Why I Moved to The Middle of Nowhere

When the pandemic gave me the freedom to work from anywhere, I asked myself where I really wanted to be.

This is the story of how I ended up in Sopchoppy, Florida—and why I started a website to share what makes North Florida so special.

My husband and I had both spent nearly 15 years in and around Atlanta when the pandemic began and upended life as we knew it.

Maybe it was the empty store shelves or the tension behind every breath, but I found myself asking some serious, existential questions. Questions about my life, my home, my family, my career—and perhaps most of all, myself. My heart knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know how to get there in this strange, seemingly apocalyptic timeline.

When we were told to work from home, I assumed it would just be for two weeks like they said. But when I finally returned to the office a year later, I found a surreal little time capsule. My pen was still uncapped. The small trash bin under my desk held an empty soda bottle. A Post-it on my monitor reminded me to go to the conference room at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Photos pinned to the carpeted back of my desk had started to curl.

On the drive home that day, I felt something shift. I’d always tried to live close to the office to preserve my time—but working remotely had quietly given me more freedom than I’d ever imagined (short of winning the lottery). The truth hit me: for the first time in my adult life, I could choose where I lived. This time, when the questions came, I had answers.

As much as I loved living in Atlanta and North Georgia, it wasn’t home. I was born in Pensacola and had lived in the Panhandle most of my life. While visiting his family in Tallahassee, my husband asked me if I’d ever move back to Florida. Without hesitation I said, “If God would open the door, I’d run through it.” Within weeks, doors opened—and our questions became more practical.

Found: Our Ideal Location In “The Middle of Nowhere”

We found our ideal home in Sopchoppy, a small town south of Tallahassee near the Gulf Coast and the Apalachicola National Forest. Funnily enough, our house is within three hours or less of nearly the entire North Florida region—a happy accident I didn’t even notice until I began exploring.

If you’ve ever passed the Sopchoppy sign on your way to the beach along Coastal Highway, you might’ve giggled at the strange name. You’d zip past a small gas station, a Dollar General, a vacant restaurant building, and an auto shop—and assume that was all there was to see.

But if you actually stopped to explore, you’d find a close-knit, thriving community full of life: a local brewery, unique shops, small-town eateries, quiet parks, active churches, and a rich, often-overlooked history. There isn’t much “Old Florida” left these days—the kind of Florida that was already fading into memory when I was a child. But Sopchoppy fits the description.

For me, it was the natural scenery that truly sold me. The winding blackwater of the Sopchoppy River offers a prehistoric kind of beauty, with ancient cypress, palms, and live oaks lining the steep limestone banks.

The surrounding national forest is a quiet wilderness all its own. A grid of dirt roads and forestry trails cuts through untouched Florida landscapes—pine lands, lilied lakes, swampy bottomlands, and moss-draped oak hammocks.

The wildlife never fails to catch my attention. I find myself counting deer and turkeys on the drive home. I’ve seen alligators and manatees, dolphins and sharks, feral pigs, foxes, bears—and my personal favorite: white squirrels, or “ghosts,” as I like to call them.

North Florida Romance

Sometimes people ask me why I moved to “the middle of nowhere.” But my romance with North Florida is hard to explain in just a few sentences. That’s why I started this website—to document the unique people, places, culture, and stories this region has to offer. I want you to see for yourself.

If you love North Florida, or just want to understand it a little better, I hope you’ll stick around. Follow along on social media or check back weekly for new content. I’d love to hear about your favorite places, too.

Thanks for being here,
Savannah
Founder & Publisher, North Florida Guide