Are you still planning on snow bird to Florida this coming winter?

[pb4uski]

For those who determined still snow bird to Florida this winter, do you have a 2nd home there or go through rentals? ...

We own a condo there, and plan to snowbird this year.... in fact, we're in the process of becoming FL residents this year but will continue to snowbird as we have the past few years.

 

[Almost There 2021]

Snowbird Rentals?

Looking for a three month rental almost anywhere in Florida near the beach, restaurants, entertainment, social activities....Very flexible on location and months although would prefer Feb.-April.

Any info. on rentals or agents would be appreciated.

Thank you...

 

[ShokWaveRider]

As long as you stay away from South and South West Florida and of course Florida Man and Woman, you should all be fine.

 

[rjk514]

A rock & a hard place....what with FLA.off the charts with the virus..no vaccine...flu season...cold season...locals not wanting snowbirds in their stores...younger folks with no concern about the virus...hospital concerns..I suspect a lot of Snowbirds will back out this coming winter...unless there is better control of things...we will not be going down and will have to notify the condo owner soon about our decision...this sucks....any thoughts...

 

[pb4uski]

We own so there isn't any backing out... however, we will monitor the situation... we're hoping that by mid-to-late October that it will be a lot different... playing it by ear.

 

[RobbieB]

I live in California. It costs more to live here but at least you don't have to snowbird.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

I live in California. It costs more to live here but at least you don't have to snowbird.

Does it really though? For the new arrival to Ca, definitely.

But my electric bill is $11, natural gas $12, zero gasoline because I have EV's. My real estate is worth 2.9 mil but my property taxes are 12k due to prop 13.

I have heard of things like heating oil and ice scrapers but have never seen them in person. I think for a veteran Californian it can be cheap to live here.

 

[harley]

Does it really though? For the new arrival to Ca, definitely.

But my electric bill is $11, natural gas $12, zero gasoline because I have EV's. My real estate is worth 2.9 mil but my property taxes are 12k due to prop 13.

I have heard of things like heating oil and ice scrapers but have never seen them in person. I think for a veteran Californian it can be cheap to live here.

And I've heard of 9.5% tax rates but never seen them in person. Somebody is paying the bills in CA. Or somebody will have to eventually.

I'm not going back to FL this winter. I guess I can manage a MD/VA winter once every 10 years. At least when it snows I can just stay inside until it melts.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

And I've heard of 9.5% tax rates but never seen them in person. Somebody is paying the bills in CA. Or somebody will have to eventually.

I'm not going back to FL this winter. I guess I can manage a MD/VA winter once every 10 years. At least when it snows I can just stay inside until it melts.

There's never been a better time to stay inside, right?

I paid $2200 in state taxes last year, I can live with that.

 

[BeachOrCity]

Was able to get a nice place just off the beach near Sarasota that is usually booked for next February.

Can’t wait.

I do hope things are good enough Covid wise we can have our annual get together but we shall see if that is possible closer to the date I guess.

 

[pb4uski]

... I do hope things are good enough Covid wise we can have our annual get together but we shall see if that is possible closer to the date I guess.

+1 I guess that worst case we could do a Zoom meeting, but it wouldn't be the same.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Living 1 mile from the beach does have it's benefits, however it also has it negatives. DW refuses to go for beach walks these days in NE Fla. Unfortunately we are not early risers and rarely are ready to leave the house until around 10am at the earliest. She is worried that there will be too many irresponsible folks swanning around coughing and spluttering in her general direction, and it it not really that much fun at 100*F with her mask on. A mask is now a permanent fashion accessory for her and me. I guess she has a point. I do miss the bikini girls though....

 

[simple girl]

+1 I guess that worst case we could do a Zoom meeting, but it wouldn't be the same.

Yeah, not even close to the same.

Our local hospital ran out of convalescent plasma and also remdesivir this week. Tough times in so many places. I hope all are staying as safe as possible.

 

[cj1717]

I live here full time and do NOT recommend anyone coming down for a visit and especially for the season. [mod edit]

COME AT YOUR OWN RISK!

 

[drb391]

WAZ snowbird. unless things change a lot for the better, will be reacquainting myself with snow this year. mostly because of AZans attitude toward the crisis, but also because of the quality of healthcare, if needed, in the Colorado Velley

 

[Sunny]

Curious why not to snowbird? Maybe it depends on how you snowbird (out to events, restaurants, etc.) normally, but if you are social distancing and only enjoying outdoor stuff like parks now, how would it be any different doing that same thing in your snowbird place (assuming it isn’t sharing ventilation with other condos/apartments/etc. and is something like a whole house)?

Wouldn’t people be able to social distance in a snowbird place (groceries delivered or picked up, only go to outdoor parks, not attend any gatherings or go to events, etc.)?

Edit: with the exception of full hospitals where you snow bird vs empty hospitals at home in case you need them

 

[youbet]

We've been snowbirding in Fla the past few years by camping. Reserving campsites at popular national, state and county parks is extremely competitive, especially southern Fla. But booking 2021 (we usually head down mid-January) was a bit easier than previous years and we have a nice itinerary in place. We assume the availability of sites was due to folks waiting for more information on the COVID-19 situation before booking. But we went ahead and booked since the cancellation charges are not too bad if we decide to bail out.

 

[bolt]

We've been snowbirding in Fla the past few years by camping. Reserving campsites at popular national, state and county parks is extremely competitive, especially southern Fla. But booking 2021 (we usually head down mid-January) was a bit easier than previous years and we have a nice itinerary in place. We assume the availability of sites was due to folks waiting for more information on the COVID-19 situation before booking. But we went ahead and booked since the cancellation charges are not too bad if we decide to bail out.

The NatParkSer/Fed's kicked everyone out (paid spots or not) of its parks in the FL keys last March because of the unexpected COVID-19 conundrum.
Everyone not a FL resident was mandated to leave.
Private camping parks were told to do the same.
I saw Holiday Inns, Marriotts, etc. in Marathon vacated of tourist with no place to stay, ...despite paid up contracts.
I witnessed it happening.

Good luck & Best wishes...

 

[youbet]

The NatParkSer/Fed's kicked everyone out (paid spots or not) of its parks in the FL keys last March because of the unexpected COVID-19 conundrum.
Everyone not a FL resident was mandated to leave.
Private camping parks were told to do the same.
I saw Holiday Inns, Marriotts, etc. in Marathon vacated of tourist with no place to stay, ...despite paid up contracts.
I witnessed it happening.

Good luck & Best wishes...

Yes, we left Fla (per our original plan) just 1.5 weeks before both state and fed parks were closed. Close friends were still down there and were told to leave. They reported that campgrounds along the common routes back to the Upper Midwest were pretty busy as they traveled to central Illinois. They did receive full refunds from the Fla State Park system where they had sites reserved at various state parks.

We won't head down that way if things aren't looking hopeful in mid-Jan. If during the two months or so we'll be down there, things change for the worse and campgrounds are ordered to close, then we'll just leave.

As long as Fla's statistics are no worse that Illinois statistics during that time, we're assuming we'll be exposed to about the same level of risk as if we stayed home. We'll be watching........

 

[RAE]

We own a small home in Central Florida, and we will be heading down there for the winter in early November, as usual. There is no way I am staying up here in the ice and snow all winter. Our house is in a small community, and we have few neighbors. I usually spend a lot of my time fishing (in a kayak), and working on our house, so I'm not too concerned about contracting the virus. We love to cook, so we rarely go out to restaurants. We do usually meet some friends at the local pub once a week, and I'm not sure we will be able to do that this winter.........I'll monitor the situation and decide after we get there. But other than that, we can social distance down there just as well as I can up here in northern Michigan.

Another factor is that I'm quite sure DW and I both had the virus back in March. No tests were available then, so I'll probably never know for sure, but we had all the symptoms. We both got through it okay after being sick for about 6 days. So, if there is any degree of immunity once you have had this virus (and I believe there is, based on what I've read), that should give us another measure of protection, hopefully.

 

[simple girl]

Edit: with the exception of full hospitals where you snow bird vs empty hospitals at home in case you need them

That's an important point. The hospitals in the city north of us (Bradenton) became full this week, so those in our town (Sarasota) are taking overflow patients. Even TGH (Tampa General Hospital) was full this week. DH had to have surgery there on Tuesday. He had to stay in post-op for 6 hrs while waiting for an admission bed to open up.

 

[cj1717]

Curious why not to snowbird? Maybe it depends on how you snowbird (out to events, restaurants, etc.) normally, but if you are social distancing and only enjoying outdoor stuff like parks now, how would it be any different doing that same thing in your snowbird place (assuming it isn’t sharing ventilation with other condos/apartments/etc. and is something like a whole house)?

Wouldn’t people be able to social distance in a snowbird place (groceries delivered or picked up, only go to outdoor parks, not attend any gatherings or go to events, etc.)?

Edit: with the exception of full hospitals where you snow bird vs empty hospitals at home in case you need them

Also, the difference is that FL is the epicenter now. Its everywhere.

 

[RAE]

Also, the difference is that FL is the epicenter now. Its everywhere.

That may be true, but individual behavior still has a huge impact on one's risk for contracting the virus. Someone who regularly hangs out at the bars in Miami Beach and talks loudly to others near them for an extended period of time has a MUCH higher risk than someone in Central Florida who basically enjoys outdoor activities in uncrowded areas most of the time, either solo or with a spouse. I would also consider going to the grocery store once weekly (masked), in the early morning, a low-risk activity, although if one was really concerned about any human contact, they could have groceries delivered.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

For us here grocery shopping is not worrying at all, especially as RAE said above, early in the morning. There are not that many folks there, and all shoppers are wearing masks... now. Winn Dixie is the only grocery store where I saw a shopper family mask less. They were being avoided by all others, way more than 6'.

 

[audreyh1]

Many national grocery chains are requiring masks starting tomorrow, so even in states without a mandate, grocery shopping seems much safer. This is quite a relief to me.