Moving from California to Florida...

Am moving back to Florida in about 10 days....staying with a friend while I continue my job search...I have my moving company....:) but still bummed out, depressed and scared about the whole thing....Anybody have any really GOOD or BAD long distance or short distance moving experiences? or suggestions?

Your not Moving Joan

It's the seanery that's changing
you are just redecorating your world with new sites and wonders

Remember "Life is not a Destination It is a Journey"

Take the time to enjoy and marvel at the new experience.


If I had my way I'd move ever 3 to 6 months but my family told me next time I get the bright Idea to move to send them a post card when I got there !!!!

I think they were trying to tell me something

I just haven't figured out what yet :D

ah, well, you say you have your moving company already, so this may be too late, but I've heard lots of horror stories about movers including them holding stuff hostage until you pay fees tacked on after begin of move- hope you did your homework.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but you asked.

Then again, it's only stuff, and you're embarking on a great adventure- why you moving without a job? Is Florida home? People drive too fast here? =p

Make sure you don't use Smooth Move USA.


We booked them last year. I called the day before to double check and they said everythng was ok.

Then a half hour after they were supposed to be there I called and they said they didn't know where they were. Then the 3rd time I called they said they were up all night from their previous move and needed to sleep.

Where in Fla., Joan?

Think of it as trading earthquakes, loopy politics, mudslides, wildfires, and road rage for um....uh... hurricanes, early bird specials, geriatric drivers, and big cockroaches!

Okay, thanks Garry....and thanks Tara for tip about movers not to use...and Force -- moving back to Florida because that's where I was for ten years before I came out here to get my R.D. I really don't like it out here so yes Florida is like my second home...without a job Force? Because I want the job to be in Florida so the only way I can get second inteviews is to be available for them in person....(hence staying at a friend's house for cheap)....I have contract with mover....definite guaranteed price in writing...which I insisted on...

Where in Florida Eric? Tampa to start with...and then hoping to move and work in Fort Lauderdale...about 4 hours from there....and all that stuff you say about Florida IS true...but I want to be only a three hour plane ride from my family (in Boston)...instead of an all day plane ride with jet lag added in....cool???? Any more input??:)

I used to live in Pensacola FL when I was in 6th and 7th grade(Witness Protection Plan). I loved it there, it was a great place to be as a kid!

Do you have a lot of friends there that you keep in touch with?

Cool, I was just joking. I never had an appreciation for the ways CA blows until I went to Texas for a year. Good luck!

Originally posted by jimmmaaa
I used to live in Pensacola FL when I was in 6th and 7th grade(Witness Protection Plan). I loved it there, it was a great place to be as a kid!

Do you have a lot of friends there that you keep in touch with?

Wow thats something i find intriging

Witness protection program

Can you talk about it jimmmaaa or is it something you dont or cant discuss

Yeah I had the last name of Morgan instead of my current one. My mom and I picked the name. She would get money every month from the Government. So for a year I was James Morgan. That was how it affected me. Other than that I was just a kid in 6th/7th Grade who liked to do kid things. There was not much work in Pensacola if you weren't in the Military. I was just a regular kid doing regular kid things. It is kind of fun....My mom, I don't think she has ever really told us the real story, or the complete story. Basically the short version that I know is that my mom testified against this drug guy, and that put him a way, also put her away for a while too. The very intriguing part of it though was that years later when I was in late High School, the guy she testified against was found dead in a resavoir in our area....Kind of creepy...so I guess it was serious stuff, enough to merit Witness Protection. After a year or so in FL we just left and came back to CA. While my mom was in FL, she was never given a new social security #. When got back to CA she just got a new license using the old social, but still using the last name of Morgan for years until she married her now husband of 17 years, but Husband # 5 too be exact. It looks like this one is going to take :) Maybe there is some good book material there, at least a chapter on the Witness Protection Days! :)

Now that I told you all of this.....I am going to have to...you get the picture :D

It sounds mysterious, and I guess it is, but I was just a kid who really enjoyed living in Florida for a year, who happened to have a different last name for a while.

James -- there is EXCELLENT book material there...go for it! And yes I have some wonderful friends in Tampa...and when I get to Fort Lauderdale, hopefully will make some more....and I had an interview with West Florida Hospital in Pensacola but I didn't get a good feeling at all about the boss....so....
Force -- what brought you back to California from Texas?
Garry -- you WANT to move??? tell me WHY.......
Eric -- hope your wedding plans are going smoothly....

Good Luck Joan. I am moving to in another week. Lucky me though it is for my job. I already have a place and have been taking stuff up every weekend. So, I won't have much left ehrn I go. I am getting really excited to get out and meet ne wpeople and make some friends. Just wasn't anything to keep me where I am at now. I hope your job prospects pan out for you. I took a job as asst mngr @ a gas station. And after only 2 weeks they offered my a relocation package and it will eventually mean I get my own store. But, I am only 18 and $9.00 bucks an hour is like gold to me. And the best thing is the insurance, so I can get the health care I need. Anyways, don't fret you will find a job.

Cool sixes, is it one of those minimart deals? my aunt and uncle run one of those, it used to be a repair and gas shop, then once they started selling snacks and stuff they found out there was a lot more $$ in it without the liability. So hang in there with that.

Joan, I had to come back, all my stuff is here. Seriously though, I LOVED the people in Texas, they are so much nicer than here. If I thought I could get a job there, I would go live there, but there's also the weather too, unbearably muggy in summer, coold in the winter. The winter isn't so bad, I like cold, you can always put another layer on, but getting out of the shower and instantly sweating is just lame. And the economy's pretty bad there.

Hey Mechelle: For being only 18 years old, it sounds like you're on your way professionally.....your own store??......$9.00 per hour is good at any age....and with health care insurance, you can get your meds if/when needed....and ANYONE that offers a relocation package are goddesses to me! So sounds good Mechelle....

No I will try not to fret....I just want to have lots of options (by lots I mean greater than one)....many times in the past I have accepted jobs I did not want because there was only -- or it felt like there was only -- ONE job option -- and I ended up not liking that one option....I would like to have a few interviews and then get to choose...instead of having only one and thinking I HAVE to take that job.....I'm hoping that since I'm interviewing in the career field that I like, the process won't feel nightmarish...at it has in the past....feels good to write about this....thanks...:)

Joan, I hope you get a great job. And remember, you are Interviewing you potential employer too! So give them some great questions that makes them think. Good Luck on the Search!

Are you driving across the country or flying. I drove across the country from with my mother. When we left FL, first we went to my Grand Parents in Massachusettes, then we drove back to FLbriefly and across the bottom of the country. Of course, I was not able to help drive because I was only in 7th grade. I guess you will be busy this next week. :)

Force: I bet the people in Texas were great....especially if anything like Dr. Phil....and I understand your not liking the heat....your thought process makes sense....I just don't like snow...TOOO cold....and grew up with it in Massachusetts which is why I had moved to Florida twelve years ago..YES it is HOT but air conditioning abounds...:)

James: I understand about giving employers questions...But ones to make them THINK??? Never thought about it that way...okay, cool....I'm thinking right NOW.....no I'm flying back to Florida..and having movers autotransport my car....I am not into long car rides....5 hours and that's IT...! So you went from Florida to Mass. to Florida to Calif??? Incidentally where in Mass. are your grandparents?

Not my own store yet. I will only be an asst mngr at first. yes it is like a mini mart. Alot like 7/11, Casey's, Johnsons General Stores.

Well Joan, I hope the best for you in your job search and the move. Everything will go great and you will be blessed. But a word of advise, the very first thing you must do is to hook your computer up and let us know you made it safely in.

There are a lot of ADD chatters that live in Florida, so you just added one more.

Thanks for kind words Energizer...Incidentally, I just checked out your website...very nice...soothing....filled with lots of words of hope....and support and encouragement.....you have come a long way obviously with your own healing....Actually I don't have my own computer yet Energizer....I have used the one at school mainly and the library...that is a goal...to get my OWN computer:) once I am moved in and working....BUT I will let you know I made it safely using any computer I can find or the one at my friend's house who I am staying with temporarily in Tampa......and I SO appreciate your concern about getting in safely...how sweet.:)

Well I am flying out July 3....one way ticket I purchased...and I have my mover and auto transport company....with written agreements, etc. I got boxes today....what a hassle...getting the grocery store who has gotten all my business the last year and a half to give me some darn boxes...but I got them...now my ADD is challenged...going through old boxes of stuff I haven't looked at in a year that have been sitting in the garage and figure out what to keep and what to toss....yuck...My life is changing...Change scares the heck out of me....I have not liked living here...but heck the unhappy familiarty is comfortable....

Hey Joan,

Hang in there.! I am also bad at going through old stuff, it takes me FOREVER to go through old stuff. Change is stressful, especially moving. I moved 3 years ago from San Jose to Sacramento, just 100 miles away and it was hard. It is very good that you have friends where you are moving to.

I am reading a book right now called "Eating Problems For Breakfast"(Tim Hansel) that I have read before, but it is very good. In the book he says "to live is to have problems" and then the book goes on to describe a lot of creative problem solving techniques. Here are a couple quotes that won't make the change any easier, but may encourage you in the midst of it.

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations" ~Chuck Swindoll

"He was the sort of man who would go after Moby Dick with a row boat, a harpoon, and a jar of tartar sauce" ~Annonymous

"On of the most common and naive sentences in the English language is the following: 'If I can just get through this problem, then everything will be alright.' There comes a time--and it may well be the birth of maturity--when we come to realize that when we get through our present problems, there will probably be another one, perhaps slightly more difficult, waiting to take its place." ~ Eugene Kennedy (This one was for me last night! I had been reading all this stuff the past few days and I was just a grump when I got home from work, seeming Chaos at home, but really I was just tired. We got take out food, I was still grump after that and finally my wife said to me: "Do you have anybody you can go to a movie with? You need to get out of the house."
So I took myself to Border Books and Cafe for 2 and 1/2 hours and it was just what I needed. Read some books and wrote in my journal. I don't know why I am telling you all this, but I hope my crazy hectic life can be of an encouragement to you in your changing time Joans.)

Here is one more quote Joan, and I think you are definately the opposite of this one:

"One of the reasons why mature people stop growing and learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure." ~John Garnder

I hope packing and moving goes great for you Joan. That is awesome that you are graduated, and moving across the country to somewhere that you really like!!! :)

I have a poem about problems that I wrote last night that I will post to the poetry section later today.

Have a great day!

Thanks James....very incredibly supportive and validating...with great quotes....(I am a quote fiend).....quotes that work so well right now for me.....And I don't have a Borders near me now...but I do where I am moving....:) I LOVE that place....Anyway, thanks SOOOOOOO much James....:) Incidentally, your wife sounds cool:)
In any event, you have no idea how much your post helped:)

Well, it is Saturday morning....a little bummed because apparently some posts were lost....um....okay, today is a big packing day....I have the boxes...the movers are coming Monday....the autotransport people are coming Tuesday....I fly out Thursday...so things are in place...but moving is a lonely venture still....I wish I were in Florida...by magic...with all my stuff...Oh well soon I will be there....

YOU CAN DO IT JOAN!!!! DON'T LOSE HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!


My grandparents, now just my Nana live in Somerset. I have a cousin in Fall River, one in Swansea and My Aunt lives in Barrington RI. Oh, also have a consin near Boston area.

Okay, I just talked to movers who are coming tomorrow..to confirm....OKAY I WON'T LOSE HEART JAMES....JUST MY PATIENCE SOMEWHAT!!! And I get frustrated when threads/posts are lost here....like Eric's wedding post....I can't find it....oh well, nothing I can do....

Incidentally James, Fall River is not far from Cape Cod...very nice! And I have cousins in Rhode Island too....:) Thanks James....

I'm sorry some posts were lost. Not sure why, but I'll talk to David about it.

Cool:D......I was mostly just concerned about Unreal33/Eric's post for his wedding...as people had written some nice sentiments to him (which I know he saw).....plus he was planning to include some wedding pictures on it....:)

A few of the recent poems that I posted are gone, but I can repost them....no big deal.

Oh that's too bad, James..yes please repost...
Today movers are coming to take my stuff away....I am such a procrastinator....I don't wait til the last minute...but I sure do wait until the last HOUR:D Oh well....

I will. I won another little award for a poem I posted on this Poetry site, so I am pretty stoked about that. I will repost those poems.

REALLY:) What was the poem...? and what was the award? (i.e. what did you win?) CONGRATS.....James....:)

The poem was not one I have posted here before, it was actually the first poem I ever wrote back in 1987. The award I was is called the "You've Been Spotted Award" It was not for a specific contest but for "poetic excellence" They could be given out at any time. I will get a ribbon and a little cerificate. It is not the Pulitzer Prize or anything, but I am excite to get 2 of them!

Well, that's great....always nice to be "spotted"....or recognized, huh? No, not Pulitzer Prize but who knows....someday:)

Well....movers were here...took my stuff away.....and autotransporters were here....took my car away.....and I fly home to Florida tomorrow.....:) GOOD-BYE CALIFORNIA....NICE KNOWING YOU.....:)

Have a great trip!!!

I will, thanks James...and I will lose the three hours....I gained a year and half ago...but that's okay...Florida will be HUMID as heck but that's okay....I will be among friends.....:)

good luck joan/ i to have completed my move. now, i have to get evrything unpacked or just live out of the boxes. i hope everything goes well for u.

Will be thinking of you joan till we see you back online from florida

Its 7:30 here in Canada Is Joan a Floridite yet ????

YES.....I AM HERE......IT IS FRIDAY, JULY 4th and this is the first moment I am able to reach a computer....thanks for wondering....OH MY GOD...IS IT EVER HUMID HERE....now I knew this...of course...but....anyway....I have jet lag of course...because I am used to three hours earlier...BUT this too shall pass....yesterday was a long travel day...but I AM safely here in Florida.....thank God....and will join my friend Betty at her house and stay with her for awhile while I continue job search....:)

Happy Fourth, Joan...and welcome back to Florida :)

Thanks Andrew....oh my God, I love your picture of the flag....Incidentally, some AWESOME fireworks last night with some friends...they continued for a LONG time...like 45 minutes and the finale was sensational......BOOM BOOM BOOM....colors colors colors...:D

and now that you're here...I found out a couple of days ago that I will have to relocate to the NYC area. :( While I grew up there, and spent most of my adult life there, I was actually starting to really enjoy the "Florida Lifestyle".

Oh well. You'll have to handle Florida for me, Joan :)

P.S. - The move is for a good reason, by the way. Finally got the job I was looking for :D

Well Andrew, I will NOT take it personally that you are leaving Florida practically the DAY I get here....:) CONGRATS on the new job...that is wonderful....Yes I will try to take care of Florida for you.....:)

Thanks, Joan :) I should be fairly busy for the next month or so, but dont expect to be completely out of Florida until some time in August, hopefully the first or second week?

Perfect timing Andrew....JUST when it is the MOST humid in Florida -- in August -- you will be leaving.....PLUS I ALMOST FORGOT..........

In New York -- you will get to see Yankees games again....will you be living anywhere near Yankee stadium???:)

Oh and by the way, regarding the new job: Mazel Tov!!:D