My journey: Moving from California to Florida

I know a few of you may know that my husband and I moved from sunny Los Angeles California to sunny South Florida. But most of you probably don’t know the real reasons as to why we moved. 

Born a Cali girl, I loved my tacos, sunset beaches, and just feeling the California vibes everyday!

My journey of moving from California to Florida was a risk that I was willing to take. Being in my late 20’s I’ve always been a dreamer and ALWAYS wondered “what if”. I’m already married, my husband and I have lived in Los Angeles together for a few years now and we were comfortable. 

I think it was a bit too comfortable. 

I had a great job that was really flexible and I found this career right after college which was great. My husband was in the car business and after a while things weren’t working out at his place and I just felt like we needed a change. 

Do you ever feel like sometimes when things can get too comfortable you just feel like you are plateauing? I personally don’t like to be in the same spot where there is no growth or progress. 

Yes I had the brand new BMW that I absolutely loved at the time, my husband was making great money and from the outside it seemed great and it really was, but I was feeling ehh on the inside. 

My spirit was telling me that in order for the things that I really wanted out in life, something had to change. Like drastically change.

My birthday was coming up and so I decided to take a trip to Miami. It’s crazy because I remember my coworker went to Miami a few months before and he gave us calendars that displayed the beaches of Florida. I would always look at that on my desk and try to visualize myself being there. Ahhh the white beaches and light blue waters 🙂 

So I decided to book a trip to Miami for my birthday with my husband and that’s where it all started. We were there for a few days back in 2016 and started talking about the idea of moving to Miami. We looked at apartments, places that he could work and just the lifestyle. 

I didn’t think of the doubts of moving here since I was more excited about doing something completely different in my life. 

My parents and friends are all in California so that would mean leaving what I already knew and starting over again. 

I was willing to take that risk because that’s just the person I am. I always wonder what if I do this or that? Why not?! What’s the worst that could happen? 

Oh and just so you know it was my grand idea of moving here, everyone thinks my husband was the one who had the idea of moving to Miami but it was me orchestrating this whole thing ha! 

We got back from Miami and I started to think why not leave in a couple months?? Yall this was such a quick move when I think about it and like damn I really moved quickly! Opportunity waits for no one 🙂 

So the first apartment we applied for in Miami got declined. I was so upset because I just knew we could find a place easily and I loved the area/building! But I knew I couldn’t let this “no” be the end of it. I kept looking and figured why not try Fort Lauderdale? I researched the area a bit and although it was nice, I wanted to be in Miami. I figured since it’s only 30 minutes away we should be fine. 

We got approved on the second apartment and I was so HAPPY! I’m thinking palm trees everyday, mojitos, beaches yesssss! So to give you a timeline we went to Miami for my birthday in September 2016 and moved out to Fort Lauderdale in January 2017. 

I was soo ready to leave and start something new. I knew I would be missing everyone but honestly it didn’t feel like I would be leaving since my friends and I would come visit each other once in a while. Now everyone comes and visits Miami so its never too long in between visits. 

Ok so the real fun begins… we move into our place in Fort Lauderdale and it was so so. I was happy in the first two weeks and then started to get homesick. I think I was homesick for about 2 years. 

It’s different when you visit a city vs. living in a city. 

So although visiting was so much fun, I missed my friends, my family and someone to hang out with. 

Finding a job was very difficult for me and honestly have not worked since. I’ve created my own business after being here for 4 years and I think that’s what god was planning all along since I’ve ALWAYS wanted my own business but something that i was intentional about and would love to do. 

I honestly hated living down here and I remember telling my friends back home that I wanted to move back eventually and see how this goes…

Everything here was different..the people, the way of living, the culture, it was all new to me. Then I think after having my daughter I just realized that these were all normal feelings to have when you’re in a new space. I’ve received more clarity when I’ve noticed after having PPD that maybe I wasn’t allowing the new changes to come into my life and So I blocked everything.I probably blocked opportunities and friendships because it wasn’t like how it was back home. 

I couldn’t accept the change because I was comfortable back home and THOUGHT that I could embrace this new change but I couldn’t. I remember praying about this situation, trying to read more books, getting outside but nothing seemed to help me spiritually. I think I just felt stuck. 

I feel like now I’m in a good space where I’ve come to realize that the only way to grow is to accept and be open. 

I’ve learned that once I intentionally became open to new people and things that I wanted in life then real opportunities happened for me. 

I’m now grateful that I made the move because I feel like I’ve grown up mentally in the last few years. Being in a new space has taught me how well I can adapt (and not)  and gave me self awareness of my thinking process. 

I don’t regret moving either. 

I feel like I was supposed to be here since I’ve always been searching for a feeling of fulfillment and I feel like I’ve found it. 

Taking this risk was definitely something I’ve realized most people probably wouldn’t do. I always think of it this way…why not? And if you’re scared, what’s the worst that could happen? Things will ALWAYS work out eventually but know that this life is ONE time. Enjoy it while you’re here. 

Here are a few tips if you decide to move into a new city:

1. Accept all the raw feelings about moving. 
2. Write what you feel down in a journal and create solutions to those fears. 
3. Observe how you think about people and the way of living in the new city. 
4. Give yourself grace 🙂 
5. Be open to change and accept your new chapter

My journey of moving from California to Florida was definitely a ride. I moved and was able to buy a house, have a baby and start a business. See you never know what new opportunities can happen to you if you take that risk 🙂 

Hope you enjoyed this and until next time, subscribe for more inspirational things from motherhood, fashion and beauty.