Be careful what you ask for...in Florida

For the first time...ever...Florida lost population for the first time since WWII.

Now I'm one of the born/bred Floridians and I recall lots of us "natives" saying stuff like-it this state isn't as good as the one you left, then get the hell out.

Well, that wish has come true. Now this could be a bad thing...or a good thing. Time will tell.

But how the hell is it that Marion County INCREASED our population?!

While Florida lost residents over the past year for the first time since the end of World War II, Marion County added population from April 2008 to April 2009 - with 1,022 new residents for 330,440 total.

Just to the north, Alachua County saw the largest population growth in the state, according to the figures from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The county grew by an estimated 3,844, to 256,232, from April 2008 to April 2009.

The UF agency does not have demographics to show who is coming and going and why - that won't be available for a year, said director Stan Smith - but observers say jobs may be behind the movement into Alachua, and retirees for growth in Marion.

Florida lost 58,294 residents in the 12-month period ending in April, which Smith attributed to the economic slump. If past trends are any indication, those residents moved to other Sun Belt states such as Georgia, Texas and California - or back to their home states in areas where the economy is not doing as poorly.