Appreciating migration flows for health/social services planning: A case study of older adults leaving from New York to Florida

This paper utilizes the 2009/2010/2011 American Community Survey to examine spatial patterns of later-life relocation from the state of New York into Florida. Given that the first-wave of the Baby Boom generation reached the retirement age of 65 years in January 2011 and many more will continue to do so, examining the mobility/subsequent residential choices of this group is a worthwhile undertaking. This research paper is also a noteworthy contribution because it offers an interdisciplinary study of spatial statistics and population geography. Exploratory spatial analysis and multinomial regressions suggest older adults from New York leave select origins, such as Capital District, Mid-Hudson, and Lower Hudson. In addition, these older adults select preferred destinations in Florida, such as Fort Myers, Fort Pierce–Stuart, and West Palm Beach. This finding can inform planners, policy analysts, and social workers about how to best address issues related to health and community services since not all older adult migrants seeking coastal and recreational areas in Florida maintain greater wealth and better health.