Imagine this scenario:  you live in a state that is only warm during the three summer months of the year, with your entire family and close friends.  You’re mostly happy because you are surrounded by people you love, although you do hate the cold, long, winter months because you are confined to the indoors, except for the occasional day where you take your kids sledding or ice skating.

Imagine even further:  you win a million dollars.  You are now completely torn.  You really want to continue living in your current state because of your family and close friends; however, you now have the means to purchase a beautiful home in Florida, where you know no one.  Your spouse desperately wants to move to Florida because of the warm weather year-round, giving your family the opportunity to be outdoors as often as you want.

You only have two options:  stay in your current living situation, or buy a large, beautiful beach house in Florida and move, leaving your family and friends.  Your husband insists that you will see your family every couple of months, and that you can make new friends in Florida.

What would you choose?

To stay where you are-cold, but also happy because you are surrounded by your family and close friends, or to leave everything and everyone behind to start a new life in Florida?

Your spouse says this to you every day:  “Think of all of the fun things we can do with the kids every day-take them swimming, take them to Disney World whenever we want, go for walks every day, take them to the park, play sports, take the boat out and see the ocean every day.  We can also go to the beach whenever we want! You can make new friends in Florida! It will be amazing, and the kids will be able to live life to the fullest.  We HAVE to move to Florida”.

Personally? While it sounds surreal, none of that would matter to me.

When I die, I want to be surrounded by those I love.  I also want to reminisce on the many memories I created with my family and with my close friend (yep, one lol).  I wouldn’t choose to live somewhere warm year round, with a beautiful beach home, because I would desperately miss my family and my friends.

And make new friends!? Is he for real!?

Do you know how long it takes to make a new, close friend? Someone you can tell your deepest, darkest secrets to and not be judged, or who wouldn’t share those secrets with anyone else because of the amount of trust built after so many years and experiences with one another?

How long it takes to really get to know someone and to still like eachother?

It is said that after 3 months of meeting and talking to someone, that that is when you decide if you truly like that person or not.

I have, without a doubt, realized how many people I end up not liking after 3 months of a “great friendship”.

Maybe I am always comparing my close friendship to those new ones, but I also know what I want out of a friend, and many simply do not make the cut.  Perhaps I am picky, but I am also quite satisfied with my current life.

I guess I could always use more friends, but I certainly don’t want to lose any for a beach home.

Even more importantly, while growing up, my parents strongly emphasized the love of immaterials:  people and memories you make with them are most important.

As I have grown up, or maybe this is just what current society elicits, I have noticed that, lately, people seem to be attached to what they own-their houses, their cars, their toys, their money, and just materials in general.

I think the advanced technology has much to do with it, as people cannot be without their phones, thus bringing an every day need to have “things”.

When we didn’t have such wonderful technology when I was a kid, we found things to do.  We spent time together because we had to; we knew of nothing else or had no other forms of entertainment.  I greatly miss those days!

So, to me, I feel like most people would choose the big, beautiful home on the beach because of just that:  it is a big, beautiful home- a “thing” that is currently unattainable.

In regards to my choice-Would it be selfish of me to keep my family where it is, or would it be selfish of my spouse to uproot our family to live in a warm climate? Would either of the options be considered selfish?

I ponder this question every single day.  I do hate where I live (Wisconsin), and I do dream about what life would be like in Florida.  I also imagine how lonely I would be.

These thoughts pass through my mind quite often:  “What would be best for my children? Would a life outdoors year-round be best for them? Or would a life with their family, cousins, and friends be best for them, even if it meant living in the harsh, winter climate several months of the year?”

I am certain I am not the only one with this on her mind.  What would you do? OR maybe you have chosen to up and move to a state far away from family, and have had to make new friends.  Was it worth it? Are you happy? What do you enjoy the most? What do you miss the most?