I loved Miami but I had to leave; Now live happily in a small town in Florida

• I left Miami to save money in a small town in Florida while planning my move in the northwest.
• It had to be temporary, but I am still there 15 years later without planning to leave Florida.
• I love raising my son here because of the casual vibrations of the city and access to nature.

I liked to live in Miami at the beginning of the twenty, but the city felt like it is more and more expensive to live.

At the time, I worked at full -time school and barely paid my bills from one month to a month. Unfortunately, I could not imagine the degree that I worked to result in a job that paid me enough to get out of this cycle.

So I decided to start saving to move to Portland, Oregon, a city with a lower cost of living on which I had fantasized for years because of its dynamic culture and its ample access to nature.

My first step was to reduce my subsistence costs by moving to a small town in the center of Florida on the space coast a few hours north of Miami, where the rent (and the cost of living in general) was more affordable .

Although this decision is supposed to be temporary, I am still happy here 15 years later and I hope to retire in a small town in Florida.

Miami was fun, but I liked to rest in resting in a slower city

Once, I heard a woman who had just moved to Miami saying: “What’s wrong with Miami? Each day is a party!” I thought his observation was perfect.

However, when I left Miami, I was tired of the lively lifestyle and always on the thumb of the city.

Miami has a high cost of living, but I also had trouble saving money while living there because I had the impression that there was always somewhere. These activities almost always came with an additional cost, which I paid for parking, club entrance fees or dinner in town.

Although I missed Miami’s animated culture when I moved, I grew up to prefer the lifestyle of small town that encourages rest and time at home.

For example, at 9 p.m., many people in Miami just go to dinner in one of the many options in the city. In my quieter city, most restaurants are not even open so late.

I spend more time outside than ever before

The more I live on the space coast, the more open -air I become.

In fact, I go to the beach more now than ever to Miami, where it could be a problem. Here, the beaches do not feel so crowded. I think they feel cleaner too.

I also started hiking much more because there are large state and forest parks in the center of Florida. Even in my own neighborhood, I saw more wild animals than ever in Miami, including turtles, rabbits and deer.

One of the reasons why Portland was so attractive to me was that he seemed to have so much beautiful nature and greenery. If I had not moved a few hours before Miami, I would never have discovered how much I could live natural beauty without leaving my state.

My new city also feels more aligned with what I want for my son

Since he moved to the space coast, I have become a mom and I thought more of what I wanted for my son. I wanted him to spend more time in nature – something that I only felt in adulthood.

When he thinks of “going out”, I want it to be on a beach or a hiking trail instead of the new hottest restaurant. I would like it to benefit from a slower lifestyle, which favors rest.

Our city is an ideal place for all of the above.

I also ended up becoming a teacher, and if I always lived in Miami on my teaching salary, I would never be able to allow myself the same life that we live now, which understands our own house and go in vacation.

I like that we do not have to scratch each month.

After 15 years, I still like the life of the Florida of the small town

Sometimes I still miss Miami’s buzz and its apparently endless options for restaurants and events. I will always consider it at home, but I am so happy to have experienced a slice of life in Florida in a small town.

This decision was never supposed to be temporary, but 15 years here taught me how Florida has to offer outside of Miami.

Now I do not intend to leave the state.