Hello all! Mid Thirties from the NE Looking to Snowbird/RE

[snowbirdsonfire]

Hey Everyone,


I've lurked for a while, but figured it's time to start participating! My wife and I are 36/38, targeting ER somewhere in the next 10 years or so, based on projections. I work in IT, and my wife is a Nurse. We've had a goal since we began talking about ER to get out of the frigid Northeast for at least a few months every year. Our original plan was to start this shortly before we RE'ed, but with the pandemic shift bringing a lot more fully remote opportunities, we plan to try it out starting in 2023! We'll be hoping to find a furnished rental for 2-3 months on the Western coast of FL (thinking Jan-March). I'll be looking at shifting into a fully remote role in the next few months, and currently unsure of the direction my wife will go. There are great remote nursing opportunities, but travel nursing is also appealing! Anyways, that's my short intro! Always love any tips from other snowbirds. We have a lot of research to do still!

 

[Ronstar]

Welcome! Sounds like you have the beginnings of a solid snowbird plan.

We had a snowbird condo for 17 years, I worked remotely quite a bit. For us, the biggest challenge was absence proofing our main residence. You can plan, make lists, and execute a perfect home shut down plan, but something unplanned will happen back home when you are snowbirding. Find a person or persons that you can trust to take care of any issues that arise while you are gone. Everything else is fairly simple.

Enjoy!

 

[MBAustin]

Welcome snowbird-to-be! Sounds like you and your DW are way ahead of the game - congratulations! Have you considered trying completely different locations each winter for a few years just to explore? For example, after west coast FL, try south Texas Gulf Coast, then maybe NE FL/SE GA, or even Charleston SC area, then Mobile or Gulfport areas. My parents did that for the first few years before they settled on the Daytona area. In any case, enjoy the planning and keep us posted!

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Bamaman]

If you want to spend winters in Florida to start, you'll need to be south of Tampa on the west coast and south of Ft. Pierce on the east coast.

There is a definite weather break along that line--south of Orlando.

And unfortunately, home prices are skyrocketing right now--more expensive the farther south you go.

 

[snowbirdsonfire]

Have you considered trying completely different locations each winter for a few years just to explore?

We have! We know we want to start somewhere slightly south of Tampa, but will likely try out some different spots the following couple of years.