As of now Polk County is found to be the fastest growing county in Florida www.fox13news.com. The county is opening it’s arms as it welcomes people from all around.

Polk County is home to many students and staff from Four Corners Upper School such as receptionist Ashley Sanchez who shared her feelings regarding the rapid growth of the area.

“I think it is getting a little too much, it’s cool to have things like restaurants and coffee shops that we never had close by and accessible but at the same time the traffic and getting in and from work is a lot,” Sanchez said.

 Many residents such as sophomore Brianna Carceres feel as though the large amount of ongoing construction has taken away the natural parts surrounding the community.

“Going through the places where I used to see a bunch of trees, now all of them are gone and there are buildings and constructions, it’s clear that they are advancing and growing as we see the new homes, but it is weird to watch the time passing and those areas changing,” Carceres said.

As a community member who has been living in the county her entire life, Sanchez feels as if the area has changed enormously compared to how it was during her childhood.

“When I was younger it was kind of boring, there really wasn’t much around. I had to drive almost half an hour to get to school, there was barely any restaurants over here, we had to drive all the way over to Kissimmee to go to one [restaurant],” Sanchez said.

When thinking ahead Sanchez worries that the county will no longer be her home due to oncoming issues such as traffic that may change the peaceful lifestyle found in this area during past years.

“I don’t know if this is an area where I will be able to live in for a long time, especially as my child grows because it’s getting very busy, the house prices are very high and getting in and to anywhere at this point is a challenge, this is all due to the fact that the county is growing, “Sanchez said.

Sanchez expands on how the real estate prices have made a huge jump and affected her as a property owner.

 “I had a three-bedroom apartment years ago that was thirteen hundred dollars and now you see the same apartment going up for twenty-six hundred dollars, that is a big jump, it is not affordable to live here as it once was,” Sanchez said.

However, this increase does not seem to put a stop to people’s wish to move to the county. Sophomore Laura Tashiro, who moved to Polk County in the last few months, shares some of the reasons why the area was so attractive to her and her family.

“My family is very into the theme parks ,we go any time we can, so this area is great since it is easy to get to places like the theme parks and malls and it also has a nice and peaceful vibe because is not so close to the tourist area like international drive which is something we like,” Tashiro said.

There seems to be no stopping to this advancement here in Polk County, locals are confident that this area has much to offer and will continue to attract new residents.

“Polk county is forever growing, and it is very big, we have so many different people from so many different countries living here that we have like a big melting pot where people feel welcome, the state itself has so much to offer and despite its flaws people will continue to move here and enjoy the life in the sunshine state,” Sanchez said.