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Why a Lifestyle Change Can Benefit Your Health

By Pat & Curt Barlow

Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Schmitt

November 18, 2010 02:30 AM

Why a Lifestyle Change Can Benefit Your Health

There appears to be a consensus that an urban life style is stressful, expensive and perhaps unhealthy. Cities like New York or Chicago may provide certain economic opportunities, but the question is, at what cost? Most sense that the pace of life in these cities is too challenging and if other living opportunities arise, many are opting for a different (more relaxing) life style. For instance the populations of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and most other larger urban centers has declined over the period from 1950 through 2000, despite the fact that general population within the U.S. has increased.

How Healthy is City Life?

There may be many reasons for this decline, but chief among them are stress, cost, noise and air pollution. All of these factors have taken a toll on not only the total population count, but the overall well being of the city dweller, as well. A recent book, entitled Unhealthy Places by Kevin Fitzpatrick and Mark LaGory zeroes in on the ecology, sociology and general unhealthiness of urban life. Certainly, virtually anyone with a daily newspaper or seeing the evening news can see the number of deaths attributed to crime or traffic.

While these statistics may actually indicate a decrease, the general perception however, is that living or working in large city is either dangerous or unhealthy. Economic factors also play a role in the population decline. Many city dwellers in years past have fled the large urban centers for the “safety” and relative security of the suburbs. However, urban sprawl has also assailed the safe harbor of the suburbanite and many in suburban areas bordering the city are seeing their taxes and crime spiking upward.

The Effects of a Rise in Stress

This is particularly true of the suburbs surrounding cities like New York or Boston with state income and real estate taxes continuing to rise. With a continuing increase in stress factors, it has been pointed out that many other bad lifestyle choices contribute to a decline in overall health. According to Science Daily.com, “When people are under chronic stress, they tend to smoke, drink, use drugs and overeat to help cope with stress. These behaviors trigger a biological cascade that helps prevent depression, but they also contribute to a host of physical problems that eventually contribute to early death.”

A Change in Location Venue Will Help

How best to address these problems? Many are solving the problem by simply moving away from it entirely, mostly to the southern states. Whether they can find useful work or simply retire is certainly a factor. However, with population growth within the southern states continuously rising, various industries will undoubtedly provide employment for many. This movement away from urban centers to the south has been occurring over the last several years. As indicated below from 1990 through 2000, the populations of the southern states rose substantially compared with New York and Massachusetts:

Florida increase: 3,044,452 a change of +23.5%
Georgia increase: 1,708,237 a change of +26.4%
North Carolina increase: 1,420,676 a change of +21.4%
South Carolina increase: 525,309 a change of +15.1%
New York increase: 986,002 a change of +5.5%
Massachusetts increase: 332,672 a change of +5.5%

Notice that the two northern states listed have the highest overall state taxes. With declines in tax revenues which are tied to the weak economy, these states have imposed even more taxes! So many more northern state dwellers are fleeing southward. Most who have moved southward feel that the move overall was worth it for both health and economic reasons.

Florida’s is a great place to consider.

Many from the north are attracted to Florida for several obvious reasons: no state income taxes, relatively low real estate taxes and the fact that there are real bargains to be found in real estate. These features makes Florida an ever more attractive place to live and work.

If one is searching for vacation and/or home value, the Florida Keys offer an excellent place to live, work or retire. The Florida Keys, possess a special charm rooted in a history with a perpetual vacation mind set featuring excellent fishing, diving and boating. The Keys is an excellent choice and there are properties to be found whatever your taste and budget is.