- After living in New York City for 20 years, I moved to Florida about 15 minutes from Disney World.
- I wasn't expecting the humidity and heat in Orlando to impact my hair texture so much.
- I couldn't believe Buc-ee's existed since it's much bigger than convenience stores back home.
After almost a year passed since graduating from college, I decided I was done waiting for the right time to build up the courage to leave home and start the next chapter of my life in Florida.
I was born and raised in New York City and knew living in Florida would be a lot different from what I was used to. However, I was excited about the change and the warm weather. I moved to Orlando, intentionally choosing an area about 10 minutes from Disney World as I'm an annual passholder and frequent the parks weekly.
Although I continue to learn something new about this state every day, there are some things that have really surprised me at first.
I didn't know what Buc-ee's was or that a convenience store that big even existed
Whenever I see something new, my instinct is to explore. That is exactly what I did when I saw a Buc-ee's on the side of the highway. The chain of stores and gas stations started in Texas and has locations throughout the Southern US.
Much to my surprise, it's far from the smaller, simple convenience stores I was used to back in the Northeast. Buc-ee's is significantly bigger and has unique offerings I wasn't expecting to see such as its own store-brand beef jerky.
Buc-ee's was the first place I had ever been to in my life that made beef jerky. I found it very interesting to look at all of the different kinds that were available to sample or buy.
I knew Florida has tons of wildlife, but I wasn't expecting to see so many lizards every day
I knew moving to Florida would entail seeing wildlife that I didn't normally see in New York City. After all, there's not often a ton of wildlife to see in the city aside from birds and squirrels.
Still, I was surprised to find my Florida apartment complex is filled with what seems like thousands of tiny lizards that run across the sidewalks and somehow occasionally make their way onto my office window.
I even saw an armadillo for the first time when checking into Disney's Wilderness Lodge to ride out Hurricane Ian. It's safe to say I was very startled by this animal I wasn't expecting to see run across the front of the hotel.
No one could have prepared me for how the humidity and heat would impact my hair
Although I visited Florida regularly prior to moving here, I didn't expect my hair to feel so fried and dead from the frequent exposure to sunlight after I moved. The ends of my hair went from feeling extremely smooth to a hay-like consistency.
The humidity that frequents Orlando has also caused my hair to regularly experience a lot of frizz regardless of how often I straighten it or use anti-frizz products before a day at the theme parks.
I was initially shocked by how far away everything felt from each other
For 20 years, I'd become used to walking wherever I needed to go while living in NYC. The nearest grocery store, restaurants, bars, laundromat, nail salon, and hair salon were conveniently only a one-block walk away from my house.
Now, I know I can't just run to the corner to get coffee or a bagel in the morning. If I have to go grocery shopping, the nearest Publix is about a 15-minute drive away and the nearest Walmart is a 13-minute drive. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a super far distance but it's so different from what I'm used to.
I now also make sure to do my best to get everything I need when I'm out and about because if I don't remember to get an ingredient for a recipe I'm making or a tool for a piece of furniture I'm assembling, I'll have to go on a mini adventure to go get it.
I'm also very grateful to be able to work from home because if I didn't it'd become very expensive to commute to and from my place of work every day as I don't drive and rely mainly on Lyft and Uber.