From DMV Gridlock to Golf Cart Sunsets: How We Made the Move to Florida

For 26 years, my commute was DC, MD, and Northern Virginia traffic. If you've never lived in the DMV, count yourself lucky — it's routinely ranked among the worst traffic in the entire country, with drivers losing around 70 hours a year just sitting in it. That was my normal for over two decades.

Today, my commute looks a little different. It's a golf cart, golden hour, and a sunset I don't have to chase. Here's how we actually got here.

Where the idea actually started

It didn't start with a spreadsheet or a five-year plan. It started on a vacation in Florida, the night before we had to fly home. I remember dreading it — dreading leaving paradise to go back to real life. And somewhere in that dread, a thought landed that I couldn't shake: I love tropical vacations. Florida, the Bahamas, Mexico — if that's the kind of place that makes me happiest, and I wanted to stay in the US, why wouldn't I... live there full time? Why was "vacation" the only time I let myself have this?

That question didn't leave me alone. It turned into a real decision.

The decision

Florida could give us a lifestyle that felt like vacation every day — not just a week a year. And on top of that, there was a real financial upside: Florida has no state income tax. Once that idea took root, it was hard to unsee.

Finding "the one"

Florida is a big state, and it doesn't all feel the same. So we traveled — Miami, West Palm, St. Pete, Tampa, Siesta Key, and Ponte Vedra — looking for the part of Florida that actually matched our lifestyle and our family values. Each place had something to offer, but we were looking for a specific feeling, not just a good zip code.

Making sure it actually worked

A move like this only works if the logistics work. My boyfriend at the time (now my husband) needed to confirm his job would let him work remotely from Florida. My own business was already something I could run from anywhere. Once we had that confirmed, the "someday" plan became a real one.

The house, the sale, the move

We found the house we loved, put in an offer, and it was accepted. Then came the part nobody glamorizes: listing and selling our house up north. Once that was done, we made the move.

The golf cart

Not long after we settled in, we bought a golf cart. It sounds like a small thing. It isn't. It's the difference between getting in a car for every errand and just... cruising there.

Now

Most evenings now end the same way: golf cart, golden hour, sunset. No dread the night before, no flight home to real life — because this is real life now. Some people commute in traffic. I commute into a sunset.

If you're somewhere in your own "someday" phase of a move like this — whether you're still at the dreading-the-flight-home stage, the scouting-Florida-cities stage, or actually ready to look at homes — I've been through all of it firsthand, and I'd love to help you figure out your own version of this. It's time to make this your reality too.