After 20 years, I moved from New York City to Florida. I like it, but moving south has been filled with surprises.

• 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.

Almost a year after graduating from college, I decided I was done waiting to build the courage to leave home and start the next chapter of my life in Florida.

I was born and raised in New York City, so I knew living in Florida would be very different. 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, some things 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's exactly what I did when I saw a Buc-ee's on the side of the highway. The Texas-based chain has stores and gas stations 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, including store-brand beef jerky.

Buc-ee's was the first place I had ever been to that made beef jerky. I found it very interesting to look at the kinds available to sample or buy.

I knew Florida had tons of wildlife, but I wasn't expecting to see so many lizards every day

I knew moving to Florida would expose me to wildlife 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 that my Florida apartment complex had thousands of tiny lizards. I often see them running across the sidewalks and somehow making their way onto my office window.

I even saw an armadillo for the first time when checking in at 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 in Orlando has also caused my hair to regularly experience a lot of frizz, regardless of how often I straighten it or use antifrizz 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 was used to walking wherever I needed to go. The nearest grocery store, restaurant, bar, laundromat, nail salon, and hair salon in New York City were conveniently only a one-block walk from my house.

Now, 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. 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 get it.

I'm also very grateful to work from home because it would be very expensive to commute to and from work every day as I don't drive and rely mainly on Lyft and Uber.

This story was originally published on July 13, 2023, and most recently updated on January 29, 2024.