Well, it’s official! After 15 years of living in the greatest city on Earth, I’ve decided to rejoin my family and move back to Florida. I didn’t make this decision lightly; it’s been a few years in the making, for a number of reasons. I will ALWAYS love New York. There’s just no other city like it. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time living here, making it my home.

I will miss my charming apartment on the Upper East Side, where I’ve been cozily based the last 11 years, and all of my kind neighbors. I’ll miss my favorite restaurants (Flex, Freeman’s, Carbone, ABC Kitchen, The Dutch, Luke’s Lobster, Momofuku, and Joe’s) and bars (Campbell’s Apartment, The Writing Room, Aldo Sohm, The George Washington, and Fine & Rare) and coffee shops!

I will miss volunteering at MoMA, wandering around the Met, checking out new exhibits at the Whitney, New Museum, and so many more of my favorite galleries.

I will miss strolling around the diverse neighborhoods of my city, always discovering something new and delightful. I’ll miss being able to hop on a subway or bus and with a swipe of my MetroCard, be somewhere else lickety split! (Most of the time, that is — I won’t miss rush hour or when the trains stop unexpectedly).

I will miss the friends I’ve made in my 15 years here. I moved to NYC fresh out of college with 2 suitcases while my sister was undergoing biochemotherapy for third stage Melanoma in Colorado, I had just broken up with my college boyfriend, and I only knew 2 people in the entire city – a friend I had made while studying in Sydney Australia the year before who happened to live in NYC, and a college friend/former roommate from Vermont who was going to graduate school at Columbia University (who very sadly passed away a few years ago after her 2nd bout of cancer). Over the years, I was lucky to add dozens and dozens of wonderful people who helped make my time in New York fun, adventurous and meaningful.

I will miss my work and the incredible people I connected with through it. I established my photography business in 2011, but since 2003 I’ve been a private tutor for one amazing family. I’ve helped all 4 of their children through different aspects of their education, and they’ve all become like brothers and sisters to me. They’re my second family and my time in NYC wouldn’t have been close to the same without them.

I will miss my photography clients – although I plan on coming back to New York OFTEN so I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot of you again soon! But I will miss having Central Park as my backyard and the most perfect setting for almost any photo session! I was lucky to build a successful business in this amazing city and I’ll never take that for granted.

But I miss my family. I miss family dinners with my parents, sister, brother in law, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I miss having a pool in the backyard and a beach a few miles away. I miss popping in on my sister to have a glass of wine or going to a museum with her. I’ve been able to see them several times each year over the last 15 years but it’s not the same. It’s time for a change, to something even more familiar.

And so I am leaving NYC in September for the Sunshine State, where I spent my childhood and teen years; where my family is waiting for me! (Specifically, the Florida Suncoast – Tampa/St Pete/Sarasota area). I can’t wait to have palm trees and swimming pools in the backyard again!

But I’ll be back often; I’ll never be able to quit NYC! A piece of my heart will remain there forever, so I look forward to seeing you all on my visits, and hopefully photographing you and your beautiful families while I’m there! And if you’re ever in FL on vacation… drop me a line if you want some gorgeous vacation photos! I’ll be here waiting for you 🙂