South Florida Vacation And Retirement Destination

The state of Florida is a vacation and retirement destination, with a record 94.7 million people visiting the Sunshine State in 2013 (Jackovics). However, south Florida is under an imminent threat that many people refuse to acknowledge. The sea level is rising, and southern Florida will be underwater by the end of the twenty-first century, unless major projects to save the land begin now (Parker). Unfortunately, because south Florida consists of a fair amount of reclaimed swampland and sits at or below sea level in many places, these projects to save the southern part of the state will cost astronomical amounts of money that simply are not viable options for the government or individual citizens. Land developers are looking into floating villages,
The most expensive condominium in the city of Miami was recently listed at 55 million dollars. The building has no special provisions for flooding, even though it too sits on a floodplain. People continue to build and buy million-dollar homes and businesses that have no protection against the coming tide (Paquette). Developers have begun to look forward to the crisis of sea-level rise and are planning villages that float. One proposed idea for a “floating village” on land that floods regularly costs 12.5 million dollars per unit (Parker). Even if the rich and famous may be able to live in post-flood south Florida, it is out of the realm of possibility for an average citizen to keep his or her home or buy a new home in the
Sea-level rise is coming, and it is coming fast. Although politicians, developers, and average citizens want to and continue to tiptoe around the subject, it is inevitable. In less than one hundred years, it is very likely that most of southern Florida will be flooded. Proposed fixes are in place, but they are too expensive to be viable. Developers and civil engineers have looked at building floating homes and raising roadways, but those ideas are just as expensive. It is too costly to attempt to keep the ocean back, or to raise the entire area that is under threat of being overtaken by the sea. South Floridians may not have to face it today, but the day is fast approaching when they will need to sell (or abandon) their homes, businesses, and properties to move somewhere safe from the threat of the