My family moved to Florida in 2016 and have been through 6 major hurricanes. We’re staying here anyway.

She’s right. In the nearly 3,000 days we’ve lived in Florida, no more than 15 of them have been taken up with hurricane prep, riding out a storm, and the necessary post-hurricane yard clean-up.

As Floridians, we know we take a risk living so closely with hurricanes, but it’s no different than earthquakes on the West Coast, tornadoes in the Midwest, or any other natural disaster risk. We love our home. We carry really good insurance. And we enjoy the 360 days of the year when we’re not tracking meteorologist Jim Cantore’s whereabouts to the fullest.

If you ask me why we stay in Florida in spite of the hurricane risk, the answer is easy for me. Florida is our home. It’s where our kids have gone to school dances with friends, opened gifts under the Christmas tree, lost their first tooth, and learned to love a good beach day. It’s a beautiful place where most of the country comes to vacation, so why wouldn’t I want to count myself among those lucky enough to live here, storms and all?