So we have been in Lakeland Florida going on six months now. It is definitely different than the hustle and bustle of New York but we are getting used to it. I will be continuing on with my reviews of attractions all over the world- as I have always done- with a focus on Orlando, and Tampa and everything in-between. All the other pieces we provided will also still be here- basically, I am saying BABY we are back! Thank you so much for sticking with us during this time of personal and professional transition we love all you!
For those of us that are- as they put it down here from " up north" I know you understand why people are starting to branch out into other places to live. High prices of homes, taxes, and cost of living are driving us out in droves. We didn't want to leave but we also would like a certain quality of life that just wasn't possible anymore in our area. I never in my wildest moments thought I would leave New York, it was an impossibility- but we came to a point where we said enough is enough. So a job transfer here, a house buying excursion there and BAM hello Lakeland and Central Florida.
When I think about our move I picture myself from Andy from Funny Farm (google it if you don't know what this movie is. Chevy Chase moves from the city to the country so he can focus on writing, but ya know fails- bloody fantastic!) and in some ways it is true, it is more rural than I am use too. I mean for instance right now, as I sit on my Leni- which is a fancy word for patio- I can hear cows. I am not shitting you- in the distance, there are cows mooing, roosters.. ah, roosting and possibly a donkey and or dinosaur? There is just nature everywhere. Unlike funny farm though I have neighbors that I see and in most cases ignore- in true new york fashion- they inturn ignore me as well as they too are from New York as well. I am not kidding there are more New York transplanters down here than I ever expected. I would say one out of every 4 people I speak too- between the ages of 34-74- are from New York, or the tri-state area. It seems that Lakeland's prime location of roughly 35 minutes from Orlando, and about an hour to Tampa, makes it the IT place for all of us northerners to move too. What's that old and complicated phrase- ah yes "LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION"- Lakeland has it but it also has a lot of community and heart! With an almost Brooklyn type feel to it Lakeland is filled with fun things for the family, artisanal bars, cutting edge restaurants, breweries, farmer's markets, festivals, and so much more. Art plays a huge part of the community and the buildings are sprayed with Murals, paintings are hung on canvas all along the downtown area, and we just went to the town's first Art Festival held in Munn Park- the small park in the middle of the Downtown area.
I cannot possibly fit everything that is wonderful about Lakeland in just one post- mainly because I have only had one cup of tea this morning, but we will be posting reviews of the areas hijinks.
No comments:
Post a Comment