{"id":351203,"date":"2026-07-24T15:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/351203\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T15:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:47:08","slug":"i-quit-florida-for-rural-michigan-and-its-the-best-thing-to-happen-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/351203\/","title":{"rendered":"I Quit Florida for Rural Michigan\u2014and It’s the Best Thing To Happen to Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thinking about moving to another state<\/a>, but not sure how to start? Welcome to Crossing the Line<\/a>, where real people spill about how they searched for properties in another state<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Today, a 56-year-old author reveals how a family tragedy led her to say goodbye to Florida<\/a> and embrace a life in rural Michigan<\/a> in a community that she had only visited once before beginning her house hunt there. <\/p>\n

The move came about very suddenly, when the homebuyer\u2014who wishes to remain anonymous\u2014learned that she needed to relocate her mother to a care facility. Having received a recommendation for a facility in Traverse City, MI<\/a>, from a family member, she decided she would leave her home in Fort Lauderdale, FL<\/a>, in order to be closer to her mom.<\/p>\n

However, trying to buy a house while living in another state proved challenging. She got under contract twice, seeing one house in person for the first time during the inspection period. The in-person visits revealed a few surprises and shaped her buying process. The third home she placed in escrow ended up being the one.<\/p>\n

The move wasn\u2019t planned\u2014but ended up being much needed. The homebuyer didn\u2019t realize how much she had been craving nature and a quieter experience until she settled in Traverse City, in a home surrounded by cherry orchards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who is the mover?<\/p>\n

Age: 56<\/p>\n

Household setup: Partnered<\/p>\n

Occupation: Author<\/p>\n

What did she leave?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL<\/p>\n

Property type: Condo<\/p>\n

Rooms: Two bedrooms, three bathrooms<\/p>\n

Square footage: 1,400 square feet<\/p>\n

Cost: $850,000<\/p>\n

What did she move to?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Location: Traverse City, MI<\/p>\n

Property type: Single family home<\/p>\n

Rooms: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms<\/p>\n

Square footage and acreage: 1,825 square feet, 1.3 acres<\/p>\n

Cost: $620,000<\/p>\n

Inside the moveHow long had you been planning to leave Florida?<\/p>\n

It happened very quickly. My mother\u2019s husband died suddenly just after Thanksgiving 2025. We had to relocate her from California<\/a> to assisted living, but we didn\u2019t know where. <\/p>\n

I had family in Traverse City and they recommended a facility up here. We flew out and set my mom up in the new home, and then my partner and I also started looking at real estate in the area.<\/p>\n

Before this, had you been planning to stay in South Florida indefinitely?<\/p>\n

Sometimes you’re not very comfortable but you don’t know what you want. My grandparents had lived in South Florida back when it was a much calmer place. I was holding onto that picture, but I don\u2019t think that exists in Florida anymore. I realized, too, that I had been craving nature my whole life.<\/p>\n

Did you know Traverse City well?<\/p>\n

I had only been once before, to visit my cousin five years ago.<\/p>\n

What had led you to move to Florida?<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, I moved to Florida and that wasn\u2019t planned either. Right when the shutdown started, I was about to close on a condo in Brooklyn<\/a>\u2019s DUMBO<\/a> area. Then the shutdown started and I knew I didn\u2019t want to be in New York<\/a>, so I bought a condo in Fort Lauderdale, sight unseen.<\/p>\n

How many homes in Traverse City did you look at?<\/p>\n

In person, seven. The market was going so crazy, and homes were selling so quickly that I was making offers from Florida, then seeing them in person once we were in escrow. Twice I did that, and realized I had the wrong house under contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What was it about these homes that led you to realize they weren\u2019t quite right?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t like the location of one. It was also overpriced, listed for $650,000 and eventually sold for $575,000. The other home was a recent flip, which means you\u2019re paying extra for someone else\u2019s bad taste. <\/p>\n

In person, at one of the homes, I saw two aggressive dogs on the other side of a chain fence, and that could have been a disaster for my dog. I could also see children\u2019s outdoor furniture. As a dog mom, I don\u2019t want the noise of young children.<\/p>\n

What about this house led you to know it was the one?<\/p>\n

This house is on Old Mission Peninsula, which my partner was pushing for. It\u2019s located next to a cherry orchard\u2013my only neighbors are cherry trees. Before this, I had only lived in cities: L.A.<\/a>, New York<\/a> City and Fort Lauderdale. I don’t want any more neighbors or HOAs. The ruralness of the location appealed to me.<\/p>\n

How is life in Traverse City different?<\/p>\n

The people here are a lot nicer. They\u2019re very community- and family-oriented. They also use turn signals, which did not happen much in South Florida.<\/p>\n

Did you save money by moving to a new state?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not finding that there\u2019s not much difference.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you miss about South Florida?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure in the winter that I will miss Florida\u2019s weather, but I still have a rental condo there and can visit in the winter if I like. I miss my friends, but I\u2019m making new friends.<\/p>\n

How much did the move cost?<\/p>\n

We bought the house furnished, and I left a lot of furniture at another rental unit I own in Fort Lauderdale. We hired one guy with a panel truck to bring our things, and that cost about $2,500.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite thing about daily life now?<\/p>\n

From our house, I can walk to the beach. I love the nature here. We can hike, paddle board, kayak and go to wineries. It\u2019s so beautiful and it feels like exactly what we\u2019ve been missing all along.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thinking about moving to another state, but not sure how to start? Welcome to Crossing the Line, where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-351203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}