On the verge of fulfilling a long awaited goal

[Cut-Throat]

general attitude of "Gouge the Snowbirds" increased,

Where did you encounter this... Booking accommodations or other?

 

[yidal8]

After many years of dreaming about no longer spending winters in Upstate NY, we are leaving tomorrow for our first snowbirding winter.

My folks did this in 1990, and it was the start of what I believe were the happiest years of their lives.

Car is packed, will head out tomorrow and take about a week to eventually land ourselves in The Villages, Florida. Will see grandkids and old friends along the way. We don't expect to be back here in our home up north until mid-April.

I am atwitter with excitement. Footloose and fancy-free.

How do you snowbirds go about shutting down the house up north? who takes care of it, check for busted/frozen pipes, leaks, boiler, storm damage, etc.

 

[pb4uski]

There is another active thread on that.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Where did you encounter this... Booking accommodations or other?

We stayed in Bonita Beach, hung out with friends there and in Ft Myers Beach.

The accommodations (we rented a studio condo on the beach direct from owner) were very expensive but fair, considering the crush of people who want to stay there during the winter. Still, expensive is expensive.
VRBO was more of a scam than a service, units listed as available during our time frame were either not actually available or the price was double the posted price for those months. We literally spent days on the computer without finding a rental that was actually available at the listed price. We booked one a year in advance and then they cancelled us months later when it was too late to find a substitute. VRBO's attitude was "Too bad, so sad."

Restaurants were the biggest annoyance. We'd make a dinner reservation and still wait 45 minutes to be seated, then get poor service from a snooty and slow wait staff, mediocre food, and exorbitant prices. Lunches were better but still not much fun.

Many (but not all!) of the local businesses acted like we were an intrusion on their time instead of paying customers.

Traffic and parking were awful, imagine "LA in rush hour". From the beach to I-75 is about 3 miles, sometimes it would take an hour to drive that. Crossing the bridge from Fort Myers to FM Beach could take an hour or more.

Was it Yogi Berra who said "That place is too crowded, nobody goes there any more." ?

Phoenix in winter still has the VRBO problem, but everything else looks pretty normal to us.

 

[Cut-Throat]

We stayed in Bonita Beach, hung out with friends there and in Ft Myers Beach.

The accommodations (we rented a studio condo on the beach direct from owner) were very expensive but fair, considering the crush of people who want to stay there during the winter. Still, expensive is expensive.
VRBO was more of a scam than a service, units listed as available during our time frame were either not actually available or the price was double the posted price for those months. We literally spent days on the computer without finding a rental that was actually available at the listed price. We booked one a year in advance and then they cancelled us months later when it was too late to find a substitute. VRBO's attitude was "Too bad, so sad."

Restaurants were the biggest annoyance. We'd make a dinner reservation and still wait 45 minutes to be seated, then get poor service from a snooty and slow wait staff, mediocre food, and exorbitant prices. Lunches were better but still not much fun.

Many (but not all!) of the local businesses acted like we were an intrusion on their time instead of paying customers.

Traffic and parking were awful, imagine "LA in rush hour". From the beach to I-75 is about 3 miles, sometimes it would take an hour to drive that. Crossing the bridge from Fort Myers to FM Beach could take an hour or more.

Was it Yogi Berra who said "That place is too crowded, nobody goes there any more." ?

Phoenix in winter still has the VRBO problem, but everything else looks pretty normal to us.

Yes, I pretty much agree with what you said about VRBO and the renting experience in that area of Florida... I actually tried to book something about 1 year ago for this winter and could not find a place. So, that is how we ended up in Hawaii this year... I could not do Arizona, as there is little if any water to fish in and it can have cold spells worse than I like.


The 'Florida Problem' is how we ended up going to the Bahamas, Australia and Hawaii... So we will pretty much leave the Continental U.S. - where we have not had booking problems... We never had the problem with Florida rentals about 5-10 years ago, but it seems now that all the Baby Boomers are retired it has become the chore that you mentioned... People can drive to Florida, and they take the Boat, Grandma, the Dogs etc etc... When you leave the Continental U.S. - You have to rent a car, Pay for Airfares and leave the Boats and other toys behind... Works for me!

 

[ychuck46]

How do you snowbirds go about shutting down the house up north? who takes care of it, check for busted/frozen pipes, leaks, boiler, storm damage, etc.

While not snowbirding from the bitter North, we still get below freezing in TN. We turn off the water at the street and drain a faucet to be sure, keep the furnaces at 58 degrees, and let a few neighbors know when we take off. Security system is on as are the outdoor security lights. Not a proble.

 

[RAE]

Yes, I pretty much agree with what you said about VRBO and the renting experience in that area of Florida... I actually tried to book something about 1 year ago for this winter and could not find a place. So, that is how we ended up in Hawaii this year... I could not do Arizona, as there is little if any water to fish in and it can have cold spells worse than I like.

The 'Florida Problem' is how we ended up going to the Bahamas, Australia and Hawaii... So we will pretty much leave the Continental U.S. - where we have not had booking problems... We never had the problem with Florida rentals about 5-10 years ago, but it seems now that all the Baby Boomers are retired it has become the chore that you mentioned... People can drive to Florida, and they take the Boat, Grandma, the Dogs etc etc... When you leave the Continental U.S. - You have to rent a car, Pay for Airfares and leave the Boats and other toys behind... Works for me!

We booked a place through VRBO along the Central Florida Gulf Coast this winter, and the experience was okay, no major issues. But the demand for rentals where we are is undoubtedly less than for South Florida, so that may be a big reason why. We look for areas that are not close to big population centers......I can't handle the traffic and mobs of people in those areas.

We used to rent a winter place in Rockport, Texas, from a small local vacation rental agency (mom/pop operation). That was great - much better (and much lower fees) than VRBO - but Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport, and destroyed many homes, putting the folks that ran the little rental agency out of business. Fishing down there for seatrout, red drum, and black drum was great..........I will miss it.

We've been to the Bahamas also, and loved it. I would prefer to go back there, and we will eventually, but right now we have an old dog that is keeping us on the mainland USA. We've been to Eleuthera three times, but I want to go to Cat Island next......not much development there, which is what we like.

 

[cooch96]

DW found a great VRBO cottage on Treasure Island this year. It was wonderful, just feet off the beach, and a fraction the price of most hotels. Booked it late August, stayed there early December. Seemed we had plenty of options with 3+ months notice. Perhaps the Tampa area isn’t nearly as bad as south Florida?

 

[Cut-Throat]

DW found a great VRBO cottage on Treasure Island this year. It was wonderful, just feet off the beach, and a fraction the price of most hotels. Booked it late August, stayed there early December. Seemed we had plenty of options with 3+ months notice. Perhaps the Tampa area isn’t nearly as bad as south Florida?

Tampa is not as high a demand area as the Naples area for one....


So, you were able to book Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar with only 3 months notice?

 

[cooch96]

Not sure, we only were looking for December. Perhaps it was blocked out other times. But if you’re renting for a season, I reckon you could just load your suitcases and roll on down the road every few weeks. That sounds like an even better adventure.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Not sure, we only were looking for December. Perhaps it was blocked out other times. But if you’re renting for a season, I reckon you could just load your suitcases and roll on down the road every few weeks. That sounds like an even better adventure.

Well December is a relatively easy month to book anywhere as the 'Snowbird' season does not really get going until after New Years....
This is a thread about Snow-birding the entire winter, so If you booked a only a Month, it's an entirely different situation.
As far as packing up every week or so and 'Rolling on down the road', this would be a such a hassle I cannot believe you would even consider it. This would also mean moving your entire refrigerator contents, clothes for 3 months, all of your fishing gear, golf clubs, etc. etc and anything else you brought with you for 3 months or more of living.

I can tell that you've never been a snowbird.

 

[cooch96]

I guess not. Didn’t realize snowbirding required multi month living Sorry. I certainly didn’t mean to offend anyone by contributing.

 

[goodcookie]

In your travels to Florida, check out Kings Point retirement community.Home - Welcome to Kings Point in Sun City Center, Florida
Very nice, 55+ development with so many things to do. It is a part of Sun City Center that is a very similiar community to the Villages. Except smaller and more manageable. It is farther south than the Villages, which means WARMER! I live here year around and love it. Moved to Florida 3 years ago from Cleveland area.Best decision ever made!

 

[Scuba]

DH and I wanted to spend January through March 2019 in South FL. We could not find a place we liked that was available, although we looked in early 2018. We even contacted a realtor someone on this forum suggested and she couldn’t help us either. We gave up.

We’d still like to try spending a few months in South FL, preferably East Coast, but haven’t been able to figure out how to find a rental in the winter. We do want to bring our small dog and that was a big part of the problem as many condo buildings don’t seem to allow dogs.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Scuba, we wanted to rent for a month and most wanted to rent their places for 3 months minimum. Plus the dog issue. We gave up.

 

[Scuba]

Scuba, we wanted to rent for a month and most wanted to rent their places for 3 months minimum. Plus the dog issue. We gave up.

We were willing to commit to three or four months if the rental would allow our dog, but even then the pickings were very slim. There was one oceanfront condo in the Miami area I found on VRBO but they wanted $12K/month and the reviews were mixed, so we passed.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We have a RV but even those parks were ridiculous.

 

[Scuba]

We have a RV but even those parks were ridiculous.

Interesting. I wonder where people stay who want to snowbird but don’t own a place yet. Maybe just visit in the summer and hope you like the winter too? It’s amazing things are so crowded as to be impossible to find a place to stay.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Interesting. I wonder where people stay who want to snowbird but don’t own a place yet. Maybe just visit in the summer and hope you like the winter too? It’s amazing things are so crowded as to be impossible to find a place to stay.

It's just crowded in certain areas and a Certain Price point ........

 

[ivinsfan]

I guess not. Didn’t realize snowbirding required multi month living Sorry. I certainly didn’t mean to offend anyone by contributing.

Don't worry we go for 4-6 weeks and call it snowbirding, and you didn't offend me....it's not true you have to do it for the "whole winter"...

 

[ivinsfan]

Rules for successful snowbirding,

1) don't discuss religion or politics unless you really know the people in the room
2) check out condo/HOA politics and finances carefully
3) dont serve on boards, get on the good side of board
4) rent, dont buy
5) avoid openly snubbing people who will overlap social circles, be on friendly terms with everyone
6) dont overextend financially
7) dont pay for sq footage or amenities you will not use
8) pay attention to evacuation zones
9) figure out your tolerance for cold snaps, keep moving south
10) sell at builder turnover, milk builder subsidy during build out
11) rent a boat dont own
12) consider neighbourhoods where all doors are similar socio economic level
13)

this sounds too much like a job!

 

[ivinsfan]

Well December is a relatively easy month to book anywhere as the 'Snowbird' season does not really get going until after New Years....
This is a thread about Snow-birding the entire winter, so If you booked a only a Month, it's an entirely different situation.
As far as packing up every week or so and 'Rolling on down the road', this would be a such a hassle I cannot believe you would even consider it. This would also mean moving your entire refrigerator contents, clothes for 3 months, all of your fishing gear, golf clubs, etc. etc and anything else you brought with you for 3 months or more of living.

I can tell that you've never been a snowbird.

I beg to differ "snowbird" around here can mean anything from 4 weeks to 4 months. And some people like moving around and not being in one place for months at a time..different strokes and all that..

 

[HadEnuff]

I had a good experience with VRBO last year when looking for two places to spend the month of February on The Big Island of Hawaii. (two weeks on the wet side, two weeks on the dry side). However, trying to use VRBO in Florida was a big waste of time, because the filters don't work well. I'd put in the months I wanted at the price I was looking for, and I'd get literally hundreds of returns, but nearly all of them were booked up for the months I'd entered. I finally found a local rental agency and things went much smoother.

We have arrived in The Villages, and are settling in nicely. I hit some golf balls for the first time in 4 months since the injury. Ugly, but not as ugly as it could have been. Going to actually try to golf a few holes today.
Traffic wasn't too bad except for I-95 through South Carolina.
I'm also treating this like one of those places you visit to lose some weight, because 4 months of rehabbing the foot, not getting my normal exercise and eating (and drinking) more than I should have, well....I need to be in one of those places...

carry on.

 

[cooch96]

Don't worry we go for 4-6 weeks and call it snowbirding, and you didn't offend me....it's not true you have to do it for the "whole winter"...

Yes, I just didn’t want to derail the whole thread. I could’ve handled it better. Thank you for doing so.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I beg to differ "snowbird" around here can mean anything from 4 weeks to 4 months. And some people like moving around and not being in one place for months at a time..different strokes and all that..

Maybe it's only 3 weeks.