I Moved to Tampa, FL

Change can be scary.

Too often, we stay stuck in one place because of fear.

The fear of the unknown.

The fear of failure.

The fear of what other people think.

Can you relate? It's okay to be honest.

We can all relate.

And I think that's how I felt for a while: stuck.

You see, I've made a drastic change to my mindset over the past year or so. I used to think strictly with my brain, and let me tell ya, that can put a toll on you. The overthinking, the second guessing, the questioning yourself. It's a rollercoaster ride, baby.

I've learned to tap into my heart and just go with whatever feels right. Of course, you need to apply some logic, but if something just clicks, I'm following my gut.

I was born and raised on Long Island, NY. I absolutely love the community and the people there (and the food). It's all I've ever known.

But for the past 4 - 5 years, something just felt off. I can't explain exactly what it was but when you know, you just know. You ever feel that?

I can also tell you that for the past few years, I've wanted to make a big change. And that change was to start a new journey in another state. More specifically, I had this itch to move down south. 

Every single time I'd go down south for vacation, I felt this state of relaxation. Granted, I know it's vacation and that's what it's supposed to feel like. But I don't know, I guess I just felt it on a deeper level. And especially more so on roadtrips. Because when vacation is over and you make that drive back to NY and you hit that tri-state traffic, i.e. the Belt Parkway.....lawddd does the stress of the craziness punch you right in the gut again. 

It's like "whatttt am I doing here!?!?!?" For my NYers reading this, I know you understand. You get it!

During a couple of those vacations I visited Tampa. If you haven't been, it's really cool here. And the last time I visited here before I moved, I was sitting in a bar with some friends and family and inside, I just had this intuition. I was looking around like, "damn, I can see myself living here."

I won't get into specifics, but an opportunity presented itself and I went for it. And this opportunity allowed me to make the move down to Tampa. It's something I'm eternally grateful for and will never forget. So I took the chance.

Like I said earlier, I still love New York. I love Long Island. I love the people there. And I owe a lot to those people, especially my family and my friends.

I also need to give a shoutout to the fellas over at Long Island Strong. We did so many cool things together and I'll always remember those. The Long Island Scavenger Hunt we did that one year was wild, lol. I want to thank them for their collaborations with Gage and for all their support. I wish them nothing but the best as they continue to grow. So awesome.

I want to thank Discover Long Island for their collaboration with Gage, too. We made such a sick pair of sunnies that you can still get here. Those are some really good people over there.

But now it's time for a new chapter. It's time for a fresh start. As of August 2023, Gage officially became a Florida LLC. 

Being in sunny Florida is going to allow me to produce more of the content that I think I lost over the last couple of years. And that's about focusing on the beach lifestyle. That's what this is all about.

Yes, Gage is a company that sells sunglasses, that's how we make money. But it's not even about that. It's about building a community of people who love the beach, who love chasing sunsets, who love getting that fresh air and staring out at that ocean horizon. Those are our people. If that's you, then I'm so happy you're here. I'm going to need you and your support. We're all in this thing together.

So there you have it. I wasn't expecting to lay it all out there like this, but as I mentioned, I'm just going with whatever feels right. And it just felt right to tell you how it is.

I hope you find the courage to follow your dreams, wherever those may take you. You deserve it.

I appreciate you taking the time to read. It means a lot.

"It's always beach season here."