Why Moving to Florida Helped Me Recover from Substance Abuse
By: Lakeview Health Staff
Published: July 20, 2010

Moving to Florida for Drug Addiction Treatment?

I have been in recovery for over 4 years now. During my active addiction, I lived all over the country. I lived in various areas of New York, Southern California, and Arizona, and each time I made a move, I always thought the same thing: when I get to my new destination, I’m going to turn my life around and live clean and sober.

Sometimes, I was able to do this for a few weeks before my alcohol and drug addictions kicked back in at full force. However, it always came back. I slowly figured out that it wasn’t the people I spent time with that were causing my addiction, it was me. I also learned that not only was I trying to cure my addiction through moving, but I was also running away from the problems that caused my addiction. Now, I don’t believe that there is such thing as a “geographical cure” unless it is a move to an addiction treatment center. The last time I moved, it was to go to addiction treatment in Florida.

It was there that I finally gave up and decided to seek help. Leaving my “current hometown” to go to treatment was one of the best things I ever did for myself. It allowed me to escape all of the drama and chaos that come with a drug addiction.

I was able to get a fresh start in Florida and, because I was finally sober, choose different friends than I had in the past. My treatment experience in Florida went so well that I decided to permanently reside in the Sunshine State. This move was different though. Not only did I want to get sober, like I did in all of my previous moves, around the country, I actually took the necessarily steps to achieve it.