Photo: Kelly Dean

The Florida Vision

By Kelly Dean

Everyone who considers moving to Florida has a mental image embedded in their mind. This image is perhaps a beach scene, or a bay or perhaps a canal. It might be a certain view they recall from a magazine or a past vacation. But the image is powerful.

These mental images serve as a catalyst when someone is deciding to take the leap and move to the tropics. They feed the fantasy up to the point they decide to make the move – for whatever reason, be it personal or professional, a bad job, a bad marriage, they make the choice.

Fishing Key West. Photo: Copyright Kelly Dean 2016

In my mental image, I’m lying in a hammock, strung between two bent palm trees on a white sandy beach. I know I share this same vision with others because I almost feel like I’m stealing it every time it comes to mind. It’s the same feeling one gets when they accidentally walk off with someone else’s pen and are tempted to stop and return it but then realize you’re supposed to keep it. That’s why the name is on the side of the pen. It’s the same with the Florida image. Were it not for this vision, I’m not sure I could have made it through the tough times up north that led to my moving to Florida, as well as the adjustment after getting here. All change requires some adjustment.

Sanibel Island. Copyright Kelly Dean 2016

Whatever your mental image might be, remember it is just that. The old cliches exist for a reason, “Life is what you make it,” they say. Florida can be just like your mental image, but you might need to make some adjustments or compromises to experience it and you might have to savor the good-times version if it happens only once in a while. It can take effort depending upon how strong the desire and how realistic the vision.

People are always seeking a destination and the easiest mode of travel is the mind. Some have a vision about other places exclusively their own. Maybe it’s a view from a New York apartment or the vista from a mountain top or looking down on a valley, untouched by human encroachment.

Off the coast of Key West. Copyright Kelly Dean 2016

Whatever the vision, and whatever the destination — so long as you have one — you’re more likely to experience it eventually. Taking the leap is just one part. Making the most of that leap and weighing what’s important is far more important.