I experienced the same homesickness when I moved out to Santa Monica for a year for work. I recommend going to farmer's markets and firing up the backyard firepit in the evening.

When my Aunt & Uncle lived in FL we would send them a box of leaves that had fallen from our trees each fall. My Aunt would burn a small pile of them to recreate a Midwestern smell. Even in the heat, it made her feel the change of season.

You can just drive to north central Florida near Gainesville...30 degree temps in winter, brown leaves in fall...as close as it gets to seasons in Florida...

I'm from Southern California. What are these "seasons" you speak of? Come fall/winter I keep a pot of water on my stove with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and slices of oranges and in the evening I simmer it low to make my house smell autumnal.

Hmm..pumpkin lattes...add a teaspoon of canned pumpkin to a homemade latte, and Pier 1 creamy caramel and apple pie candles really smell homey, like fall.

I actually just made the opposite move (FL to WA) so this whole seasons thing is a change for me! When I did live there, I made a point to decorate for the holidays/seasons with items found in nature that characterized the seasons for me. I also tried to find scents that made things feel more autumn/winter, which for me is the scent of cinnamon. I'd buy a bag of cinnamon pine cones as soon as they were available in September and kept a pretty bowl of them out and the scent would last through New Years. I also agree with Kbizzle's suggestion about travelling further north in the state. North Florida, particularly around Tallahassee and other inland panhandle areas, have beautiful foliage displays in the fall. You may also want to take up bird watching. Even though the weather may not change much, the different species of migrating birds coming through always marked the coming winter for me.

I live in Guatemala, where there is only either sun or rain. No orange fall, no white snow. Yet, I love Fall! and wish it existed here. What do I do? Like others suggested here, I make sure to have something cinnamon/apple burning inside, say essence or a candle. I also decorate with pine cones here and there, and - incredibly enough - twigs and leaves! You wouldn't believe how simple, yet how pretty (and cheap!) they make the environment.

I am so tired of this heat and I'm already thinking about pulling the Fall decorations out. As soon as school starts, I will. I keep the air conditioning high, close the blinds and decorate with lots of leaves, acorns, candles and incense. Once you're inside the house, It's Fall as always. I just miss going pumpkin picking at the farm. And I have fake jack o lanterns for outside as the real thing rots in less than a week in this weather. You'll get used to it. Eventually.

I moved from Massachusetts to Southern California and had the same problem. While it was 90 degrees outside, I put the ac on about 70ish inside, made soups, wore sweaters, and drank apple cinnamon and pumpkin teas. I made sure my blinds were closed enough so I couldn't see the palm trees. I'd light a fire and snuggle on the couch with my dog, or if I really wanted it to feel like fall I'd read "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury.

Those are great suggestions, you'll find that it does get significantly cooler--a light comfy sweater might be just the ticket. Of course, foods will definitely help--think warm comfort foods. What I would miss the most is the smell of fall so I guess going a little north for the smell of leaves will be therapeutic.

I'm a big fan of the Leaves scent from Bath & Body Works, we start burning the Leaves candles in late August/early September to get ready for the fall we have here in Western North Carolina.

I also love to switch out decor items around the house with antique finds that are rust, orange, deep green, and brown.

We actually have a fall day in late September where we drink pumpkin spice lattes, make pumpkin cheesecake, fix other stick-to-your-ribs types of fall foods, carve pumpkins, and decorate for fall. It's a great way to get friends in on the fall season!

I've lived in Florida and the South for my entire life. I think scented candles, seasonal decorations and a good attitude are the best way to get into the mindset of fall and winter. It might be warm outside but surrounding yourself with pumpkins, leaves, mums, etc., do help a lot!

Switch from your brightly colored rubber flip flops to your leather flip flops.

I moved from IN to FL and I feel the same. Fall is the BEST. I use cinnamon sticks, still have a little campfire at night, buy good pumpkin beer. I live in St. Augustine so it's about 6 hours drive to N. Georgia and they have great color in late Oct.I make it a point to save every year for my annual "I need the fall leaves" trip. Sometimes we do TN or NC too.

I went through this last year! For me, it was wearing riding boots (with dresses), and pine scented candles at home. I made sure I decorated for the holidays and bought a real pine tree. It helped a little!
Also, the hubby and I took a weekend trip (to the midwest, actually), where were were cold for the first time since moving here. That put us into the fall spirit. Orlando get pretty chilly at night.

Go to a college football game. You are in Florida.

I live in South Florida and I moved here from chilly England. I have no desire whatsoever to recreate autumn, thank you very much! I'm just very happy to be in the lovely warm sunshine when others are in places where they're freezing their whatnots off.

Buy some fresh apple cider, find a recipe for pumpkin cinnamon doughnuts (they're out there), and take them out for a picnic by the river. Nothing says fall in Michigan to me more than a visit to the cider mill!

Since its so hot and humid not in Florida, I recommend getting out the suntan lotion, getting a great book and going to the beach in October. Get out dark-colored t-shirts and dark colored jeans to go with your flip flops for the "change of season." Enjoy the "fall." When it turns to be winter, you can do the same thing. It's great living in a climate where you can go to the beach year round. Come February, the northern neighbors will be getting a bit sick of the whole season thing. We can't go to the beach and swim in California, but Sept. and Oct. are the best times to go to the beach. The water warms up (finally) and the hords of people are back home in Iowa and Michigan.

My family moved to Southern California from Ohio about 15 years ago, and my parents still struggle with this. It's actually one of the reasons I came back to Ohio for college and stayed. Seasonal decorating, scented candles, and creating new traditions are a saving grace. In the winter especially you'd see snow on the mountaintops and all of the palm trees would get wrapped with lights.

I hear what you're saying, but fall in Florida isn't bad, it's just different. My favorite part is how much longer the sun is out down here than it is up north. Go watch the sunset on the beach and breathe in how much higher the sky is and how much less claustrophobic the clouds are. Revel in how much more moisturized your skin is because of the humidity. Go for a run at 6pm in October and come home while there's still pink in the sky, while your poor friends back north have been in the pitch dark for an hour already. Florida will never have the clearly demarcated seasons that the midwest does, but fall here really isn't half bad!

Evidently you didn't have to rake and bag leaves. In the southwest, we get 'Fall' in December & one leaf color change; yellow. Yes, big whoop, compared to MN. But, fall means snow, sleet, slush & shivering are on the way. Buy a pumpkin pie & whipped cream and indulge. Soon, if not already, the ugly orange and black Halloween crap will fill the stores; another 'Fall' sign. Enjoy & appreciateFL & the swaying palms!

Enjoy where you are!

Same problem! I'm a transplant from Ohio to SoCal. I choose to blatantly ignore the fact it's not fall outside and dress as warmly as the weather will permit, put on fall-scented perfumes, eat soups and squash, and decorate with leaves that my family sends me. If you can take at least one weekend to go somewhere fallish. I'm planning to go to the mountains to catch some semblance of Fall as soon as I can.

If you are in a house and can plant a small tree, go get a crepe myrtle-the leaves will change a bit(maybe only to yellow) but it's deciduous. If you can't, get some potted plants for your doorstep or porch like a croton-they will hit the stores soon and the leaves all have crazy fall colors all over them. That and a gold or orange pot of mums will help make you feel the season a bit more.

I live in Central Florida, and I love it. I don't like the heat in the summer, but you won't find me complaining in the the winter. I'll be wearing shorts and tees and running the AC while my friends in the North are battling snow and ice! Even though there isn't much of an autumn here, I still decorate a little with fall things. I put pots of yellow or orange mums on the porch, break out my autumn wreath, and prop my burlap-clad scarecrow in the corner. Inside, I have pumpkin-scented candles and fall flowers. My daughter sends me colored leaves from Virginia. If you don't think it seems like fall in South Florida, wait 'til Christmas. You can cook out on some days during the season, in your shorts and flip-flops. Hot weather doesn't stop folks from going all out and decorating with snowmen, trees, angels, pointsettias, and red and green galore.

@KENPASADENA - yes, that;s all,

I've always lived in L.A. and always wanted fall! One thing that helps is going outside at night when it's cold(er). I don't know if that's as true in FL, but in Southern CA even if it's 90 during the day it can be 60 at night, that really helps feel fall-like! I can sit outside and even put on a sweater. :)

You could take a weekend trip to NYC and then realize how wonderful it is to be returning HOME when you feel that humidity hit you in the gap between the plane and the ramp :)
And you can do what I do, living in South Florida, which is to wear something cashmere for that one chilly week in January, and take as many evening walks on the beach in Dec-March as possible. Basically I pretend it's fall in during the winter months.
Also wear light scarves with your tank tops :D

You have to readjust your expectations-- I've never experienced a REAL fall (I'm a native Floridian who yearns to one day experience real seasons) so the seasons changing for me is signified by A. Smells (many people have mentioned changing their place's smell to help) and B. Colors. I get my thrills by going to a grocery store or a craft store and getting that blast of cinnamon smell and the sight of vivid orange decorations when you first walk in. I know the seasons have changed when the colors on bags of candy have changed lol! Seriously, when packaging in the candy aisle turns orange, I know fall is on the way! :D

I have felt your pain for 10 years in Miami. I moved here from Philly and spent most of my life between Detroit and the Maryland/D.C. area. For me, and this may seem like a complete no brainer but, it's all about the scents. Once September rolls around, I start stocking up on oils, candles, and air freshners that remind me of the fall - Spiced Apple, Pumpkin, Ginger, Vanilla, Brown Sugar. If I could find candles/oils with "Fireplace" scent, I'd buy that too. Anything that can put me in the mind set of pumpkin patches, crisp autumn mornings, the leaves changing, Thanksgiving - I'm on it.

Colors also play a big role in how I have maintained the Northern girl in the South lifestyle all these years during the fall/winter/holiday seasons. Oranges, golds, browns - any deep, rich colors can make a big difference. I like to come home and enter into my own little piece of Northern love. It's worked this long.

Good luck!

@dilla_daze- Yankee Candle used to make a smoky scented candle- Fireside. Sounds like you might like it!

@dilla-daze- correction, they still make it.

Oh, I totally feel your pain. I moved from the Midwest to the deep South and I was surprised at how much I miss the season changes. It was kind of depressing to tell the truth. I think I have figured out that it is more the loss of the activities associated with the season than the season itself. The changes in nature were signals for the long-standing traditions for that time. Apple picking, hay rides, leaf raking and then jumping into them... The things were special because you could only do them at that time of year. My new plan is to come up with some new traditions that we only do in fall because I say we only get to do them in the fall. It is also going to look like fall exploded in my house by the time I get done decorating. No cornucopia or fake leaf will be left behind.

I moved to central Florida from the D.C. area and I miss fall SO MUCH! Here's what I normally do:
Turn the A/C a little colder and put on sweatpants, thick socks, and a flannel shirt. Make a soup or stew (gumbo for me - my grandmother's recipe. Always means fall) and that. Change out the blankets/throws in the living room to something with a sweater-y texture. Decorate with fake colored leaves (I prefer oak) and tiny pumkins (are they pumpkins?).
I try to decorate with the colored leaves just outside my front door also.

Most importantly? I try to spend as much time as I can in my house during the late afternoon/early evening. There's something about the quality of light at that time of day that screams autumn and not Florida. I also try to stay very quiet - when the cold hits I always seem to quiet down a bit and settle in to the house for the long winter. No music or soft music, a book instead of TV. Hot cider.
I also like to 'fall clean' - it makes me feel a change even if it isn't specifically fall. Oh, and scarves! I get out the fashion scarves I've been hiding all sweltering summer long. It's just about cool enough to wear them (at least at night, soon!) and nothing makes me feel like fall more than wearing a scarf.
I bake pumpkin cake (not a fan of the pie) and buy fall scented candles - I can't recommend any because I quickly realized everyone has a different favorite 'fall' smell depending on where they came from, what kind of trees they had, etc.

And without forgetting - HALLOWEEN! I always decorate for Halloween and buy candy early to keep it in a bowl for guests (willpower...it takes a LOT of willpower). Just visiting a Halloween Express makes me feel the changing of the seasons a little bit more. Thanksgiving is also a great time to up the ante - the smell of a traditional meal cooking (even if you're only baking a single turkey breast) can be amazing.