I moved my family down south to Florida over 7 years ago. I mostly love it, but life here has been filled with surprises.

I definitely thought there'd be more gator action in the state of Florida — after all, the American alligator is the state reptile.

Although I've seen an occasional gator floating in a pond or sunning itself on the roadside, they aren't running rampant in the streets of Florida as I'd imagined. Instead, when we want to see gators, we go to Gatorland, one of my favorite Florida theme parks.

Whether we're trying to get across the state to visit family or head south to cities like Miami, we're constantly amazed at how long it takes us to get anywhere using Florida's road system. 

There can be a lot of traffic and, in my opinion, there just aren't fast ways to connect from one major highway to another in Florida.

Well-meaning friends and family warned us about moving to a state that has consistently hot weather. But for us, summer in Florida with temperatures regularly hitting over 80 degrees Fahrenheit in August feels no different from a hot, humid August in Maryland.

Fortunately, the super-hot weather typically lasts just a few months out of the year. The rest of the year is blissfully breezy, warm, and sunny, without the extreme heat.

When we lived close to Baltimore and Washington, DC, we had access to any type of cuisine we desired, as varied as Ethiopian and Thai.

In Florida, I've found that delicious food from different cultures exists but it can be harder for us to find. Do I drive 45 minutes to the best Indian restaurant in the area? Yes, but I have no regrets.

We live about a 90-minute drive away from Orlando, which has been nicknamed the "theme park capital of the world."

When we first moved to the area, we only visited the city to experience its theme parks. Now we know there's so much more to Orlando, such as museums, parks, and fun downtown areas to explore.

My family still spends a lot of time at theme parks such as Disney World and Universal Orlando — we haven't gotten sick of living close to them even after seven years. 

When you live within driving distance of theme parks, it's easier to enjoy them for just a bit and then head home. I don't miss the days when my kids were small and we'd plan theme-park trips from Maryland, exhausting ourselves by squeezing everything into a weeklong vacation.

The first year we lived in Florida, a major hurricane hit our town. The next year, we were faced with another that seemed equally menacing.

By our third hurricane season, we'd purchased a generator and started thinking harder about whether or not to evacuate our home. Hurricanes can cause devastating damage but we've found some Floridians try to make the most of a looming storm when possible.

After a few years, we've hosted (and attended) a few hurricane parties where people wait out the storm together with food and drinks. If you host or attend one, though, just be sure to exercise caution and stay alert. 

Anyone who pays remote attention to the national news cycle knows we've got a lot going on politically in the Sunshine State. It was different to experience it firsthand once we moved here.

I'll never forget when I received the Trump pin pictured above. My family was stopped at a traffic light and a group of protesters, upset about the outcome of the 2022 election, came up to our car window, handed us a Donald Trump button, and tried talking to us about the election.

When the light turned green, we kept on moving.

I never knew street-legal golf carts were a thing until arriving in my tiny beach neighborhood. Here, many people, including police officers and delivery drivers, use golf carts instead of cars. 

There are golf carts in the school pickup line and special golf-carts-only parking spaces at restaurants. I also sometimes see teens I know aren't old enough to have a driver's license flying through my neighborhood behind the wheel.

I've been laying down hints to my husband that I want my own golf cart for my birthday, but until then, I'll catch a ride with cart-owning friends.

This story was originally published on August 4, 2023 and most recently updated on April 17, 2024.