "But they discovered paradise is rotten."
Zubriski listed the one-bedroom condo he purchased for $80,000 in 2014 for $220,000 in January, and plans to donate many of his belongings before leaving the country for Portugal.
He's eyeing the Algarve region at the country's southern tip, specifically a town called Lagos, where he wants to rent and leave the materialism of American life behind.
"I just want a place with a view, a comfortable bed, and someplace where you can get good food so you don't get fat," he said.
His piece of advice for anyone considering moving to Florida is to spend a month in the state before committing to it.
He added, "It may not be what you expected."
A Floridian is leaving for Portugal because he said pollution, traffic, and overcrowding have turned his home of 20 years into a rotten paradise
Victor Zubriski said he's ditching South Florida because its surge in popularity has made it unlivable, from housing costs to air pollution.
www.businessinsider.com
