Inflation has rocked the Gainesville community. How are the locals doing?

Not even the famous sports drink Gatorade, a product from Gainesville, is immune to inflation.

For some, paying a dollar or two more for a carton of Glacier Freeze is simply a nuisance, but for others, the price increases are becoming increasingly burdensome. Outside the supermarket, steady increases in the cost of essential goods suggest that consumers across the country, including in Alachua County, are bracing for tough times ahead.

For Tamara Torres, a Gainesville resident in her 50s, the cost of living in Alachua has become nearly unbearable. Torres, a single mother, works at the Wawa supermarket on West University Avenue and barely makes enough to make ends meet, she says.

The cost of living in Alachua County is currently 4% above the national average and home insurance premiums have increased over 40% in the past year.

While prices are slowly coming down, millions of Americans are still suffering from the high cost of living. Many are likely to share Torres' frustration and cut back on spending to provide basic necessities for their families.

With a tight food budget of $150 a week, Torres regrets that she and her two sons “don’t get everything [they] want.”

Data from the 2020 U.S. Census ranks Florida as the fifth most expensive state after California, Nevada, Mississippi and Washington. As hordes of Californians and New Yorkers flock to the Sunshine State, longtime Floridians like Torres are considering moving elsewhere to find more affordable housing.

“I’ve been trying to get out of Florida for years,” she said.[The state] is terrible when it comes to asking for help.”

Torres said it's a hassle to get financial assistance from the state, citing the cumbersome process of completing an official application for aid. Additionally, Florida imposes strict restrictions on state recipients. Households must have little or no income to meet the requirements, and qualified recipients are only eligible to receive assistance for four years. In short, those who earn enough to get by are unlikely to get the extra help they need to get ahead.

Torres feels like her back is against the wall, without adequate help to ease the burden. For now, she and her two sons are living in a hotel room and hope to settle into something more stable once the costs aren't as high.

“It's very difficult,” said Torres. “We have to pay $500 a week [for accommodations]and thank God there are three of us.”

The high cost of living is also a concern for younger residents of Alachua County, including college students who may want to live in Gainesville after graduation.