New Yorkers looking to flee Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani\u2019s Democratic socialist agenda are being given an open invitation to Florida by one county sheriff, pitching it as \u201cthe beginning of a new life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re an NYC resident or a great NYPD officer unhappy with the results of tonight\u2019s Mayoral election, let me be the first to invite you into the welcoming arms of Volusia County,\u201d Sheriff Mike Chitwood wrote on Facebook<\/a> Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Chitwood, serving his third term as the top law enforcement boss in the East Coast county that includes Daytona Beach and Edgewater, made the offer hours after Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa. <\/p>\n Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood invited New Yorkers looking to flee the city to move down to Florida after Zohran Mamdani\u2019s election on Nov. 4, 2025. Facebook \/ Mike Chitwood<\/p>\n The 61-year-old pitched openings in his office to police officers looking for better support than what they seemingly receive as New York\u2019s Finest.<\/p>\n \u201cTo my NYPD friends, if you want to come to work in an organization that is cutting edge, innovating every day, a place where you\u2019re appreciated by the community and supported by the elected officials, then check out the Volusia Sheriff\u2019s Office and take a look at how we\u2019re getting the job done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chitwood claimed the area was a \u201cgrowing community,\u201d safe from crime and perfect for starting businesses and raising families.<\/p>\n \u201cTo all New Yorkers, if you\u2019re looking for a better quality of life, from education, to the outdoors, to the beautiful weather, check out Volusia County,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe are open for business. Tonight\u2019s election is not the end. It can be the beginning of a new life.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow Floridians disagreed with Chitwood\u2019s open invitation, saying they don\u2019t want New Yorkers to move to Volusia County.<\/p>\n \u201cMike man we have no more room here, literally,\u201d one resident wrote.<\/p>\n NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks under the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona park, a day after being elected the 111th mayor of NYC on Nov. 5, 2025. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n Chitwood pitched openings in his office to police officers looking for better support then what they get as New York\u2019s Finest. Facebook \/ Mike Chitwood<\/p>\n \u201cI see a mass exodus coming\u00a0Chill out people. He\u2019s just looking for experienced officers,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t New York my Florida,\u201d a third person said.<\/p>\n Chitwood, a vocal critic of soft-on-crime politicians, called out his New York counterparts in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller.<\/a><\/p>\n Diller, 31, was gunned down by career criminal Guy Rivera<\/a> during a traffic stop in Queens on March 25, 2024.<\/p>\n In a post honoring Diller, Chitwood pointed out that Rivera had \u201c21 prior arrests by the NYPD, including 9 felonies, and a couple of stints in New York state prison.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly a million New Yorkers claimed<\/a> they would move out of the city if Mamdani won the mayoral race.<\/p>\n About 9% of the 8.4 million residents, or roughly 765,000 people, said they would \u201cdefinitely\u201d bolt following Tuesday\u2019s election, a survey conducted by J.L. Partners found, according to the Daily Mail.<\/a><\/p>\n Zohran Mamdani speaks to supporters during his acceptance speech at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater on Nov. 4, 2025. Aristide Economopoulos<\/p>\n Chitwood a vocal critic of soft on crime politicians, called out his New York counterparts in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller. Facebook \/ Mike Chitwood<\/p>\n Another 25% of New Yorkers \u2014 about 2.12 million \u2014 said they would \u201cconsider\u201d packing up and leaving.<\/p>\n Between 2018 and 2022 more than 125,000 New Yorkers fled to the Sunshine State, ditching high taxes and crime<\/a>\u00a0for a sunnier, cheaper and safer lifestyle.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople thought we were crazy when we were telling them this but it just started getting more and more bleak in New York,\u201d Alex Taub, who moved to Miami in 2020, told The Post in May.<\/a> \u201cFor the same price that we were paying [for a two-bedroom apartment] in New York, we were getting a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a pool and a backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n The mass exodus took nearly $1.4 billion in income away from New York.<\/p>\n