If you watched any news channels last year, you are most likely aware of the ruinous hurricanes that ravished Puerto Rico and other coastal regions. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria devastated many areas and left thousands homeless, without work, without power, and without food.
Ivan Nieves and his family were just a few people to lose their homes in Puerto Rico. When Nieves’s grandfather was unable to get his chemotherapy for his prostate cancer, Nieves made the decision to get on a plane with his family and head to Miami.
There are 1,200 miles of sand beaches and 1,800 miles of coastline in Florida, which is just one reason why about 1,000 people move to Florida every day. For Nieves and his family, and thousands of families like theirs, moving to Florida was an opportunity to start fresh.
According to NBC News, the day Hurricane Maria made landfall, Nieves was supposed to sign paperwork that would allow him to open a second location for his juice bar, bistro, and organic bakery. Now, he and his partner are opening the second bistro in Miami instead.
“I’m staying because I’m looking to grow,” Nieves said. “In Puerto Rico, we went backward after the hurricane.”
For months, many Puerto Ricans have picked up their lives and moved to Florida as a way to restart their lives. It’s been the largest migration from the Caribbean island in history. More than 135,000 Puerto Ricans have moved to Florida following the hurricane. Stefan Rayer, the population program director at the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, believes about 50,000 to 75,000 of those people are going to permanently stay.
Puerto Rico has been dealing with an economic crisis, which started back in 2006. The crisis initially caused many Puerto Ricans to move from Puerto Rico to Florida, but the hurricane was the deciding factor for many of those who were considering the move.
Like the Nieves family, Rafael Ortiz Perez moved to Miami in October after the hurricane blew the roof off his house.
“The move has been positive,” Ortiz-Perez said. “Things in Puerto Rico have not been good. Maria helped me make the final decision to move.”
Now, Puerto Ricans in Florida are just trying to rebuild their lives the best they can, and trying to stay positive through it all.
