Ok so before I start talking about friends in Florida I have to touch on this mornings adventures! On Thursdays when I write the blog, I always find a place on Disney property somewhere to write. This morning was no different and it has been a rather magical one! Kids here for their first visit and soooo excited! People celebrating anniversaries and birthdays on their first day of vacation! I went into Magic Kingdom first to take some pictures and videos of the Christmas decorations that have just gone up and get the special Mr Toad picture taken and it was just nice to stop and take pictures for some families so they could all be in the pic and ask people on the monorail where they were visiting from, just a magical morning! Now I’m back at the Polynesian at Tambu Lounge writing with pretty music and a nice view!
How Do You Even Find Friends?
So here we are, living in Florida where we know no one and have no family……Thats not so magical! BUT, the great thing is that if you are open, it’s really easy to make friends here! I personally have never had an issue talking to strangers so this has not been a problem for me! Hahaha! One of our new friends turned family down here we actually met in the Cigar shop in Disney Springs when we came down in April to get our rental house! It was totally God putting us in the right place at the right time because he and his daughter are so great and our stories are so similar its crazy! Talking to strangers pays off sometimes!
Our Tribe Of Weirdos
Thankfully, we found a group of like minded Disney weirdos a couple years ago called 3 Sheets to the Mouse. It is a fantastic podcast turned Ohana! Fair warning, the podcast is not kid friendly, but hilarious! Three sheets has a facebook group and the people in this group have become friends and family to us! We already had a few friends that lived down here thanks to the group and have added more to the list since, some have done 5K’s with us, others we hang out with on a weekly basis! I recruited my best friend into the group by her doing a 2 hour livestream with me in the facebook group for a Christmas drawing two years ago…there may have been a lot of libations involved and maybe a broom! The 3 Sheets Ohana has ben a huge blessing to us and I am so thankful we found these weirdos! We get to see a bunch of the out of town “Sheeters” tonight as they are coming in to town for Wine and Dine Race Weekend! Like a big family reunion!
Out Of Town Friends & Family
Speaking of out of town friends visiting! We have only been here 4 months and have already had so many! Nothing like living in Disney World to get your friends and family to visit. We have had Nanny and Poppy visit for a long weekend, dance friends in town for a convention that we got to do a park day with, and the best were friends coming into town to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary with us! We’ve met at the pool, on rooftop bars, in our home, in the parks, everywhere! And we have more friends coming this month on vacation and spring break in April! Working on getting my family to come down in January….if you’re reading this START PLANNING IT!!! It’s nice to live somewhere people want to visit!
How Is It Different?
It’s strange really, we lived in the same place for 14 years and we did have friends but it always felt like there was no time to see them or nothing really to do. We’ve lived here for 4 months and have hung out with friends more than we ever have in our adult lives. Some of that comes down to intentionality and having tons of things to go and do and some comes from a place of feeling like you are where you’re meant to be. As cheesy as that sounds, I have never really felt like I was in the “right” place for who I am. For a long time we felt like square pegs in a round hole and here we feel like the squares fit! Insert awkward looking emoji here. The people we have met here are all very different, in different stages of life, some with kids, some without and all wonderful!
We do miss our friends and family that are not here too. It’s hard to uproot from everything you’ve known for 14 years and all your kids have ever known.
What About The Kids?
The boys were all in for this move also though, we made sure to talk to them A LOT before making the decision to move. So far they are doing really well, Thatcher has a whole new gaggle of friends and has had fun seeing them out at all the community events we’ve been too. Sawyer is in middle school so friends take a little longer there. He loves all his teachers, he’s always connected with adults before kids his age, we know the rest will come and he is slowly starting to talk to more people. Luckily for him, most of his interactions with friends back in NC were online so he still talks to them and plays online with them pretty regularly. Lucky for me and Jay, our besties from NC moved to Florida about 6 months before us! They are farther south than we are but they have come up to see us already and we have plans to go see them too!
Conclusion
Having something to do and someone to do it with is definitely not an issue here! If anything it’s picking and choosing what you want to do because there is so much and you can’t do it all! I’m excited to meet even more new people as Jay has people at work yet to meet, the boys friends will have parents obviously and I have started substituting with the schools so of course there are lots of great people to meet there!
Well, I guess that’s enough rambling for now! Next week I am going to talk about what the community is like here, what I have experienced as a transplant trying to get connected and how we have gotten involved so far! Thanks for being here and as always, Have a Magical Day!!