Moving away is hard. Moving away was hard for me because I left everything, everyone I have ever known. I left a lot of good friends in Virginia, as well as some family members. It is one thing moving 3 hours away to start college (I only lasted 1 semester by the way) or down the road to live with your future husband. What is hard is moving 13 hours away to a completely different environment away from everything you are used to. The busy, Washington DC Metropolitian area is nothing like the laid back style Jacksonville, Florida. I knew this from the beginning but I did not realize how drastic the change was untill I lived it. It’s a great change, a change in which allows me to feel as though I am living the life I am meant to live. That is, a life in which I can wake up and not worry about traffic, bad weather or drama. A life in which there is no drama but easy roads, lots of things to do and a carefree lifestyle. I think it is something in the air but life as a Florida resident does feel different than life as a DC person. People are just so much happier here. A simple trip to PUBLIX (equivelent to a nice version of Giant, Safeway or Food Lion) is not complete with out a dozen “How are You”s and “Have a Great Day”! In fact, if it weren’t for the friendly Floridians, we would never have known our favorite Hummus was buy 1 get one free. We would not see smiling people everywhere we go saying, “hello” and “how’s it going”.  In NOVA, the simple sale would have been unknown and a trip to the grocery store would not feel like a welcomed, loving-like community. And the moment you heard a complete stranger say hello you would look twice and think, what is this guy thinking??

So yes, moving away is hard, especially when you move 13 hours away to a lifestyle that is new to you. But what makes it nice is that the place you are moving to is 100x friendlier, climate 100x warmer (snow and I are not friends), and 100x better than the life you have known before. The friends will be missed, but they can be called or facebooked (thank you technology) and the family will be missed, but they can always be called or facebooked, and with that…. the life you live now is not only better, but allows you to practice your communication skills. Also… who doesn’t want to visit someone who lives right near the beach?

ps- 3 beaches later, ponte vedra beach kicks butt compared to the others…. 15 minutes away, easy, free parking… I’m sold. Pictures coming soon.