Snowbirding

Well, I’d do it. To be out of the real cold and into a climate that gets “cold” at about 40 is a doable for me. But in my life, right now, it was a one-time thing. So the following thoughts are mine, in this case an imaginary me alone. It’s not that I don’t love my husband; it’s that he would not do this again, so we won’t. But I would.

I really can see why people do this, snowbirding, I mean. The cold in the North Country has definitely lost its appeal for me; I don’t need to prove to anyone that I can survive a winter where –25 is a high temp on some days. So I would do this. I would find a site I liked in Florida, or maybe Georgia, but probably not any farther north than that, and I would move there for 2-4 months per year. How long I’d be south would be determined on what involved me in the north. And since I’m kind of a loner anyway, I might actually split it 60-40, and I can’t say right now which end would get 40% of my year!

Of course, the best possible world would be to be able to afford to own a home on both ends of your line. It would address many of the “hardships” (and those quotation marks are significant here) that a renter experiences: kitchen utensils and the like. So that's the way I’d do it if I could.

If you're thinking about it, spend one year or more scoping out areas you think you might like. If you’re in the East, that’s usually Florida and above. But the Midwest has different options: the area around Bronson, Texas in the Corpus Christi and Padre Island area, the Southwest. You need to spend some time in the area—I’d recommend a minimum of two weeks at a time—to find out if it has what you’re used to. My original idea of a month to try out really living there was a good one; two weeks would still feel like a vacation and not a move, to me at least.

What I missed in Crystal River, FL? Internet access! THE most. And that surprised me. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve come to rely on the research capabilities of the Net (which is why I’ll never update my textbook ever again). So get a place in which you can have Internet access in whatever way you can get it. Since I have only a pay-as-you-go cell phone I didn’t have access through it and that wasn’t good.

On your trial trip, and I’m seriously recommending you do at least one of these, look at the area’s social networks. Are they easy to add into? Can you easily find a way into them? Is there a location where you can get the best info on them? I happened into a Tai Chi program at the local public library—where I had to go for free wi-fi—and I would have used that as a stepping stone into other groups. Or go to the local grocery store that fits your economic situation, at about the same time every week and get to know your fellow shoppers.

IF you can afford it, buy a place where you want to spend about 1/2 of your year. (Renting is okay, but having a place of your own would be so much nicerr in terms of knowing what you had and what you needed to bring.) The places we looked at in the Crystal River area were either a) tiny, or 2) pretty high-priced because they had waterfrontage—usually on one of the many canals in the area. There were huge trailer parks in the area that we didn’t see at first; and I think they were hidden for good reason. FL has some trailers that must have been made when Marshfield Homes was still in business! But most of the newer communities are not double-wides anymore; we found one that we both liked and the houses were stick-built and very appealing. Of course most had water frontage and that puts them into that 2d category above. Sigh. And here’s a picture of a home that’s for sale—one canal over from the one we were on and on the river end of it—that I wouldn’t be thinking of buying—unless my husband died and I discovered he’d had untold millions that were now mine! Hahahaha :) But it certainly is attractive….

The Web makes realty browsing so easy that once you have an idea of an area you’re interested in, you can see what prices are. So I’m going to do that for amusement right now. :) If you want me to write anymore about this, give me a comment or two.