Blanca Ocasio-Cortez, mother of New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, admitted wanting to move out of New York City because of the area’s extremely high taxes in an interview published Monday.
Blanca Ocasio-Cortez spoke exclusively to The Daily Mail about her experience raising her daughter into the political icon she is today, as well as her present struggle avoiding the limelight of the political news media. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Campaign Slapped With A Fine For Not Providing Proper Workers’ Comp)
She mentions in the interview that it was hard to afford living in New York City, saying, “I lived in the New York area for most of my life but I started being unable to afford it.”
“I was cleaning houses in the morning and working as a secretary at a hospital in the afternoon. I was working from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. And I prayed and prayed, and things worked out. After the children graduated from college, I figured it was time for me to move to Florida,” she continues.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic candidate running for New York’s 14th Congressional district … (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
According to The Daily Mail, Blanca said that moving out of New York to Florida was a “no-brainer,” explaining that property taxes in New York City were far too high for her. “I was paying $10,000 a year in real estate taxes up north. I’m paying $600 a year in Florida. It’s stress-free down here,” she said. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez And Her Chief Of Staff ‘Could Be Facing Jail Time’ If Their Control Over PAC was Intentionally Hidden, Former FEC Commissioner Says)
Blanca said that she choose Eustis, Florida, as a place to settle down after leaving New York because one of her relatives already lived there. At the end of 2016, she paid $87,000 for an 860-square-foot home on a quiet street in the town the Daily Mail describes as run down.
The street isn’t one with manicured lawns and sculpted hedges. Occasionally, a drug deal takes place on the steps of another home up the street.
But, Blanca said, it’s home.
“My house was crumbling and the yard was in disarray,” Blanca said. “But I’ve been working on it since I moved in. I painted outside and inside then started improving everything else.”
