Beach Bum Fabrics

06/20/2026

05/02/2026

Diamonds are forever. Thank you Troy Scott for your business

04/08/2026

We lucked put again

People keep saying the middle class is dying.

It's not dying. It's voting with a moving truck.

California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts. The five states losing the most residents in 2025 share a few things in common. High income taxes. High property taxes. High cost of living.

And decades of policy that made it increasingly expensive to own a home, run a business, or keep what you earn.

Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina. The five states gaining the most residents share a different set of things in common. No state income tax in most cases. Lower cost of living. Growing job markets.

And enough affordability left that a middle class family can actually build something.

This isn't a political statement. It's a financial one.

People move where the math works. And right now the math works a lot better in Nashville than it does in Newark.

I chose Tennessee years ago and I'll tell you firsthand what the numbers look like on the other side of that decision. No state income tax. Lower property taxes. A housing market that was still affordable when I got here.

And a business environment that didn't feel like it was actively working against me.

The middle class isn't disappearing. It's just done waiting for expensive states to figure it out.