First Southern Migration - Snowbirding

[Flyfish1]

This being our second winter of retirement we decided to try a typical New England to Florida short snowbird migration. We traveled from CT to VA and saw relatives, then onto SC where a relative fell ill and required an extra stay of 3 days helping them out. Then it was on to The Villages where old friends have purchased a second home. The weather was perfect, 78 degrees and sunny. Got the full tour , saw the Recreation Centers, and the town squares, went to see a band all with our two small dogs in tow. Very interesting place, lots of pros and cons. Not at all close to the beach , but The Villages has every possible club, activity or group you could think of. I'm not sold on it. Now we are in Bonita Springs for 2 weeks and later we will go to Vero Beach and St Augustine on the Atlantic coast side of FL.

To me it's quite crowded down here. I realize its peak season but Wow, very busy. However, it's now 85 degrees and sunny and it's not on the coast of New England.
I may hop in the pool in a bit. I see the attraction but I don't like the close proximity of housing and the mass of humanity. I once entertained the idea of buying a place here - I think that ship has already sailed after a few days into my one month sojourn. Renting seems logical. Maybe Costa Rica or the USVI next year.

 

[MichaelB]

Renting is a very good idea. If you don’t like population density you probably won’t like central or south Florida.

 

[rk911]

The west coast around Port Charlotte used to be a lot less crowded than other areas of FL.

 

[Koolau]

We toured virtually the entire coast of FL in the summer of '12. There is still a lot of room there, though if you want to be close to amenities, you're gonna be in traffic and urban sprawl. Central Florida, from what little we saw has a lot more "small town" feeling places - but who goes to Florida to live in a "small town?" Central Florida could have been the Midwestern Prairie - but less interesting if that's possible. No thanks. Of course, YMMV.

 

[JoeWras]

If one is considering a move, is very important to visit FL for an extended time both at the height of snowbird season (right now) and the height of summer (late July, early August).

Sounds like you are doing that and you are experiencing the effects of absolute peak demand. Mid Jan through early March is typically the peak of the peak. Kudos to you. It is completely different in the summer, but not always in a good way. Some shops shut, the weather can be brutal, your friends flew north, and so on.

I had many neighbors who moved to FL based on a 1 week vacation. They all moved somewhere else within the year. Two of those neighbors bought homes, one in the duplex attached to mine, and the other across the street. I couldn't believe they flipped back so fast. And then months later I got transferred to NC and flew away. LOL. The whole cul-de-sac was a bunch of transients. And... that's a problem. Deep friendships can be hard to make in a place where people are moving away fast or staying away for 1/2 year. These are the kind considerations you don't see while vacationing on the beach.

 

[rembrandt]

I would like to be a snowbird, but my wings are too short!

 

[wrigley]

This being our second winter of retirement we decided to try a typical New England to Florida short snowbird migration. We traveled from CT to VA and saw relatives, then onto SC where a relative fell ill and required an extra stay of 3 days helping them out. Then it was on to The Villages where old friends have purchased a second home. The weather was perfect, 78 degrees and sunny. Got the full tour , saw the Recreation Centers, and the town squares, went to see a band all with our two small dogs in tow. Very interesting place, lots of pros and cons. Not at all close to the beach , but The Villages has every possible club, activity or group you could think of. I'm not sold on it. Now we are in Bonita Springs for 2 weeks and later we will go to Vero Beach and St Augustine on the Atlantic coast side of FL.

To me it's quite crowded down here. I realize its peak season but Wow, very busy. However, it's now 85 degrees and sunny and it's not on the coast of New England.
I may hop in the pool in a bit. I see the attraction but I don't like the close proximity of housing and the mass of humanity. I once entertained the idea of buying a place here - I think that ship has already sailed after a few days into my one month sojourn. Renting seems logical. Maybe Costa Rica or the USVI next year.

Wife grew up in Trumbull CT. Had a family member who was a single retired Chicago PD detective who moved to the "Villages." That's a very Interesting place to live to say the least. When you come to Florida from a cold climate, Florida is great. If you stay long enough you will find Florida is very crowded, humid, and contains every bug known to man. Don't get me wrong, I'll take this over -20 any day. But I've said in the past.....if both my children and only grandchild weren't living close by, I'd move out of this state in a heart beat.

 

[Koolau]

If one is considering a move, is very important to visit FL for an extended time both at the height of snowbird season (right now) and the height of summer (late July, early August).

Sounds like you are doing that and you are experiencing the effects of absolute peak demand. Mid Jan through early March is typically the peak of the peak. Kudos to you. It is completely different in the summer, but not always in a good way. Some shops shut, the weather can be brutal, your friends flew north, and so on.

I had many neighbors who moved to FL based on a 1 week vacation. They all moved somewhere else within the year. Two of those neighbors bought homes, one in the duplex attached to mine, and the other across the street. I couldn't believe they flipped back so fast. And then months later I got transferred to NC and flew away. LOL. The whole cul-de-sac was a bunch of transients. And... that's a problem. Deep friendships can be hard to make in a place where people are moving away fast or staying away for 1/2 year. These are the kind considerations you don't see while vacationing on the beach.

This sounds so familiar. The condo unit next to ours has had several people move in and then move out. People thought they'd just love living in Hawaii. One couple (retired Colonel) lasted 4 months!

"Locals" are cordial but do not typically form lasting friendships with us haole because we tend not to stay around long. I've been here 17 years and I'm the only "transplant" I know who has that record.

 

[brett]

Our friends who lived and operated a business in Boquette, Panama for 25 years told us the same thing.

Lots of US retirees buy to retire there. According to their real estate friends in town about 50 percent of those folks sell and up move back with 1-2 years. For various reasons.

When we retired we had three places on our list to look to buy a snowbird home.

We had spent a fair amount of pre retirement time touring over the years. Florida was the first area we crossed off our short list.

 

[MarieIG]

I like the idea of a one or two month rental during the northern winter. Then - you have the option to go back to the same location, or try something new.

Of course, there are those that simply love to snowbird back and forth to their own place, and if works for them - great!

 

[Koolau]

I like the idea of a one or two month rental during the northern winter. Then - you have the option to go back to the same location, or try something new.

Of course, there are those that simply love to snowbird back and forth to their own place, and if works for them - great!

All it takes is a fair amount of money! We "reverse" snow bird. We live here most of the year but "summer" on the mainland at our old homestead. It costs a significant amount of money to rent the homestead year round in anticipation of us returning each year. Our living arrangements are, perhaps our most extravagant spending but we believe it is worth the expense. We get the best of both worlds.

 

[rembrandt]

“Live on Fisher Island, get buried in Palm Beach. That way, you'll have the best of Florida”

 

[Flyfish1]

So an update on my month long snowbird test. We are now on the east coast side in Vero Beach, The Treasure Coast of Florida. Vero at least is a much smaller city, traffic is a fraction of that found in Naples, etc.. on the Gulf Coast. It's a touch cooler here and has a more manageable feeling to it.
I'm certainly more relaxed here, but I'm bored to tears. I hop in the pool, the hot tub, take a walk, go to the beach, go stroll the shops and dine out and I'm bored. I asked DW if she thought we should plan another winter trip down here and she said " Not for a VERY long time". I'm an avid woodworker and miss my workshop and I miss my local gym workouts. I guess I could have joined a local gym but didn't. Plus, aside from family we don't know anyone around here - so we miss our social connections.
So, how do you snowbirds stay busy, socially connected and active? Is the answer The Villages or a similar "active 55 plus community"? AIrbnb's aren't cutting it for me.

 

[Dtail]

So an update on my month long snowbird test. We are now on the east coast side in Vero Beach, The Treasure Coast of Florida. Vero at least is a much smaller city, traffic is a fraction of that found in Naples, etc.. on the Gulf Coast. It's a touch cooler here and has a more manageable feeling to it.
I'm certainly more relaxed here, but I'm bored to tears. I hop in the pool, the hot tub, take a walk, go to the beach, go stroll the shops and dine out and I'm bored. I asked DW if she thought we should plan another winter trip down here and she said " Not for a VERY long time". I'm an avid woodworker and miss my workshop and I miss my local gym workouts. I guess I could have joined a local gym but didn't. Plus, aside from family we don't know anyone around here - so we miss our social connections.
So, how do you snowbirds stay busy, socially connected and active? Is the answer The Villages or a similar "active 55 plus community"? AIrbnb's aren't cutting it for me.

Perhaps if you took up a retirement type sport and played 5-6 days a week, that would help.

 

[Flyfish1]

Perhaps if you took up a retirement type sport and played 5-6 days a week, that would help.

No doubt - we wanted to do that but she has foot problems and knee problems that preclude pickle ball. We were going to do golf lessons together but her foot was an issue and I just had an abdominal hernia repair so no swinging clubs at the moment for me. I agree that's a valid point and we may meet some folks if we did that. Thx.

 

[RetireBy90]

We visit Fla Keys every Jan since 2010. Key West is busy and crowded but we only stay 3-4 days. We spend 2 weeks at Marathon and 7-10 at Key Largo.
Long enough to get a break from the cold but not long enough to get bored. We do a couple parks or other destinations and a few days at the beaches and several enjoying the views of water.
Not everyone’s piece of cake but a balance that works for us.

 

[Flieger]

Went to visit friends in Englewood, Fl (West Coast side) for 4 days last week. They have had a home there for 20 yrs (snowbird for weeks at a time from NJ). LOTS of houses around $350k and 2000 sqft was a surprise, but DW and I said no way. As some have mentioned and after doing the math, would be much better to do monthly rentals at different locations in our view.

Flieger

 

[Music Lover]

So, how do you snowbirds stay busy, socially connected and active?

I've found a golf group, we go to a breakfast group once a week, my wife has a weekly lunch group. I found a couple people that play guitar and we have informal jams. There are also a couple local bands that know me and I'll occasionally get up on stage with them. We've made a few friends and get together every now and then.

We do the same things that we do at home, although on a smaller scale.

Basically, you have to get out and meet people and find activities that interest you.

 

[Fermion]

Why does everyone go to Florida? Texas gulf coast was mighty nice on our two week trip there last year. I am considering it as a closer snowbird place to Florida from WA state.

 

[Montecfo]

Why does everyone go to Florida? Texas gulf coast was mighty nice on our two week trip there last year. I am considering it as a closer snowbird place to Florida from WA state.

I usually spend time in South Tx and South Florida (or some other reliably warm spot). The Texas Gulf Coast is certainly less discovered and cheaper than similar Florida locations.

But South Florida is more consistently warm, speaking very generally. Florida draws more visitors from the East Coast, Canada and Europe. South Texas is more Midwesterners.

This year for example, great weather in Central Texas right now. But last week was chilly. And it has kind of been that way alternating weeks this month.

Perhaps atypical weather this year in South Tx but very typical in South Florida.

 

[Koolau]

Why does everyone go to Florida? Texas gulf coast was mighty nice on our two week trip there last year. I am considering it as a closer snowbird place to Florida from WA state.

We found the water on the Tx side of the gulf much less inviting than that on the FL side - and the Atlantic water in Fl even better than the FL Gulf water. But that's just us and YMMV.

 

[audreyh1]

I like the idea of a one or two month rental during the northern winter. Then - you have the option to go back to the same location, or try something new.

Of course, there are those that simply love to snowbird back and forth to their own place, and if works for them - great!

We have a lot of winter Texans here in my neighborhood. Many are second homes. But when I go away to get away from some of the summer heat I like to stay different places. We usually wander during this period.

We found the water on the Tx side of the gulf much less inviting than that on the FL side - and the Atlantic water in Fl even better than the FL Gulf water. But that's just us and YMMV.

In terms of the TX coast/beaches - the best IMO is not far from us, South Padre Island. It’s pretty darn nice. Still the Gulf Coast beaches from Mobile across the FL panhandle and down the west coast are indeed stunning. Unfortunately they are also very crowded. We’re able to visit SPI when it’s not nearly so crowded. Don’t really get in the water though - I save that for nice snorkeling locations including Hawaii.

 

[Fermion]

And in 2 days at SPI you can see the eighth launch of starship!

 

[Pluperfect]

Why does everyone go to Florida? Texas gulf coast was mighty nice on our two week trip there last year. I am considering it as a closer snowbird place to Florida from WA state.

Was it not annoyingly windy when you were there? We go there to windsurf so it's a feature not a bug, but it gets really old being batted around like that constantly.

 

[Fermion]

Was it not annoyingly windy when you were there? We go there to windsurf so it's a feature not a bug, but it gets really old being batted around like that constantly.

We sail.