When we moved to California in 2022, we knew it might just be a temporary stay.
And it was – only 18 short months later, we moved again. This time we decided on moving from California to Florida with our two young kids.
Whilst we absolutely loved California, there are a variety of factors why we chose to leave. At least for now.
For the past 12 months, we have settled into Florida. And it has taken us more by surprise than we expected. In a few different ways.
1. Why We Chose to Move from California to Florida
Living in California had been a dream of ours for a few years. And when we eventually made the move out to San Diego, we couldn’t have been happier.
The mild climate, the beaches, and the laid-back lifestyle had us wishing we could retire right here right now and spend our days hanging out by the ocean every day.
But whilst California is an amazing place to live, it didn’t feel 100% right for us at this time in our lives.
Cost of living
It’s no secret that the cost of living is very high in California.
When we first moved from Europe to the West coast, we were shocked by the prices of groceries alone. And then adding on to that the price of gas, rent, and the amount of taxes paid – it was a steep price increase compared to what we were used to.
However, we made it work and enjoyed our life on the West coast.
After a year though, we were hoping to buy a house. But we quickly realized we were in the wrong housing market.
Being a stay-at-home mom and a work-from-home dad, we knew we needed space. And the housing prices and availability did just not match what we envisioned for ourselves.
So while we are on one income and spend this much time at home, we quickly realized that if we want a house that gives us the space we need, we have to relocate.
Florida’s living costs on the other hand are more within our means.
Gas is cheaper, we get a bigger house for less rent, and my husband takes home more money due to no state income tax.
I would be lying if I said the housing market looks a lot better here. While houses are cheaper than California, there is still not too much inventory and we still find it a little more pricey than expected. But at least we are saving money in the other areas.
Adventurous activities
California is an amazing place to do all kinds of things. You have the ocean to go surfing (or swimming if you don’t mind the cold). You have mountains to go hiking. And you can even do winter sports within a few hours drive from the coast.
Nevertheless, we found most of these fun activities unsuitable to do with our small kids.
We love going on walks with our kids in the stroller. But hiking? Not unless you wear your kids in carriers and hiking backpacks, which gets exhausting after a while. Not to mention that our toddlers rarely want to be confined to the stroller or carrier anymore
And while going to the ocean was great fun, it was often very chilly, and way too cold to go swimming, even on most summer days.
In Florida, the ocean is so warm in the summer that my kids like playing in the sand and water for hours. We can happily stay there all day without getting too cold.
As far as hiking goes, Florida is flat, so taking your stroller on hiking trails or a bike is much easier than in California.
Florida in general is a lot warmer even in the winter. We enjoy having so much sunshine year-round and spending time outside every day, be it on the playground in the winter or in the pool or ocean in the summer.
We feel like the things you can do in Florida are suited much better for very young kids compared to California.
Distance from family
One of the main reasons we chose to relocate to the East coast was also the distance to our families.
With my family being in Europe and my husband’s family in Georgia, we are much closer in distance and have been able to see our families more often than we did in California.
A 6 hour time difference to Germany from the East coast makes it easier to communicate with my family, compared to a 9 hour time difference from the West coast.
And even the flight times to Europe are less – which makes traveling across the Atlantic a slightly easier experience. 1-2 hours less on a plane can make a huge difference especially with very little kids!
2. Moving Across the Country with a Baby and a Toddler – How we Managed to do it all Alone
Moving is not an easy feat. Especially with young kids. And moving across the country from California to Florida? It is a lot of work and requires a ton of preparation.
Without having family living near us, we didn’t really have much of a choice but do the whole move by ourselves.
Over the years, we have moved plenty of times and are somewhat used to the stress. But adding 2 kids has made things a lot more tricky.
Packing
My husband took the last couple of weeks prior to the move off, to help with the packing and logistics of the move.
We started packing up most of the clothes and stuff we didn’t need on a daily basis.
We got rid of lots of toys, sold a few things we didn’t want to take, and stored the packed boxes in our guest bedroom and garage.
A few days prior to our move out date, we had everything packed up besides the kitchen. And we only had enough clothes left to fill our suitcases that we were gonna take on the flight to Florida.
The kitchen was the hardest part to pack up. The last 2 days before we had to move out, we waited until the kids went to bed and started packing up and cleaning out the cabinets.
For the last day, we ate simple meals like sandwiches off of paper plates or got some take-out food. It was a little crazy, especially if you want to provide nutritious meals for your little ones. But we figured it is just a few crazy days where everything goes.
Shipping our belongings
When it comes to moving across the country, you have different routes you can go.
You can rent a U-Haul and drive your belongings to your new home, you can leave and sell everything, or you can rent a container and have your things shipped.
We looked into a U-Haul but quickly realized that it was not the best choice for us.
We didn’t have a house lined up yet where we could drive everything to, and driving across the country for almost a week didn’t sound too appealing with two young kids.
So we decided on renting a container and have everything shipped. We used PODS and had a good experience.
The container was delivered and set up in our driveway a few days prior to the move out date. This gave us time to load everything in over a few days. That was a crucial step, because we could use the kids’ nap times to move the heavy objects.
Once the container was picked up, we decided to have PODS store it locally until we found a new home.
One month of storage was included for free, and that was all we needed. Once we had signed the lease on our new home, we requested the delivery and within about 2 weeks our container was delivered to our new home. I will put up a detailed blog post about our experience moving with PODS soon.
Shipping our car
Similarly to moving our belongings across the country, we had to decide what to do with our car.
And just like we didn’t feel a cross country road trip in a U-Haul was suitable for our small kids, a road trip with our car didn’t sound much better. Our then 6 months old son absolutely hated car rides, and the thought of driving from California to Florida was an absolute nightmare.
So we decided to have our car shipped as well.
We used a car shipping service that was recommended by PODS and had a great experience. It took less than a week for our car to arrive, about 5 days, and it was worth the money we spent on it.
3. Adjusting to Florida’s Climate and Lifestyle
The most challenging aspect of moving from California to Florida is definitely the hot and humid weather.
We moved at the end of May – and entered Florida at the start of the hottest months of the year.
It was no joke – it was so hot and humid that it was really uncomfortable to spend any time outside, unless you are at the beach or by the pool.
Going to the playground? Not really an option, mostly due to a lack of shade and overheated play structures. We have found a few decent playgrounds here and there that can be used in the summertime, but you’ll be breaking a sweat in no time.
On the other hand, the proximity to the beautiful gulf coast beaches and having access to a pool gave us a variety of other outdoor activities. And I have to say, my kids LOVE water play and could spend all day in the pool or by the beach.
And in addition to playgrounds, Florida has a lot of splash pads as well that offer a lot of fun for the little ones. Often you can find them right along some playgrounds.
The weather stayed hot and humid for 4-5 months. I remember even during Halloween it was too warm to wear much of a costume. However, it did get significantly better after that.
Between November and March/April, it’s been absolutely spectacular.
It is often warm enough that you can still wear shorts and a t-shirt, but we’ve also had a very cold week that made me pull out my German winter coat.
Moving here from California in the summertime had me question our decision to come to Florida. The summer is just way too hot and humid, and lasts too long. But I have to say, the wintertime absolutely makes up for it. Being able to spend so much time outside, at the park, and going for walks in the sunshine is priceless.
And I now I know what to expect in the summer and just enjoy the beach and pool more during that time.
4. Making New Friends and Building a Community
On this blog, I have shared few posts about how to make new friends after moving.
And I did the same things mentioned in the post in our new home.
My first go to app to meet other moms is Peanut. I went on lots of play dates in the first months and now have a handful of good friends that I meet up with.
I’m not gonna lie, with little 2 kids now it just gets more difficult to get out of the house, find good times to meet up, and find other moms with similarly aged kids.
Nevertheless, Florida and especially the Tampa Bay are seems so incredibly family friendly and there are lots of other moms in the exact same situation.
I met other expats from other states, and other expats from other countries, that all just moved here.
Finding friends that have gone through similar experiences, relocating to the area, creates an immediate bond. It helps meeting other people who have gone through the same thing and are open and welcoming to new arrivals like us.
I also found a few walking groups, where moms meet up to go on walks together, and made friends there.
And it also helps to look up play places in your area. Since it was so hot outside when we arrived, we mostly went to indoor playgrounds and play centers. There are quite a few in my area. They usually cost some money, but you can also find free playgrounds at the mall, and story time at the library.
I have met lots of other moms at all these places and made some nice connections.
It’s all about being open and putting in the effort to connect with new people. And even if it doesn’t click right away, you will meet and make friends eventually.
5. What We Love About Florida (and What We Miss About California)
Florida has been a great experience so far, and there are many things we love about our new life here.
- Beaches: You just can’t beat the beautiful Gulf coast beaches. We go to the beach year round, even though in late fall/winter you can’t really swim anymore. Lot’s of people still go boating, and it’s been a priceless experience for our kids.
- Sunshine year round: Despite the hot summer weather, I really do enjoy how much sunshine Florida gets. During the summer we often get some rain in the afternoon. But Florida really is the sunshine state with so much sunshine all year round. It’s been great for our mood and I don’t miss the gloomy spring days of Southern California.
- Friendly and relaxed people: If you think Southern Californians are laid back, you will be pleasantly surprised by how relaxed and friendly Floridians are. Every time we are out and about we meet incredibly kind people. We have barely experienced anyone being rude, or making us feel rushed. People often have a smile on their face and it’s very apparent people are happy and love living here.
- Family friendly: I have found Florida to be extremely family friendly. There are so many playgrounds everywhere, most of which come with bathrooms, too. You see so many young families everywhere, and kids running around restaurants and stores. It’s an incredibly family-friendly culture here and it’s been a great experience for us.
- Lush nature: While California has its own interesting nature, I’ve been positively impressed by how green Florida is. It’s a lush state full of beautiful vegetation that is very soothing and gives a little bit of a jungle vibe here and there.
- Activities: Florida really has a lot to offer when it comes to activities. Besides the beaches and playgrounds, I have found there are plenty of things to do. Museums, amusement parks, zoos, parks – the list goes on and on. If we want to go all out, we can take a day trip to Orlando, which is only 2-3 hours by car and visit the theme parks. We can go to Cape Canaveral to go to the Kennedy Space Center. Or we can drive all the way down to Key West for a fun road trip adventure. There is a lot to do and we can’t wait to explore the state some more.
Despite all the fun things we discovered when moving to Florida, there are also plenty of things we miss from California.
- Mild climate: I desperately miss the year-round mild climate that we enjoyed in Southern California. We couldn’t wear shorts or T-shirts there in the wintertime. But at least we could enjoy summer days outside away from the beach. It is especially difficult during the week in the summertime in Florida, when I don’t feel like taking the kids to the beach or pool by myself. It was so nice to just play in the backyard or in a park back in California. But here it is way too hot for that, a pool, the beach or indoor play is mostly your only option.
- Diverse nature: Southern California had an incredibly diverse nature that I miss a lot. Driving into San Diego, it was lush and green and I enjoyed the more exotic looking vegetation. But then you also have the desert just a little further inland. And the snowy mountains in the winter were just beautiful to look at. Overall, it offers just more diversity and caters to different preferences at the same time.
- Food: While we do get to enjoy more seafood in Florida, I miss the more diverse food options of California. When we moved to Florida, I was excited about all the seafood, but at the same time I noticed how much less healthy food options there are here compared to California.
- Lifestyle: One thing that I miss from California when moving here to Florida is the California lifestyle. It is hard to explain, but the people in Southern California were just so laid-back, relaxed, and living their lives happily and healthily. It was such a great vibe in SoCal that I don’t feel over here. It is just different. It’s hard to explain if you’ve never lived there and experienced it. But it definitely makes me and my husband reconsider moving back one day.
Conclusion
Moving from California to Florida has been a big step for us. Especially since we loved our life on the West Coast.
But we don’t regret it. Life has been pretty amazing and fun over here as well, and both places have their own drawbacks.
We are thankful we got to experience California and that we had such a great time there. And now we are enjoying the many wonderful things that Florida has to offer.
It is a great place to live especially with two young kids. The year-round sunny weather, the beautiful beaches, and the amount of activities offered leave little to be missed, and we can’t wait to explore Florida even more.