Today I have a big announcement for you… Drum roll please!!!
We are moving to Florida! On January 8th, our little family is packing up and driving across the country to live in Miami, Florida for a few months. I know there will be a TON of questions, so I will do my best to answer all of them.
why are you moving?
We got a work opportunity in Miami and we just couldn’t say no. My husband and I have dreamed for years of being snow birds and getting out of Utah for the winter. We LOVE where we live, but the winter isn’t our favorite part. The air gets really dirty here and so it isn’t healthy to go outside during times in the winter. For one year, we’re so excited to skip that!
what will you do with your house while you’re gone?
Right now the plan is to rent it out or Air BNB it while we are gone. We haven’t decided for sure, but I’ll keep you posted with what happens.
where will you be living in Florida?
Eep!!! This is the part I am most excited about!!! Let me back up a bit- at the beginning of December my husband flew out to Miami to look at places to live. We found out that the 4-5 months that we were looking at were too long for short term rentals and too short for people who want you to rent for a year.
My husband used a realtor to find places. They planned on seeing 10+ places, but ended up only being able to see one! It was kind of stressful. Places that had rents that we could afford hiked their rates up to $5,000 a month because of our timing so my husband didn’t even look at them. BUT the one place they could tour turned out to be perfect!
We just found out that we for sure got this home!!! I will share some pictures below.
do you know anyone in Florida?
If you have read my blog for the past year, you know that last January we went to visit one of our best friends who lives in Miami. We will actually be living less than a mile from him and his wife!!! We will sure miss our parents and my sister who lives in Utah, but its a temporary move and will be back by June.
will you bring your dogs?
Yes! Derek and Lucy are coming with us! They are part of our family and we didn’t want to leave them somewhere else for so long. Having two dogs did make finding a place to live a little trickier. Thank goodness they are small and cute ;). They will get to experience the beach for the first time and we are so excited for that!!!
what will you bring with you?
We thought and thought about this. We considered renting a trailer and bringing most of our stuff, but got anxious about it getting stolen on the drive across the country. Plus, that is a really expensive option (which doesn’t make sense for us being there so short term). We also want to enjoy a few cities during our drive and having a big trailer would make it stressful.
For right now, we are planning on renting out our condo furnished and only bringing what can fit in the car we’re driving out there. If we sell our place, we will store our furniture until we get back.
The plus side of this is that we can start all new decor wise! I am really pumped about this because it means a new house to decorate!
Since we will be on a tighter budget (there will be a higher cost of living), I will be doing more DIY projects. Historically, this has been your (the readers) favorite on my blog so I’m excited to go back to my roots a bit with that. The first priority will be to furnish Don’s room so he can settle in and then we’ll slowly do the rest of the rooms.
I am REALLY excited to see how living in Florida influences my style! I am thinking of incorporating more color and pattern in the design of this house. And there will, of course, be a nod to the sea/beach. It will be fun to experiment and share it with you! Here’s a mood board with what I am thinking:
tell us about your road trip
Alright, so probably no one really would ask this (except my mom), but I’m excited about the road trip! Its a 40 hour drive to Miami so we’re going to try to break it up for Don’s (and really all of ours) sake. Plus, we’ll be driving through some cool cities!
We will be stopping in two cities that I’m really excited about! First off, we’ll go to Waco, Texas to see the Magnolia Market Silos. I am really looking forward to staying in the “Fixer Upper” town!
The second stop that I can’t wait for is New Orleans! We’ve been there before, but its been years and can’t wait to explore. The beautiful architecture and delicious food will make this a stop to remember. The weather should be perfect for it in January!
what are you most excited about with this move?
First off, it will be a change of pace! We’ve lived in this house for 9 years and are so comfortable here- for better or worse. It’ll be good to get out of our comfort zone and shake things up!
Second- I think it will be really good for our little family! We will live within biking distance of the beach and plan on going frequently. We’ll have new adventures and I am really looking forward to some quality time!
Last, the house is a dream! It is the perfect box and I can’t wait to decorate it. We will have a backyard (for the first time ever!!!) and it has a pool!!! I think Don and the dogs will love having outdoor space where they can explore. We’ll also have a second bathroom, so that’ll be quite the luxury.
we want to see the house already!
I’m so excited to show it to you! These are from the listing (so they aren’t the best quality). The house is two bedrooms and two bathrooms. You walk in and there is a small entry area
As you walk through the entry, you go straight into the great room where there is a dining room, living room and kitchen.
Its nice and open. I love the wood floors and white walls! Most of the furniture will be taken out and it will be the absolute perfect blank canvas.
Here’s a view from the back of the dining room looking into the living room.
I will definitely be using lighter furniture! It’ll feel airy and open. Here is a view looking from the living room back into the entry.
And here is the kitchen!!! I love my kitchen now, but this one is stunning!
This is looking into the second bedroom. This will be Don’s room.
Here is the master bedroom. The windows will be fun to design around 😉
This is the master bathroom. Isn’t that shower to die for?!
Lastly, here is a view of the backyard and the pool! We’ll have to closely supervise Don and teach him pool safety, but are really excited to have a backyard for a few months!
What does your landlord think about all of this?
He knows all about the blog and I’m not sure that he really cares. The thing is that all of the decorating we will be doing will be renter friendly- hanging pictures with command hooks, removable wallpaper. The house is so pretty that it’ll be a beautiful backdrop for the furnishings I am planning on adding.
I’ve gotten lots of questions on if I am getting a break on rent, but we are paying what anyone else would (plus a deposit for the dogs). We are SO excited to rent out this house and are grateful to have a home so close to the beach.
I am really looking forward to sharing the decoration of this house with you! I hope you will join me as our family goes on this adventure! Do you have any questions I missed? If so, please ask them in the comments and I will answer them.
Oh my gosh, Ashley! Sound like you are totally up for this adventure! It will be fun to watch your Florida influence in action.
What a great time to be in Florida – great weather during that season.