MSP-Arizona Connection (condo, buy, to live)

[southernsmoke]

I have wondered about this for a while... and what better place to ask the question than this...

What is the deal with Minnesotans and Arizona? I'm not saying this as a negative thing, but it seems like the only place Minnesotans go to vacation/escape the cold is Arizona? (Obviously, that is hyperbole.) I am just curious if there is some reason for that? Why not Florida? Georgia? South Carolina? For that matter, why not New Mexico or Texas?

[golfgal]

Plenty of Minnesotans do go to Florida, Georgia, Carolina's, etc. but they also go to Arizona. Many people like the dry climate and it is cheep to live there.

[mntonv]

I know just as many Minnesota-Florida snowbirds as I do Minnesota-Arizona snowbirds. I even know several MN-TX snowbirds! They are out there, not just in Arizona! Some people just prefer dry heat to a humid, more tropical feel.

[southernsmoke]

Interesting. Well maybe my data sample is just skewed, then. I just hear so much about people going to Arizona, and even on this forum it seems like there are a plurality of people who answer the "where would you go if you left Minnesota?" question with Arizona. I just always noticed that because I had never really known people to vacation in Arizona for the climate, but I certainly acknowledge that I have not done a scientific study of where all Minnesotans go to get away.

[audadvnc]

I visit family in Florida about once a year. I have a sister in Arizona, but it's been years since I visited down there.

[uptown_urbanist]

Most of my MN relatives who have headed south have gone to AZ, but I know people with relatives in Florida, too.

I remember reading in the book "Early Bird" (by a guy who "retires" early to Florida) that the Atlantic side of FL was heavily populated by former New Yorkers and other east coasters, while the gulf side was filled with Midwesterners. He attributed it to the ways the interstates dump people off in the state. Maybe the AZ connection was forged a bit later and isn't as tied to the road map.

[mntonv]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I remember reading in the book "Early Bird" (by a guy who "retires" early to Florida) that the Atlantic side of FL was heavily populated by former New Yorkers and other east coasters, while the gulf side was filled with Midwesterners.

I would buy into this. The gulf side is where I'm heading tomorrow to visit my parents who head down there for a few months each winter. They tried AZ, NM, TX and when they went to Marco Island, FL, that was it! They've been going down there for well over 10 years now and while many of their friends and neighbors are from the East coast, many are also from here, Michigan, Illinois, etc.

I think it all just depends on if you prefer desert or tropics!

[IA_Energy]

I was recently down in South Padre Island, TX with a basketball player who played HS basketball in Minnesota and started this season in the NBA. When he wasn't playing we'd be sitting together, and we saw a ton of people with Gophers and other Minnesota related clothing on. We started talking to some of the people and it's a very popular spot for Midwesterners to travel to in the winter.

[wherespankakehouse?]

I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a Minnesota Embassy in Fort Myers, FL. It seems like everyone around here with a little bit of money has snapped up a condo and spends a good chunk of Twins Spring Training there.