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Time for a Big Change: Moving to a Happier Place

Do more of what makes you happier can cooler on the beach with sunset - benefit of moving to a happier place.

Moving to a Happier Place doesn’t mean that you’re leaving a bad or sad place. It just means figuring out what kind of place might make (or keep) you happier and then moving there… as we just did.

We JUST made a rather big move: from Colorado to Florida. This is the reason why we haven’t posted any new articles in about a month – and why we’ve slowed down our social media engagement.

When we started telling people in Colorado that we were planning on moving to Florida, we mostly got an astonished “Why would you do THAT?” and even the occasional “You’ll hate it there.” Now that we live in walking distance from the beach, on the Gulf of Mexico, nobody here blinks an eye at the fact that we just left colorful Colorado. Possibly, most Floridians see Colorado as just another snow-covered state full of people dreaming of moving to Florida. We know it’s not. We love Colorado and will surely miss it a lot. To us it will always be the place where we discovered our original Happier Place!

Whiskey Dog after a morning beach run. Happier Place
Whiskey Dog after a morning run on the beach in Florida.

So then what’s this “Moving to a Happier Place” all about?

Just like the principle “Do more of what makes you happier.” – we also highly recommend “Be where you’re happier.” This can relate to climate, culture, family, friends, health, lifestyle, job or anything else that you believe influences your well-being. It can even be: “simply needing a change”.

We believe that every once in a while, we all should reassess our situation, specifically how we make a living and where/how we live.

We only get one life - but most of us have the chance to change it up completely if we want to.Click To Tweet We suggest you follow a regular “check in with yourself” schedule (e.g., every year on a certain date or according to your personal five-year plan or whatever works for you). Don’t wait until you realize you’re too depressed to leave the house or get fired because you yelled at your boss. And no, this did not happen to us.

What did happen to us is that we assessed our situation and discovered the following.You can take our reasons for Moving to a Happier Place as an explanation, inspiration… or just skip this section:

  • We had been in Colorado for about 5 years – we simply needed a change.
  • We had lived in metropolitan cities (Brooklyn + Berlin) and near the mountains – but we had never lived near the beach or the desert… About time we tried one of those!
  • We want to skip at least one winter – anywhere from California to Florida fits.
  • We want to be closer to our families, by car or plane – US East coast town with international airport would work.
  • We want to be closer to old friends and meet new inspiring people. So a fresh start not too far from people we love would be ideal – especially if there’s some cultural draw as well.
  • Our love for the outdoors needs to be fed… and we want to offer our long-distance friends a beautiful and interesting place to visit. We think the Gulf of Mexico, just west of Tampa Bay will do just fine for this.

These are some of the reasons we just made a big change. Maybe you can relate to some of them? Have you considered moving to a Happier Place? Maybe you’ve made a big change in your life to make (or keep) you happier? We’d love to read about your experiences in the comments below – maybe you can inspire others to be happier, too! 

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico - seen from Clearwater Beach, Florida. Happier Place!
Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico – seen from Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Of course, finding new jobs, a new home and paying for a move isn’t easy. But then getting off the couch to go for a hike instead of binge-watching Netflix can also be a challenge. But it’s so worth it! So think about it: could you be happier? What would it take? Is it worth it?

In regards to the Happier Place endeavor, not much will change. We’ve updated our mailing address from Ft. Collins to Largo (although, for the record, that’s not where we live) – and we hope to make some inspiring and practical new connections here in Florida. The sales tax set-up will change: Floridians will have to pay, Coloradans won’t. Although in general, Coloradans (like many Americans) have to pay use tax for online orders, we think. But that isn’t happening during the sale transaction but when you file your taxes. Oh, tax law…

Otherwise, we’ll just get back to creating posts, photos and videos to inspire you to take a break, go outside and have fun. We’ll continue sharing YOUR beautiful content online. And last but not least, super soon our shop will feature brand new products to make your Happy Place better!


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Moving to a Happier Place is a personal choice. We chose living near the beach in Florida.

8 thoughts on “Time for a Big Change: Moving to a Happier Place

  1. Our move from Brooklyn to Vermont was just this – reassessing and moving to a Happier Place! We can’t wait to see the adventures Florida brings you! xxx

    1. That was such an inspiring move you made from Brooklyn to Vermont. It was hard to imagine such a thing would be possible at that time in our lives. But seeing you embrace and thrive has inspired me so much! Hoping for some shared Vermont and Florida adventures soon…
      Also: just discovered you have a website up now – and linked to your name right here. It’s awesome! Can’t wait to see more on that front!
      xx Luci

  2. So glad for you to be following your happy place. I think many of the MKs you know keep looking for their happy place. Since I don’t like cold weather Florida sounds like a wonderful place. Just nine years ago you were here in Campbell NY with the showing of All God’s Children. Happy settling in.

    1. Thank you so much, Shary. We are so very much looking forward to a mild non-winter this year. But your spring is probably absolutely gorgeous. In Colorado we already had full-on summer right as we were leaving. And Florida is predictably hot and humid at this time of year. But the open views of the turquoise sea and big blue sky, the beautiful clear water with all the fish and big sea birds and all the big flowering plants… I gladly take the heat right now.

      I do remember how gorgeous it was up in Campbell. We had a picture from our hike (the day after the screening) at one of the Finger Lakes on our wall in Colorado – and it’s going back up on a wall at the Florida house this week. You certainly live in a place where an MK can find a Happier Place!

      Wild that it’s been 9 years since that screening already. I’m so glad we got be there for the screening and grateful for all the work you’re doing.
      xx Luci

  3. Wonderful description of the move to Florida & yes, it definitely makes several of us very “Happy” and know that ya’ll will find lots of “Happy Places” in your new location!!

    1. Glad to make you happier, Ellie! And thank you so much for your well-wishes. Looking forward to your visit!
      xx Luci

  4. I can 100% relate to wanting to move to a happier place – love the sentiment, and considering I’ve just made a big move myself, it’s nice to hear you’ve just done something similar, too! I’m sure I’ll get the chance to come visit sometime soon!!

    1. Thank you for your comment, Adam!
      I’ve been thinking so much about you while going through this move. Since I know what it feels like to move to Brooklyn, I can imagine what you’re experiencing right now and the differences and similarities between our adventures.

      I’m sure we will see each other VERY soon. Even if you don’t come down here soon, I believe I’ll be up to NYC sometime this summer. Will check to see what/when shows are happening in Prospect Park and around the city – and friends’ schedules, including yours, of course!

      In any case: furniture arrived yesterday and the guest room is already all set up… (Btw, it’s in the “Berlin Wing” – so named because I painted all rooms + hallway on that side of the house completely white, and there are no curtains.)
      xx Luci

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