"Snowbirds"~ Where do you live? Where do you FLY to? (55, beach)
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I was wondering where many "snowbirds" reside? What are your reasons for snowbirding?
I love living spring and summers in PA. This keeps me in close contact with family. We get together for birthdays, dinners, holidays, sports events, boating, and lovely vacations. I can attend most of the school events that are not in the middle of winter. However, come January first.......off I head as a "snowbird" to South Carolina.
The reasons why are many. Most of all to leave the harsh winter behind. The long driveway......the ice!
But now that I have done this for awhile I notice that I love getting back to our other "snowbirding" friends.
While in SC we met many northern friends that we keep in touch with all year long. Some, strangely enough, are nearby in neighboring towns in PA. So now we have get-together friends in two places. In the SC winters we have joined up in our community with friends from NH, NY, NJ, NC,WV, VT, and other various states.....We all part about the same time, and arrive each year ( as snowbirds do) around the start of the winters fury.....
I find the SC a great place to winter because of its various things to do. Golfing, many shows, lots of walking places, and the wonderful Market Common. Broadway at the Beach is a fun day of boardwalk walking. Barefoot Landing too. Our favorite shows are the Dixie Stampede and the Legends. But, the Palace theater has shows and so does the Alabama theater. Many entertainers come to these venues. The new Coastal Mall is a dream. What is nice is that you can walk your dog at the beach. The beach is a wonderful gathering place for friends.
I am wondering what others do when they snowbird. Do you head further south? Do you meet up with family? What is your favorite snowbirding area? Are you happy when spring arrives to head back home? Thanks for your answers........I think this could be interesting.
Well, I just know we have a lot of snowbirds on CD because I meet them all the time when I am south......
It would be so interesting to know your locations. How you enjoy living in two places......and does it double your friendships?
I head for Daytona,great deals on nice 55+ parks. it is hard to leave friends in both places but the snow makes it easier in the north and the heat makes it easier to leave fla. plus I look forward to catching up on what I missed while I was gone.
My sister snowbirds - October to March in Arizona on the Colorado River, at a nice little mobile home park. She has a little 'B' RV to take short trips in, and uses the AZ home as her base. She spends April to September in Montana.
She's been doing this for about 10 years. She says she likes the people and the mentality in AZ better, so she'll be planting herself in Arizona permanently pretty soon - as soon as I get to AZ with a cool place for her to come to during the hot months
I love the SouthWest, specifically AZ, have spent much time there. NM also very nice. Have thought to get a small trailer to pull behind the SUV and just take off down there some day!!
We've only been at this for about two years, but when we retired we embraced the snowbirding mentality. We own two homes, one in the Northern Nevada, the other in the Coachella Valley, (Palm Desert area). We spend summers in No. Nev, winters in the SoCal desert.
We have friends in both areas and while it's a bit difficult to leave, it's also a blast to return. Down in the desert virtually everyone is also a snowbird, so we all leave within about a few weeks. On our street down there there are only 2 full timers and 10 snowbirds. They travel to Oregon, Canada (mostly western), Idaho, Washington, etc.
In both areas we golf year round, hike, go on overnight trips exploring the areas. We've made two cycles now and are enjoying it more than ever.
If I had my way, I'd keep my home here in Florida and have a 2nd home in North Carolina. I say North Carolina because it's halfway to New York City and our daughter lives there now.
It's just something to plan for - we would still have to work but it's something to think about.
I enjoy reading about what others have done. I don't want to do it too early and I don't want to get to the party too late either!!
I'm too young to be a snowbird (read: poor) but I have 2 sets of aunt and uncles as well as my parents that are snowbirds. My parents are baby boomers and have their home base in Iowa but snowbird out to Scottsdale, AZ for 4-5 months each year. They seem to love the lifestyle, they usually fly out in December and leave somewhere between April and May. They keep two vehicles out here and two back in Iowa unlike many snowbirds who usually drive one vehicle out here. Dad is always occupied by morning and afternoon coffee at McDonalds where the other retirees gather. Mom is always driving over to Mesa to see her two sisters (the snowbird and one that lives here permanently). Dad does his own thing, mom does hers and they usually will see each other in the evening...I think they'd drive each other crazy if they were together throughout the day! I usually see them on Sunday mornings during the winter months when we go out for breakfast and once in a while they make drop by in the evenings for a glass of wine or something.
Aunt and Uncle #1 drive out to Arizona for 3 months and stay in a 55+ community in Mesa. Also from Iowa.
Aunt and Uncle #2 drive to Florida and stay there for a month or two, he would rather live back in Iowa during the winter than be in Florida but she loves the tropical climate.
If I had my way, I'd keep my home here in Florida and have a 2nd home in North Carolina. I say North Carolina because it's halfway to New York City and our daughter lives there now.
It's just something to plan for - we would still have to work but it's something to think about.
I enjoy reading about what others have done. I don't want to do it too early and I don't want to get to the party too late either!!
I'm probably a bit young (44) to be a snowbird, but I do it anyway. I live in Boston. Last four winters I've driven to Florida and stayed there for two to three months each winter and usually I spend a week in Hilton Head and then a week in Myrtle Beach on the way home.
I do it just because I HATE snow and cold. But Boston is a great city the rest of the year.
This year I'm heading west instead as I'm doing an extended road trip starting in September. So I expect I'll do January/February in CA, NV, AZ, or NM. Just depends on what I feel like doing
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Nice to hear these comments
I'm with you!
