It’s wild to think that in the span of 1.5 years we got married, found out we were pregnant six weeks later, honeymooned in Africa and made it through nine months of pregnancy and five months of new parenthood– all during a pandemic. It’s been a crazy ride filled with many highs, a few lows and lots of mixed emotions.
At the start of 2020 we had the next decade of our lives completely mapped out. Nick and I have always been on the same page that we would leave the city life behind us and move to a Connecticut suburb once we started a family of our own. Many towns in Fairfield County, CT are within a commutable distance to Nick’s office in Manhattan, plus we both have family in New England– it made perfect sense. Almost immediately after getting back from our January honeymoon we found an agent in the area and began attending open houses in hopes of finding our dream first home.
Then the world flipped upside down.
There are so many fears that come with experiencing pregnancy for the first time, let alone during a pandemic. It was a no brainer to press pause on our house search given all the unknowns and that I was still early in my pregnancy. At the time we expected shutdowns not to last more than a month or two and that we could return to the house hunt in the spring. Looking back it was very wishful thinking.
Just when we began warming up to the idea of looking again, we had the worst week of our lives. As much as I’d like to say it was Covid, it was really our 20-week pregnancy scare and the subsequent unknowns of my second and third trimesters, that made us start questioning the 10 year life plan we’d mapped out for ourselves.
After my traumatizing anatomy scan I told Nick there was absolutely no way I could mentally handle looking for a home and/or moving while I was pregnant. He agreed and we decided that we wouldn’t stress ourselves about it until Nate arrived and we knew everything was OK with his health. Our Jersey City apartment lease wasn’t up until April 2021 so we thankfully had plenty of time to figure things out.
On September 5, 2020 we were given the biggest blessing of our lives: a healthy baby boy. Our prayers were answered.
We had always anticipated once Nate arrived and we got our bearings as a new family, that our motivation to find a home and move to Connecticut would return. The last few months have passed by and even though homes that check all of our boxes in our dream town have come on the market– there was just something holding us back.
The most enlightening moment for me happened in early January. Our agent went to tour a gorgeous house for us in Westport, CT that I should’ve loved. I wanted to like it sooo badly (it had nearly all of our must-haves!), but the entire time she was showing us I felt nothing but dread about potentially living there. The thought of putting an offer on this home that would’ve tied us to the northeast for the foreseeable future gave me such deep anxiety and twisted knots in my stomach. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t shake the feeling.
Nick and I had a heart-to-heart and we came to the tough conclusion that we were not ready to put down permanent roots in the New York suburbs. We were also on the same page that we’d outgrown our apartment so renewing our lease in Jersey City was out of the question. But that still left us with a big dilemma: finding a place to live.
For years Nick and I have dreamed about moving south. It’s a conversation that we’ve had over and over again ever since we moved in together in our first NYC apartment. Prior to Covid, moving away from the New York metro area was out of the question due to Nick’s job requiring him to live within a commutable distance to the city.
But now things have changed. Nick has been working remotely for an entire year and as of now, his company still has no plans to bring him back into the office. For the past ten years we’ve lived our lives by the book and followed what we thought was the safest “plan.” But if there’s one thing that 2020 taught us it’s that the world can change in the blink of an eye and life is too short to live in fear of the unknown. It felt like the right time to take a leap of faith.
So long story short: we are officially FLORIDA homeowners!
I knew within two days of arriving to our rental in Fort Myers that I didn’t want to leave. I know, I know. Who DOESN’T love Florida in January? I think it would be very hard to find a single person who lives in the northeast who wouldn’t gladly trade a New York winter for 75 degrees and sunny in South Florida. What’s not to love?
It sounds corny, but we felt so at peace in Florida. Even though we did the same work-from-home-take-care-of-baby routine that we would normally do in our apartment during the month we rented in Fort Myers, we were just so much happier. The sunshine, slower pace and being near the water brought us a lot of joy. Being able to walk outside everyday with Nate and live in a home with space where we could really spread out was the best.
As you can imagine, all of January we were really busy behind the scenes touring homes and figuring out a potential move. Nick is honestly the real MVP. He did the majority of the work while I took care of Nate. After looking at a ton of different options in Fort Myers, Naples and Sarasota, we ended up finding the perfect place coincidently right in the same community where we rented. It honestly felt like it was meant to be!
I’m sure you’re probably wondering: what will you do when Nick has to go back to work?
We’re going to cross that bridge when we come to it. Even though we are going to live in our Florida home full time for now, our long term plan is to have it be a vacation home/rental property. Since we are both working virtually right now it did not make sense to continue paying to live near New York. We purposely purchased in a golf community that’s very popular with out-of-state renters, so we know we’ll be able to use it as an investment in the future. Needless to say we’re over-the-moon to finally be putting equity into a mortgage of a home we love.
So as of March we will officially be saying goodbye to the northeast (for now) and moving to Florida! We don’t have an official move-in date just yet, but we’re hoping to be back in the sunshine state by mid-March. We’re so excited and can’t wait to share more with y’all!
Sheryl says
Very excited for you and your family!!
Kim Teasdale says
What wonderful news for you and your little family. Can’t wait to see your adventures in permanent sunshine. Congratulations
Laura says
WOWOWOWOW! SO SO SO excited!! I did not see that coming. I’m so very excited for your family.
Sonia De Leon says
I knew it!!! You look so happy in Florida. I wish you a very good moving and bring a Nate a special living in our special weather. Blessings.
Kelly Power says
Congratulations!! I grew up in Florida and loved it. My family is still there so we get to visit often. Love following your photos & stories on LIKEtoKNOW.it and Instagram. Wishing your beautiful family many blessings as you begin this new journey.
Bridget says
Aw, what about Glo and Pop? They’ll miss you and Nate so much I’m sure
Jen says
Oh my goodness how super exciting!!!! If I didn’t have such strong family ties and support network here and had the funds I’d totally move south to sunny warm florida and being so close to beaches that’s just so exciting congratulations!!!! And happy and safe moving!!!!
Lynne says
Congratulations! Exactly what I’ll be doing. Already have a rental condo, but looking for a home.
I agree. My holiday month in FL was so wonderful. Dreaded returning north, but needed to take care of life here.
Excellent decision. You’ll never regret. It’s easy to get company in the tropics!
Jennifer says
So wonderful! Enjoy! Y’all deserve all the happiness and sunshine!
Christine says
A million congratulations! I know how much you wanted this ❤️ wishing you and your family the best! So excited for you!
Susan Schnitzler says
Congratulations Nick, Katie and Nate!!! Life is too short to live for “what ifs”! Embrace every single moment and enjoy the excitement of relocating to your new home. I cannot wait to follow along on your adventure.
Christin says
This is amazing!!! I live in Fort Myers!!!! Please let me know if you need anything. I can’t wait to actually have a blogger down here!!! Welcome to Florida!!!
Annaliese says
Oh my goodness congrats! What an exciting next chapter for you and your family!!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Sarah says
Grew up in PA and the winters are brutal on the mind. My in-laws live near Fort Myers and the area is so convenient. Best wishes and adventures living in a new place and bigger home!
Quinn says
Look into the brand Big Ass Fans! They are the BEST! We put them in our new home and not only do they move air really well but they are quiet and can be controlled by google home or Alexa!
Donna says
Congratulations Katie, let’s face it Florida is the place to be. Freedom to live your best life. If I could I’d be leaving the TriState area too. Best to you, Nick and Nate.
Rebecca says
So exciting! Congratulations! I knew you loved it when I saw your stories while you were renting. Happy for y’all! Pub subs all day! Will Glo and Pop come visit?
Angela D says
Omg that’s so exciting. So happy for you guys. Ready your story it seems just so close to mine. We moved from NY to ft. Myers. We have been here a few months and feel the same way you did. We stayed for a month in the summer and then decided then it was time to start looking. It was truly the best decision for our family and who doesn’t love sun almost all the time and warm weather. Congratulations to you guys on your new chapter. Just enjoy and love every minute of it.
John Dobrota says
Sign me up for 2 months next Winter. Pop
Janet says
Massive congratulations Katie! Florida is my dream place to live, and I’m working towards being able to work in the US in the next couple of years! When you spent January there, I hoped you would move there, because to me it seemed like a no brainer! Really excited for you and your family, and can’t wait to continue to follow you along for this 🙂
Gigi says
You three are so fortunate! Congratulations! You’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of life without the cold, cold winters.
Lizzy says
So so happy for you!! Congratulations
Marlie says
I think it is absolutely wonderful ! I am so happy for the path that your lives have taken. Be sure to post pics of the new house. Congratulations !
Emily says
YAY! What an exciting adventure ahead! So happy you and your family decided to take this leap of faith. I would move to a warmer climate year round in a heartbeat!
celeb networth says
Wow! The house is so beautiful! Can’t wait to see the beautiful things coming!
Sophia says
Loved this post! Welcome to Florida! It’s the vacation that never ends here ❤️
ella macrow says
Congratulations! Exactly what I’ll be doing. Already have a rental condo, but looking for a home.
I agree. My holiday month in FL was so wonderful. Dreaded returning north, but needed to take care of life here.
Excellent decision. You’ll never regret. It’s easy to get company in the tropics!