Just like you, my family is stuck like a caged prisoner, inmates held against our will, in the People's Republic of New York. We have long, deep, and strong ties to the Empire State. Ashley and I have three young kids at home. They've already developed close bonds and friendships with classmates. My wife is President of the School PTO. All of our immediate family lives within a few miles of us.
Our family isn't a business. It would rip our family apart if we left, especially since my beloved father-in-law passed away. I cannot with a clear conscience leave my recently widowed mother-in-law behind and take her grandkids away.
Yes, we would love to pack up the moving van and head to Florida, South Carolina, or any sane state with better business climates. Sure, a better climate weather-wise wouldn't hurt either.
Let's be blunt: New York State isn’t dying and people and businesses aren't leaving because of bad weather. It’s dying because of bad leadership.
For years, Albany politicians have treated taxpayers, job creators, and small business owners like ATM machines, squeezing them with higher taxes, more regulations, anti-business mandates, congestion pricing, and socialist fantasies cooked up by out-of-touch ideologues who’ve never signed the front of a paycheck.
Now the bill is coming due.
The warning signs aren’t subtle anymore. They’re flashing in neon.
A luxury Miami Beach tower just pulled in more than $70 million in sales from New York buyers in a single month after Kathy Hochul, the Worst Governor in America, and Zohran "Commie" Mamdani unveiled their new pied-à-terre tax targeting secondary homes worth over $5 million.
The developers didn’t mince words: New Yorkers aren’t “considering” Florida anymore, they’re taking action and bolting.
Why wouldn’t they?
Florida offers sunshine, opportunity, and no state income tax. Texas offers growth, affordable living, and leaders who actually want businesses to succeed. Meanwhile, the Hochul-Mamdani match made in hell offers skyrocketing taxes, collapsing affordability, endless bureaucracy, and politicians openly hostile to success.
Even New York City's own fiscal watchdog admits the pied-à-terre tax may not raise anywhere near the promised $500 million because wealthy residents will leave, change residency, or move assets elsewhere.
That’s the dirty little secret socialists never understand: eventually, productive people stop volunteering to be punished.
Sadly, the exodus isn’t limited to billionaires.
Middle-class families are getting crushed. Young professionals can’t afford homes. Businesses are freezing hiring. Developers are pausing deals. Manhattan rents just hit record highs, more than $5,000 a month median, while Albany Democrats keep finding new ways to make life even more expensive.
Then there’s Kathy Hochul’s stunning hypocrisy.
Back in 2022, she told conservatives to “jump on a bus and head down to Florida.” Now, suddenly, she’s worried about the state’s “eroded” tax base and wants people to come back home.
Too late.
People and businesses listened.
The tragedy for many of us is that leaving isn’t easy, even when it makes financial sense. My family feels trapped between common sense and loyalty to the people we love.
That’s what makes this so infuriating.
New York still has incredible people, communities, schools, culture, and potential. But those advantages are being suffocated by leaders who think economic success is something to punish instead of encourage.
Ken Griffin moved Citadel to Miami. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is openly recruiting New York businesses. Florida developers are practically printing money off New York’s decline. And while red states compete for growth, Albany Democrats compete to see who can propose the next disastrous tax hike.
This isn’t compassion. It isn’t progress. And it certainly isn’t sustainable.
It’s ideological vandalism.
At some point, New York has to decide whether it wants to be a place where families and businesses build futures, or just another cautionary tale about what happens when socialist politics collide with economic reality.
Unfortunately, I'll still be here. Counting the days that God willing, I'm still on this mortal coil, our youngest daughter graduates from high school, and my wife and I can take Kathy Hochul's advice and “jump on a bus and head down to Florida.”