Two years in the Florida Keys!

Two years ago today we arrived at our new home in the Keys… how has it already been two years? Two years since we sold our beloved beach cottage, the vast majority of our stuff, moved away from our family & friends, and embarked on a new life. The Keys were supposed to be a strategic stepping stone, a one-year layover, but we’re still here and that’s okay.

It’s okay because we’ve stopped planning. Our lease is up, we’re month-month now and we can leave at any time. When we first decided to change our lives & take back our time we knew exactly what we wanted but not where that would take us. We came to Florida & the Keys specifically for a few reasons:

• No state income tax – if you’re going to leave the country and can do so from a state with no state income tax, all the better. Otherwise you’re stuck with the burden of proving you longer live in whatever state you left come tax time.
• It’s warm – if we’re not working we’re probably outside and that’s pretty awesome.
• We can dive here – enough said!
• Gorgeous paddle spots accessible from our backyard.
• Lots of opportunities to connect with like-minded people. I’d say we have more friends here after 2 years than we did after 11 in the mid-Atlantic which is quite a feat when you work from home full-time.

So what will the next year bring? I have no idea to be honest. If I had to guess, I’d say we won’t be here this time next year. It’s not because we don’t love it here, we do, but we want to untether ourselves from our laptops and live disconnected for most of the day, diving and doing what we love. No one knows how much longer they have and I really don’t want to die having spent the vast majority of my life staring at a computer screen and sitting on conference calls.

What leaving has taught me:

• Change is hard, even good change, even deliberate change. I snapped a pic of the sign below in Bonaire – I see what they were trying to do and initially agreed with it. Then J said, that’s not true at all – if you don’t change, everyone and everything around you will. He’s completely right. Make change happen for yourself or wait and see how the universe changes life for you. We’re definitely not in full control of our destiny but there are things in our control.

• You will miss things! People, places, events, etc and that’s okay. It’s normal to be homesick. I’ve had my fair share of it and it passes. If I could do it all over again, I would make the same choice. And you know what? If my answer was that I wouldn’t, I can just go right back to where I was living before. You’re not a tree, you can move around 🙂 Try different places, jobs, whatever. Your current situation is not your final destination!

• You’ll find new and wonderful things wherever you go. And if you don’t, move on. You never know until you try. I can (and will) write a whole post about what I love about our current tiny rock. Spoiler alert – it’s the most simple things.

Thanks for joining us on our journey! Let’s see where the next year takes all of us!

Rock on and stay warm!