I always adored Florida on vacations. I loved the laid back vibe, getting tons of sun by the pool, and spending hours on the beach. But living in Florida is a whole new ball game. Join me as I spend my winter in West Palm Beach, Florida!
The Positives
Those of you that have read my blogs before know that I like to start my blogs on a positive note. I really enjoyed living in Florida for 4 months; I didn't have to scrape ice off my car in the morning before work, I didn't have to jam my feet into boots every day - and actually got to wear sandals & have cute toenails! I really enjoy the vibe that West Palm Beach gives off. It is a wealthy city and it shows. I have never seen so many nice cars in my life!
I will admit that it was nice to go to the beach whenever I wished and exploring places such as City Place (also known as Rosemary Square) and Delray Beach on a whim was very exciting.
But I thought once I moved to Florida, I would work out outside every day, eat nothing but Kale salads and be tanner than I should be. Alas, there were a few things that I was not expecting in my experience in Florida!
Missing Midwest Hospitality
Yes.. you read that right. I grew up thinking that the south had the best hospitality, but I actually missed the comfort that is Midwesterners!! I know we joke about it, but nobody down here says 'ope! sorry' when they run into you at the grocery store, and they might even glare at you if you offer an apology. South Floridians tend to keep to themselves, and that's totally okay, I just missed a good old fashioned conversation about how much snow we're going to get or someone letting me out when I'm turning out of a store parking lot.
This also leads me to my next point... Florida highways and drivers are CRAZY! (And that's all I have to say about that.)
Work-Life Balance
While this could be because I was working crazy hours, I felt that most of my days consisted of me running through Chic-fil-a drive-thru while running late to work, or sleeping. Of course, I was on a rotating schedule of working overnight, so one day I would get off at 7 am after staying up all night, and coming back in at 3 pm the same day.
Even though it was sunny and gorgeous outside, I felt like I spent a lot of my extra time trying to catch up on sleep, which was hopeless because it was just going to be turned around again the next day.
I was honestly hoping to do so much more while I was down here, and cannot believe how fast the 4 months flew by. I think I could count on my hand how many times I had a beach day, or went exploring. I feel like I have probably done more fun in the sun activities while I'm on vacation, as it is hard to fit that into your everyday life when you have 50 other things you have to do instead.
Fun Things I Got To Do!
Even though I just ranted about not having enough time to do anything, I did take time off of work to go to Disney World twice! This was such a fun experience, and it only took me about 3 hours from where I was staying to get there. That trip is definitely not something I would regularly do if I was living in Michigan, so I feel really grateful to have had that option! It was pretty cost-effective because I was able to track ticket prices and hotel prices and go when it was cheapest since I could basically leave on a whim (after getting the time off).
I was able to go to Epcot (x2), Hollywood Studios, and see the new Star Wars Land, which is really cool btw, and Magic Kingdom on my birthday! Just as a tip, I was not able to get the Floridian Disney ticket rate because I am only seasonal and more importantly do not have a Florida driver's license... but make friends with a local Floridian while you're working down here and go together! They can get you a steep discount.
Winter in Florida?
So I was not expecting this... winter in Florida is actually chilly! I was shocked of how cold it gets some days, and felt like I lost my Michigan winter toughness! But seriously, it feels so much colder than it is because of the humidity so even if you are coming down for a short trip, PLEASE do yourself a favor and bring a sweatshirt and jeans!! This lead to a lot of cozier days instead of me sweating my skin off at the beach! After living here for a little bit, I realized that all of the Floridians do their sunbathing in the summer as they also feel it is too cold most days to go to the beach (with the extra wind it is quite chilly).
COVID in Florida
Non-existent down here. Sure, they have mask mandates, but other than that you can still go to a bar or restaurant, see live music, go to zoos, parks, Disney... I definitely felt less stressed about the virus while I was down here, but was still taking necessary precautions and am proud to say that I was COVID-free the entire time I lived down here. It was very beneficial for my mental health to feel that everything was semi-normal down here.
I was also getting a COVID test weekly from my work.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I really enjoyed my time here in Florida. I stayed with family and really enjoyed getting to know them more and be in their lives a bit. I am really going to miss the sunshine, the good roads, and feeling wealthy in West Palm (lol). I would recommend anyone wanting to move to Florida to just do it! If you are looking for a lot of time outside, maybe a lifeguarding job, or go down to part-time and enjoy yourself.
As always, your job (seasonal or not) should be about you & the experience! Let's have fun working in new places together. Thank you for coming on this adventure with me.
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