Susanna Song, 29, struggled during Toronto's chilly winters. After moving to Miami, she said she's the "mentally healthiest" she's ever felt.
Courtesy of Susanna Song
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Susanna Song, 29, who quit her job as a business analyst-slash-consultant to move from Toronto, Canada, to Miami, Florida with her husband in March. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.
I was born in Toronto and raised around the Greater Toronto Area my whole life. All I've ever known is Toronto.
I left my job at the end of March to move to Miami with my husband, who works in the tech industry.
The move was financially motivated. But another thing that prompted the move, especially toward Miami, is weather and lifestyle.
But the catapult to why we decided to move now is timing. We're 29. To some people, that's young, and to some people, that's the time to start a family. I want to live my life before I have kids. It was now or never.
Courtesy of Susanna Song.
We came here on a TN visa, sponsored through the company my husband works for. We own our condo downtown in Toronto, and we are renting it out right now.
In our minds, it was between New York and Miami. New York would be so much more familiar, but Miami would bring that whole new experience for us: a different lifestyle.
The first day, our flight got delayed. I was so tired and mentally drained. When we got to the Airbnb in Brickell, Miami, it wasn't very homey. My husband went to shower first, and I was sitting on the couch, and I was like, "Oh, my god. What did we just do?"
In the beginning, we couldn't even open bank accounts or get credit cards. It's hard to make a bank account if you don't have proof of address. They started our credit limit at $500. That's pretty low, especially for a city like Miami, where it's not necessarily that cheap.
We booked our Airbnb closer to downtown Miami. Coming from downtown Toronto, we thought we would love it there. But we realized that the hustle and bustle wasn't for us anymore.
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We rented a car. For three days, we were in the car all day, zipping around Miami to different locations. We ended up picking Coral Gables. It's a very family-friendly neighborhood, walkable, and a lot more quiet.
You need good credit when you are renting a place. Otherwise, they make you put down an incredible deposit amount. We found a place that looked at a balance of everything and worked with us on a deposit that made sense for us.
The main challenge for me, though, which we've always known, is that the visa that we are on only allows me to live in the US. It would not allow me to have a work permit and to make money.
I always defined myself by my career success. But I see it as an investment in my future — to figure out what will make me happy long term.
I know a lot of people get seasonal depression, but I get hit hard every year with it. Last year, in Toronto, was particularly hard for me. It just felt so dark and gloomy.
I wanted to become a more active person, going out in the sun and playing tennis and golf. Not that you can't do that in Toronto, but being in Miami removes some of those barriers because of how naturally warm it is.
Everything I do, I just try to do outdoors now.
Courtesy of Susanna Song
I do groceries by foot, not by car. We take long walks here, an hour to an hour and a half. My husband is also teaching me how to play tennis. Eventually, once we have a car, we're going to play golf.
In Toronto, I'd go grocery shopping in a sweatsuit, but here, everybody's in Alo tights and an Alo tank top. It's motivation, though, seeing all the fit people.
This is the strongest, mentally healthiest time I've felt in my adult life.
Your entire life is so different when you move. That's a really big aspect of homesickness I didn't think of before.
You walk out the door, and everything is different. Your dentist is different, your doctor is different, your hair salon is different, and your favorite coffee shop is different. I feel guilty, feeling homesick. I should be so happy because I know this is a big privilege and a blessing.
But one of the positives of moving to Miami with my husband is that we've always been a couple that likes to travel together. Moving to a new country where you know nobody has made us the type of close that I never thought we would be. I didn't think anyone could ever be this close.
It's strengthened our connection as husband and wife, and that's helped with the adjustment.
It's hard to plan out your life a couple of years in advance. I don't know what life is going to bring.
I didn't leave Toronto because I didn't like it. I left because there were better opportunities, and I wanted to live this lifestyle here.
Right now, we're really living each day to the fullest. Do I foresee hard times and challenges? Of course. But ultimately, I still remember why we came here, and for that reason, I do not think I'll regret it.
