3 Things I Wish I Knew Prior to Moving 1,500 Miles

Hi, Y'all,

Full disclosure, there are many things that I wish I knew about Florida prior to becoming a Floridian. This post could 100% be titled "152 Things I Have Learned...…" but that would be way too long and boring for all of y'all. You're welcome for condensing this list (however, if you are intrigued, you can email me to get the full list). But the few I have chosen are the ones that I have experienced to the fullest that I wish I was more prepared for. Some of these items may make you say, 'Sam, how did you not know that? Have you never googled anything about Florida?" My response to you would then be, "Yes and no, but in my defense, there are some things I would never think to google, so give me a break."

In all seriousness, if you want to see how brave, naïve, emotionally unstable, and strongly independent, move super far away. Of course, this is not the farthest away I could have moved, but this is the farthest I have ever moved. The last time I moved was from New Hampshire (where I was born and raised; shout out to Neil Armstrong and Robert Frost) to Maine for college, which was a whopping 4 hour drive. That's it. With that information, you would think that I would have taken some serious time to prepare and get ready for this big of a move. Unfortunately, if you said yes (especially if you know me and know that I am overly organized and need lists to function as a human being), you are wrong. In my defense, I did leave my job, accept a new job, leased a new car, packed up my life, and left for Florida in a two-week span. But I digress. Anyways, let's get into this.

1. Moving is EXPENSIVE. This is true regardless of how far you are moving, let alone about 1,500 miles away. And I know, this is somewhat obvious, but when you pack pretty much all of your belongings into a sedan, have to find a new place, and pay for everything now with one income, you truly do not understand the cost until you are in it. And let me tell you, it sucks. If I had any moving experience prior to this, I feel that would have helped me prepare more, maybe not go on as many summer trips as I went on (they were amazing and well worth it though, but that can be another post), and you know, actually save money, I would not have had to adult as much as I have these past two months. Oh well.

2. Bugs are huge and look like aliens. Now I know they say that everything is bigger in Texas, but move over Texas, because Florida's bugs are a contender. I have seen some pretty gnarly-looking bugs since I have been here. The dragonflies are like mini Boeing 787 airplanes and don't get me started on the stupid cockroaches here. I'm gonna need to rant a bit on these things. First of all, I was not prepared to find these monstrosities in my third-floor apartment (a heads-up would have been nice). Let's just say when I interacted with one for the first time it took me about two hours sitting on top of my kitchen counter waiting for the creature to emerge from under my oven to kill it with a box. Second, who's idea was it to call these disgusting-looking things palmetto bugs. That is way too cute of a name for this thing. End rant.

3. It's really humid, like really. I understand that this, again, is obvious. I know Florida is going to be hotter and more humid than Maine. You still do not really know until you get here. My current wardrobe is challenging my creativity to make work in this heat. I had trouble taming my wavy, curly, frizzy hair in Maine heat; I have absolutely no idea what the heck to do with my hair here. Cue all the messy buns and ponytails. Thank goodness for central air and air conditioning because it can get brutal. My favorite (and I mean hilarious) thing is how right now colleagues are telling me that we are pretty much in the fall season in Florida. All I can do is laugh because it was 85 degrees and humid today. I am wearing a dress and sandals. I would definitely not be wearing this in Maine right now.

That's it. Or at least these are the big three. As I said, there are many more but didn't want to ramble too much.