Jessica Padilla remembers packing her bags last October and boarding a flight from Miami to Charlotte to join her husband. He had already moved a few months prior. One thing that stood out: How many others on her flight were doing the same thing.
“South Floridians traveling to Charlotte because they were either in the middle of moving, or they were checking out the city because they wanted to move,” Padilla recalled.
Padilla and those on her flight are drawn to the same things that have attracted hundreds of thousands of transplants over the decades: cheaper homes, less traffic and more job opportunities.
“When I first arrived, I was in shock," Padilla said. "I come from a big city, there was a lot happening, a lot of music all the time and noise and people and cars and traffic.”
Dr. Stephanie Potochnick is director of UNC Charlotte’s Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies. She said Padilla’s move reflects a national trend. People are leaving so-called gateway cities such as New York and Miami for other destinations like Charlotte.
“Charlotte is a huge growth area, not just for immigrants, but for U.S.-born populations because it’s a lower cost of living,” Potochnick said.
Potochnick says that data shows Charlotte’s population to be increasingly made up of people born outside North Carolina.
“In 2000, about 46% of Mecklenburg residents were born in North Carolina," Potochnick said. "By 2023, that’s down to 39%.”
That’s something Jose Alvarez has seen firsthand. He moved from Miami in 2017 to launch the North Carolina office of Prospera, a nonprofit that helps Hispanic entrepreneurs.
“I remember back before COVID, we did receive a lot of phone calls from Prospera clients who were looking at either opening an office or opening shop here, still wanting to be entrepreneurs, but wanted to be based elsewhere,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez has seen an increase in South Floridian entrepreneurs moving to Charlotte. Not just bringing businesses, but also Miami’s culture.
“Look at the restaurants: El Puro Restaurant on South Boulevard, Los Chamos Restaurant on South Boulevard, and then other Cuban restaurants of implants from South Florida,” Alvarez said.
'A better place to raise a family'
Martin Flores moved to Charlotte from South Florida 15 years ago. He agrees that Charlotte is becoming more diverse, thanks to the influx of people from outside the city.
“It’s brought an influx of professionals, that entrepreneurial spirit," Flores said. "We’ve benefitted from it, the area has benefitted from it economically. From a real estate standpoint. From an influx of capital that has come in as well.”
Flores says Charlotte was the perfect place to settle down.
"We lived in a condo, we had a boat, we lived on the water," Flores said. "But it seemed like a better place to raise a family, which attracted us to it.”
The Charlotte appeal hasn’t slowed down, as more than 150 people are moving to the Charlotte region every day.
Potochnick says about 10% of the people who moved to Mecklenburg County in 2023 were from Florida. She says a slowdown won’t come soon, but it will eventually.
“At some point you’ll reach saturation, where the cost of living isn’t any lower than elsewhere,” Potochnick said.
For South Floridians like Padilla, the move has created a more balanced lifestyle.
“I love it, especially because we are now in that phase of raising a family," Padilla said. "I love that Charlotte has plenty of parks and restaurants and activities.”
