The Real Reason Trump Ditched New York To Move To Florida

After it was built in 1983, New York's Trump Tower was President Donald Trump's home for 36 years. But in 2019, he made the permanent switch from the Empire State to his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. Although he purchased the property in 1985, the real estate mogul listed his New York abode as his primary residence before he fully migrated further down south. It wasn't a decision Trump made lightly. In fact, the commander-in-chief admitted that he hated moving away from the state where he was born and raised.

But if that was the case, then why'd he do it? Well, he'd made a lot of adversaries in politics. Still in his first presidential term at the time, Trump felt disrespected by the state's government officials. Andrew Cuomo, who was New York governor at the time, may have summed up the feelings of many New Yorkers when he wrote a simple, yet scathing goodbye message to Trump after he left for Florida. "Good riddance," Cuomo posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Of course, moving to the Sunshine State also came with a few noticeable financial benefits, since Trump wouldn't have to pay as many taxes there as he did in New York. Also, considering Trump's biggest controversies in New York, it might've been far easier for him to stay out of trouble in a place that was more pro-Trump.

Not everyone in Florida welcomed Donald Trump with open arms. Considering the wild details about what Trump's Mar-a-Lago life is really like, we can see why. Some of Trump's neighbors tried to bar him permanently, and used Trump's history with the town to do it. Wanting to convert his Palm Beach mansion into a place of business, Trump signed an agreement with the local government in 1993 that limited how long "The Apprentice" host could consecutively live on the property. Neighbors reminded the U.S. Secret Service and Palm Beach about this pact Trump made with the local government back then, arguing that he'd be breaching the contract. 

But he was eventually permitted to move there, anyway. And although there were some signs that Trump might leave Mar-a-Lago over the years, the area remained his primary residence up until he officially moved back into the White House in 2025. When he lived at Palm Beach full-time, however, he proved how much of a nuisance he could be as a neighbor when his Secret Service set up a roadblock around the neighborhood on July, 2024. The obstruction was a result of the increased security around Trump during his election campaign at the time, and the inconvenience made him more enemies than friends.