31M Rebuilding after a major life change — Looking for a grounding place to call home
Hey guys,
I’m a 31-year-old male originally from Tampa, FL. For the past two years I’ve been living in Costa Rica building a social wellness/travel business. Earlier this year my life changed dramatically and I’ve been trying to figure out where to go from here.
In January, my newborn son passed away unexpectedly after complications shortly after birth. It completely shattered my partner and me. She understandably took it very hard, our relationship ended shortly after, and she moved back to the States while I remained in Costa Rica trying to hold together both my grief and a business launch that no longer felt emotionally sustainable.
Eventually I paused everything, spent about a month in Peru trying to regroup, and made the decision to return to the US and reassess my life entirely.
My family encouraged me to move to Miami Beach because of the networking opportunities and because my business concept aligns somewhat with the wellness/social scene there. I’ve now been here for about a month and honestly, I’ve found Miami incredibly overwhelming in this phase of my life. I understand the appeal intellectually, but emotionally I just haven’t had the energy or desire to immerse myself in such a high-stimulation environment.
I have some family and friends in Boca Raton and have considered basing myself there, but I’m struggling to connect with it. Housing feels overpriced and aesthetically sterile to me with the endless gray floors and soulless new construction.
I know that may sound superficial, but environment affects me deeply and right now I’m looking for somewhere that feels grounding, human, and emotionally nourishing while I rebuild my life. Somewhere I can genuinely feel at home again.
At this point I’m very open-minded and would really appreciate perspective from people who know different parts of the country well.
Things that matter to me:
- beautiful historic architecture
- coffee culture
- walkability
- green space/nature
- thoughtful or intellectually curious people
- chess
- good music and food
- gym/wellness culture
- a slower pace without feeling isolated
- some degree of creativity/artistic culture
Thank you.