Something not often mentioned - Bigger is not necessarily better.
Florida had a population of 5 million in 1960.
Today it is almost 20 million.
But the quality of life has gone down, not up.
There is more crowding, more traffic, more crime, more pressure on the environment, more demand for more handouts, for more government spending and for more government in every aspect of life.
Everything's relative I guess. I moved here from L.A. (Hollywood actually) and everything is easier and better. I can park most places for free, what people call "traffic" here is a joke, everything is just nicer. I have an acre of land, am near everything I need... and the stores and things are clean and friendly (and everyone speaks English).