Friends Keep Moving Away!

Every time someone moves to Florida I say they'll be back in two years. There's JUST something about FLA. Florida is a nice place to visit but apparently nobody wants to live there?

I have three friends that live there and one HATES it with a passion but her husband's band is based out of Tampa. She's from Toronto so I can understand the weather shock. My other two friends were born there and can't imagine them living anywhere else.

My husband and I lived in the Houston, TX area and it seemed like there was this mass exodus! So many of my friends moved away and it was just so hard to deal with....especially because my 4 year old (at the time) daughter was great friends with all of their kids. Then, my husband got a job in FL (we're originally from here too), so we became "one of those" people and moved out of state also. Here I was, complaining to anyone who would listen that all of my friends were deserting me and then I up and left too. LOL! I think life is just more transient these days and you have to go where the jobs are. This is the fourth house my husband and I have owned in the 8.5 years we have been married. I'm TIRED of moving! I'm hoping that now that we're back "home" in FL, we won't ever have to move again.

I'm so sorry you're going through this and I don't mean to make light of it because I know how emotionally draining it is. We just moved back about a month ago and now that we're settling in and school has started, I'm really starting to miss my friends in TX. But, I'm also getting involved in some things and trying to make some new ones. I guess my advice is to stay in touch with your friends because it makes for fun vacations and then get out there and get to know some new people. I don't think this is just a FL thing, but no matter where it happens, it stinks! Hugs to you.

Totally true for us here in the Midwest. In the last 5 years, we've lost a family a year. It's totally a bummer. And for all of these friends it was a direct result of the down turn in the economy. All of my girlfriends who have left had husbands who lost their jobs due to company downsizing. None were able to find work in Minnesota, and all had to leave the state to get employed.

A sign of the times. My friend pool has dwindled. But oddly, at the same time, we now have met two new families who moved here from elsewhere. So we've also gained new friends. But it's really hard to lose long-time, true blue friends, indeed.

I can't speak for everyone, but I moved to Tampa from NYC over 5 years ago, got married, had a son, and I really like it here and plan to stay for a long while. All my family is in the tri-state area. I love to visit them in the late spring, summer or fall, but I love coming back to what I now call home here in FL :) I think people in general tend to move around more these days. I have the same issue with lack of close friends because of how much I've moved around as an adult. My friends are spread out all over the country. And it's more difficult to make new friends as you get older and have a family of your own. Just have to keep trying though - it is the new way of life :)

I know your frustration! I felt the same thing a few years ago - after being home with babies & not having that group of work friends as available anymore, I finally made new friends when my kids were in preschool. Many of those friends (whom I was really starting to feel were becoming "good" friends, not just the moms of my kids' friends), moved "back home" because they wanted to be closer to their families since the kids were a certain age, and I felt lonely again. Like you, my husband's whole family is here, & while I'm not from here, much of my family relocated here, so we are here for the long term. My kids are in 4th grade now, & I've made some really great friends through school - people who are here for the long-term (because now it's too disruptive to move the kids). It seems to ebb & flow, so hopefully you'll meet a group of fantastic women soon.

I've met several friends walking - we drop the kids in the morning & walk & talk for anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours - sometimes just 2 of us, sometimes 5, but we have set days (M, T, Th) to walk, & if we walk W & F too, even better.

Another thing to bring friends to you is hosting a party (i.e., Tupperware, Mary Kay, 31, Lia Sophia - though I think the best is Tastefully Simple, because it's even more about visiting around food than just being given a presentation). For everyone invited who brings a friend you can give an extra door prize ticket (2 friends = 2 tickets, etc.). Also go to those parties if you get an invitation - you don't always have to buy, but you will see who ends up at the same thing & who you will run into regularly - make friends with them, because they must have the same interests you do!

One last thing - don't drop those friends just because they moved - I still keep in touch with many of them on FB, & everyone returns to FL for vacation, even if it's just to go to Disney or the beach, so they'll still visit. My best friend lives in Massachusetts & we talk nearly every day, so it's almost like she lives here. She was just complaining to me about the same thing - several of her friends moved from MA all at once. Stay in touch with them, you were friends once for a reason. Smile -

I have a single friend who lived in Orlando for almost ten years. She cited the opposite problem for leaving. She said she felt surrounded by families, and that the area was very transient, much like you're saying. She now lives in Boston and hasn't looked back.

If it's any consolation, I live in Northwest, New Jersey and have friends scattered around the country. It's extremely difficult to meet people where I live, especially as a working mom.

Sometimes it helps knowing that you are not alone.

It happened to us. I even started "interviewing" other parents to see if they planned on staying. I shared how all my child's friends moved away and we were looking for stability. Of course the ones who swore they would never leave are gone and some who said they were shortterm are here 5 years later.

Hi! My thoughts on Fla. Its not the place to be anymore.Its gotten over-crowded, its hard to make friends,everybody lives in a different place.Its getting hotter every yr & its very buggy down here.Plus the different cultures,way to many in one place. I was born here & very rarely do i meet someone that was actually from here also.I 'am trying to raise a son here & cant wait to leave!

I moved to FL in May 1999 and stayed until April of this year. We too moved away because of my husband's job. We both want to go back! I am originally from PA but miss living by the beach. Although I am trying to make the most of seeing seasons this year and anticipating my son's first glimpse of snow, I am pretty confident the first morning I have to scrape my car's windshield I will be in tears missing the warm rays in FL. A lot of job opportunities left FL unfortunately. One of my frends told me we were the 4th couple to leave FL in about two months...all because of new jobs. Lucky for me, I work from home and only need a phone and internet connection so can work anywhere. As soon as another opportunity opens up for my husband, we will be going back.