Cultural geography You'll complete your Puerto Rico research paper. You will add a minimum of two additional pages to the first half of the paper is attached. this unit should contain the follo
Running head: INTERNAL MIGRATION 0
Impact of Internal Migration
Crystal Avant
Columbia Southern University
Internal Migration
Introduction
People move from place to place for various reasons. For instance, people might move internally from one state to the other due to their age, seeking employment opportunities, and the location of the physical environment. Florida is one of the regions that have been impacted by internal migration in the United States. This short essay will outline how the population has changed in Florida over the past five years, the push-pull factors accounting for the population changes in Florida, the economic and environmental impacts of the population changes, before summing up with my own internal migration story.
Population Changes in Florida
Over the past five years, the population of Florida has changed a great deal. More people have continued flooding Florida due to various reasons. 15.33 million people in 2000 to approximately 21.5 million people in July 2019 (United States Census Bureau, n.d). This indicates that Florida has experienced a drastic increase in the number of people flowing into the state over the past two decades. Florida is thus gaining more residents as time goes.
Being a coastal state, Florida has gained more people from different geographical zones. According to Krishnakumar and Indumathi (2014), coastal states like Florida have played a significant role in facilitating labor recruitment for immigrants. Many of the immigrants in Florida are known to emerge directly from countries in Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. This can be a good explanation for the high populations of the Hispanic and the Black population in Florida.
The Push-Pull Factors
Pull factors are those factors that attract people to a foreign country. Some of the pull factors accounting for the gain in population for Florida include more job opportunities in Florida, a better economy, and more hopeful and better living standards. Madanoglu, Alon, and Shoham (2017) posit that the Kennedy Space Center in Florida has employed more than 13,000 people with Florida ranking the fourth state with more than 33,000 jobs in aerospace employment. Besides, being a coastal state, Florida benefits as being a top tourism destination around the world. This creates employment opportunities for immigrants who may land a job as tourist guides or even as business people.
Furthermore, there are many small entrepreneurial companies and the growth of hi-tech operations with the state offering more than $500 million scholarships each year to sponsored research at the universities in Florida have been a major pull factor accounting for the gain in population for Florida (Madanoglu, Alon, & Shoham, 2017). This has made more people flock into Florida to pursue their education and even seek jobs within the state.
On the other hand, push factors are the factors that drive people out of their counties or states into Florida. Some of the push factors include drought, famine, conflict, or in some regions the extreme religious activities in their states or countries (Krishnakumar & Indumathi, 2014). For instance, some of the immigrants into Florida have flocked the state due to conflicts in their regions. Religious conflicts in some Asian countries has also been linked to the immigration of people from most of the Asian countries that are stricken with religious-based conflicts. This forces the people to seek better areas where there are peace and less religious-based conflicts for their own stability. Similarly, most of the immigrants from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean or from other states in the United States are forced to move into Florida due to poor economies and the lack of employment opportunities in their states (Krishnakumar & Indumathi, 2014).
Economic and Environmental Impacts due to Population Changes
There has been an improvement in economic activities in Florida due to the population changes. For instance, Florida boasts of being the leader in the southeast in terms of farm income besides producing 67% of all the oranges produced in the United States accounting for approximately 40% of the world’s orange supply (Nowrasteh, 2015). This can be attributed to the innovation, skills, and manpower in the state to drive agricultural activities within the state. Tourism has also greatly increased in the state. Consequently, this has translated to a boost in the economy of Florida as a state.
The rise in the number of people in Florida has negatively impacted the environment. For instance, more people imply that more wastes are being generated. The means of travel also increase, which pollutes the environment considering most people prefer traveling using vehicles that emit carbon dioxide into the environment. The more the state is becoming industrialized to create job opportunities for the outsiders and the locals, the more poisonous gases are being emitted into the environment (Morales, 2018). This implies that the increase in population in Florida has led to negative impacts on the environment.
In conclusion, my internal migration story has been influenced by some of the factors discussed. For instance, I used to live in North Carolina before I moved to Florida to pursue higher education. Lack of adequate job openings and a poor economic state were the major push factors. The pull factors included scholarships being offered in Florida, more job openings after completion of my education, and the better economy in Florida. Later, I moved back to North Carolina to be closer to my family, but Florida was a wonderful place to live and I hope to move back one day.
References
Krishnakumar, P., & Indumathi, T. (2014). Pull and push factors of migration. Global Management Review, 8(4).
Madanoglu, M., Alon, I., & Shoham, A. (2017). Push and pull factors in international franchising. International Marketing Review.
Nowrasteh, A. (2015). The fiscal impact of immigration. The Economics of Immigration: Market-Based Approaches, Social Science, and Public Policy, 38, 69.
United States Census Bureau (n.d). Quick Facts: Florida, United States. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/FL,US/PST045219 on 10th February 2020.
