The author argues that Florida is struggling in many ways recently. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the COVID pandemic led to many preventable deaths in Florida, contradicting early articles praising his response. Now DeSantis is known more for his anti-gay and anti-science stances rather than effective governance. His campaign for president seems doomed to fail due to his lack of charisma and poor performance as governor. The author expresses sympathy for Florida residents dealing with the fallout of climate change, disasters, and poor leadership.
But the communities stayed or were able to come back relatively quickly. So people stayed, because they believe their communities will be rebuilt so it is worth it to stay.
That can start to change in a bad hurricane season, but there is still hope.
It can also change when you scare off a large part the construction workforce