The places I've called home

Orlando, FL: 

I am one of the rare birds who gets to call herself a native Floridian. Growing up I didn’t fit it that odd but as I got older and realized the transient nature of my home state, it became something like a badge of honor. I grew up in a city that is most famous for Mickey Mouse but my house was a good 45 minutes away from the side the tourists see. I went to the theme parks on a yearly basis and have only paid once in my life. A perk of growing up in Orlando is making friends with people who work at the parks to give you free tickets. Unfortunately this also leads to being jaded and over anything Disney by age 12.

                    Downtown Orlando. This is nowhere close to the theme parks.

I always found my home city to be void of character, cookie cutter, and only catering to tourists. I wanted out early. Don’t get me wrong the city has made strides and continues to transition to find its identity. In the last few years the food scene has started to improve and even being named on USA Today’s best foodie towns for 2014. I find that I have a complicated relationship with the city. I can complain about it while living there and yet I am starting to look forward to going home for breaks. I’ve come to terms with my love/hate relationship with Orlando.

Tallahassee, FL: 

I lived here when I attended Florida State University. Tallahassee is half college town and half state capital, in other words kind of boring. Tally has a special place in my heart since it was my first time away from home. I purposely picked a school 4 hours away from home and I’m glad I did. I was a little over protected growing up and nothing makes you grow up faster than being on your own.  I also learned how the northern part of Florida is worlds away from the rest of the state. They don’t call it lower Alabama for nothing.

                                              My freshman dorm- Florida State

Worcester/Boston, MA

How does a Florida girl end up in New England? Well it was 2007 and I had a nasty, unexpected break up and itching to try something new. I applied for and got accepted into a graduate school program in Worcester where I had a few family members from my dad’s side. I lived in Worcester which is 45 min west of Boston and frankly not the most interesting place. I did live down the street from the oldest park in America, but I spent a lot of my free time taking the commuter train into Boston. I used to spend Saturdays just strolling through Boston and Cambridge. This is where I first saw snow (at age 26), experienced living 1000 miles from my family, and had to shovel my car out of snow all by myself. Massachusetts is where I grew into an adult and for that it will always hold a special place in my heart. 


It has been a few months shy of a year since we moved up to Northern Virginia and I have had varying emotions about the area. I absolutely love being in DC and the energy of a big city, which Alexandria lacks as it is more of a suburb. 



What are the places you've called home?