PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—With more than 900 people moving to Florida every day, Punta Gorda is one of many communities experiencing an influx of newcomers and the reverberations of booming growth. While day-to-day things, such as traffic, are an obvious concern, the conservative locals here are concerned about more fundamental changes. The small town on Florida’s gulf coast is home to many who fear their way of life will be wiped out by “northern ideals” riding in with the newcomers. Punta Gorda is home to more than 21,000 full-time residents, not counting the thousands of annual winter visitors who the locals call “snowbirds.” Lifelong residents see the migration pattern from the north as an inconvenience that, far from going away, is only getting worse. Danielle Bengston of neighboring Fort Myers said that the new residents are “clogging up the system,” making everyday life for her “miserable.” She recalled going to the …