topic Snowbirds in Community Chat

Snowbirds

151949 — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 23:16:49 GMT

Who is getting ready to start thinking of going south? We are leaving in 3 weeks for our home in SW Florida. I can't wait to feel the sun and see the Gulf of Mexico. I love to go to McDonalds and get breakfast then go and sit at the beach watching the ocean and eat breakfast and drink coffee. After 5 months living in a camper, nice as it is, I am always ready to go to my comfortable house. As soon as I get home I hug all my friends I missed - my washer & dryer , my dishwasher , my disposal and my bathtub.

Its funny, when we are here we really miss the ocean and when we are in fl we really miss the beautiful mountains.When we are down south we do really miss the friendly Pittsburgh people too.

Re: Snowbirds

Sawn — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 23:25:26 GMT

I hope you have a wonderful time in Fla., HH! My husband and I will rent a place for a month next year. This winter I can't bear to leave our little grandchildren....enjoy each sunny, new day!

Re: Snowbirds

pattypeep — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 03:30:00 GMT

It sounds like you have the best of both worlds. When we go on vacation even for a week, I am so ready to go home. Have a safe trip home and enjoy the sunshine !

Re: Snowbirds

ROMARY — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 03:48:41 GMT

'Just dawned on me'............ The Gulf of Mexico is huge! Explaining: Coincidence that we were just that morning talking about gulfs........were wondering where exactly Cabo San Lucas is, so we searched it, and found Gulf of California (AKA Sea of Cortez) and Baja Peninsula where Cabo is located on the very end/tip.

Re: Snowbirds

151949 — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 03:53:45 GMT

It is 46 degrees here right now - I am more than ready to go home. Unfortunately DH wants to stay a while longer.He would stay until we were frozen solid but , thank goodness, the campground closes mid October.

Re: Snowbirds

Lucky Charm — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 04:26:08 GMT

On 9/18/2014 ROMARY said:
'Just dawned on me'............ The Gulf of Mexico is huge!

Not as big as my Atlantic!

We are heading south in about 2 weeks. We're sprucing up our beach rental up north.

DH had to go to on a quick business trip. So I've been doing most of the work myself. I had some contractors here today helping.

It's getting chilly although the water is still warm in the mid 70's. The air temps aren't much higher.

I can't wait to get home either. It takes us about 8 hours and I could drive straight through without stopping!

I miss my grandkids and our dog didn't come with us as she's too old to do these long car trips. I'm sad because she may never see this place again.

So we'll close this place up and head back down to our little piece of heaven and before you know it, it'll be Christmas again!

Re: Snowbirds

MikafromTopeka — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 05:33:25 GMT

Next year at just this time I want to be on the road to California. DH retires in August. I get so very sick every fall here in Wisconsin and I haven't been home in 15 years and I just can't wait.

Re: Snowbirds

Mominohio — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 12:55:20 GMT

You live as my grandparents and several of my great aunts and uncles did. Part of the year in Ohio (up north anywhere qualifies!) and part in Florida (Ft. Myers). They loved the life.

When I was a kid, I just didn't get it. Why would anyone not want to be where they could sled ride and build snowmen? Now I get it. I can see me living this way someday, but I'm not sure we will ever be able to afford it. We may have to choose one location or the other, rather than enjoy both ways of life. It always seems "new" because you are gone from one place or the other just long enough to miss it, the people, and the routine you have at each. Safe travels back down south.

Re: Snowbirds

151949 — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:30:32 GMT

On 9/18/2014 Sawn said: I hope you have a wonderful time in Fla., HH! My husband and I will rent a place for a month next year. This winter I can't bear to leave our little grandchildren....enjoy each sunny, new day!

Thank you. We live in a community that is primarily a beach community. Used to get a lot of vacationers but has in the last about 20 years turned into a retirement destination. Basically, the only "business" in town is serving the needs of retirees, esp. between Oct and May. Since we are retired we enjoy this very much. The growth in the past few years of baby - boomer retirees has been amazing so the vast majority of the people in our town are in our age range.

Re: Snowbirds

151949 — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:40:19 GMT

On 9/18/2014 twopeas said:
It sounds like you have the best of both worlds. When we go on vacation even for a week, I am so ready to go home. Have a safe trip home and enjoy the sunshine !

This snowbirding takes some getting used to. the first couple years I longed to be home the entire time we were in Pa. So last year we sold our older 5th wheel camper and bought a much roomier 44ft trailer. It is called a destination trailer because you don't move it - it is designed to stay in one place. It is much more comfortable and actually feels like a one bedroom apartment.Being much more comfortable I find i am much happier to be here for 5 months. I chose not to have a washer/dryer in the camper because they take up a huge chunk of storage but now I wish i had gotten them. I have to go to a laundromat to do the laundry and it has gotten so rough there that DH has to stay with me now. People come in wearing guns and drunks and fighting etc. We have had to call the police already. The place is open 24 hr a day now and I think some people sleep in there.

Re: Snowbirds

Qwackertoo — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:55:06 GMT

I've told my husband, IF I EVER tell him, let's go buy an RV or Camper to please call the folks with the jackets with the sleeves in the back! Nope, Never, Nada . . . the "Camping Life" is NOT for me. One of his friends at work just bought one of those 100K motor homes. Give me an airline ticket and a nice hotel room/resort or cruise ship or condo at the beach for a week, two or three weeks max in the same location.

Glad you enjoy it!

To. Each. Their. Own.

Re: Snowbirds

Marienkaefer2 — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:04:14 GMT

I never liked camping, HOWEVER the motor home that the o/p has sounds like a very nice living space, not like camping at all. Some of those motor homes are really luxurious. I've changed my mind about them vs staying in hotels, no matter how nice the hotel is. I have seen so many gross people, even in the most high end places, that I skeeve when I think about staying in a hotel anymore. I'd rather have my own place, whether it's a really nice motor home, or a small condo.

Re: Snowbirds

Qwackertoo — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:12:33 GMT

On 9/19/2014 Marienkaefer2 said: I never liked camping, HOWEVER the motor home that the o/p has sounds like a very nice living space, not like camping at all. Some of those motor homes are really luxurious. I've changed my mind about them vs staying in hotels, no matter how nice the hotel is. I have seen so many gross people, even in the most high end places, that I skeeve when I think about staying in a hotel anymore. I'd rather have my own place, whether it's a really nice motor home, or a small condo.

I agree on that . . . which is why for the last 10 years I've been using a double sized silk sleep sack and my own silk pillow case . . . I like the double as it is much roomier for tossing & turning. and while in the hotel room I always take slipper socks and never let my bare feet touch the floor . . . while yes they touch the bottom of the shower . . . that can't be helped.

Sometimes watching those Dateline or 20/20 segments is an eye-opening experience!

Re: Snowbirds

brii — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:12:37 GMT

I couldn't live in a camper for 5 months. Schlepping laundry and not having other amenities is not for me.

Re: Snowbirds

Qwackertoo — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:17:17 GMT

Pretty much only camping I've ever done was on our 3,000 mile trek out west for 3 weeks one year. It was ok with Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, and many more . . . but as we moved from location to location over the 3 weeks . . . I could only take maybe 2 nights in a row with camping then I needed a break . . . and a hotel was in order. And I couldn't imagine driving one of those very huge and luxurious RV/Motorhome on some of those steep and skinny lanes roads to get to the "heart" of these destinations!

Re: Snowbirds

Margo Channing — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:04:11 GMT

On 9/19/2014 SoftRaindrops said:
On 9/19/2014 Lila Belle said:
On 9/19/2014 SoftRaindrops said:
On 9/19/2014 happy housewife said:
On 9/18/2014 twopeas said:
It sounds like you have the best of both worlds. When we go on vacation even for a week, I am so ready to go home. Have a safe trip home and enjoy the sunshine !

This snowbirding takes some getting used to. the first couple years I longed to be home the entire time we were in Pa. So last year we sold our older 5th wheel camper and bought a much roomier 44ft trailer. It is called a destination trailer because you don't move it - it is designed to stay in one place. It is much more comfortable and actually feels like a one bedroom apartment.Being much more comfortable I find i am much happier to be here for 5 months. I chose not to have a washer/dryer in the camper because they take up a huge chunk of storage but now I wish i had gotten them. I have to go to a laundromat to do the laundry and it has gotten so rough there that DH has to stay with me now. People come in wearing guns and drunks and fighting etc. We have had to call the police already. The place is open 24 hr a day now and I think some people sleep in there.

Living in an unsafe area would be my definition of a nightmare..

Mine, too !

From her description it sounds cramped and uncomfortable, too. I'll pass.

Seriously. I couldn't IMAGINE being in a camper for a week, let alone months.

Re: Snowbirds

Mominohio — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:41:49 GMT

Wow, what a bunch of whiners. Today's campers are better housing than a significant percentage of the world's population lives in daily. What a bunch of divas that "couldn't live like that". OP's "camper" is really a misuse of the word. It is quite nice as she has described it, and even her older, smaller one was as well. These types of living arrangements are located throughout the states in this area. Many are very rural and very beautiful, they sit in the woods, usually along a river or creek, and filled with people who live there all summer, much like the cottages on the lakes or the beach houses some folks have, just usually less expensive. There are all the amenities in each trailer, and many are like small apartments, complete with satellite TV, internet, air conditioning, fully equipped kitchens, baths, and some parks have nice laundry facilities, not exactly living a third world existence.

The laundromat that she frequents seems to be in a bad area, but I think that could be easily remedied by traveling a different direction and going to another one, even if it is a longer drive. I would hope for the expense of having a place at this campground it is not located in the area where she had to do laundry, or I'd be moving it.

Re: Snowbirds

sydsgma1 — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:44:19 GMT

I am fortunate to have a home in a gated community in az for the cold months and my other home in a cooler area for the summer. We spend about 6 months in each area. And both are home to me.

Re: Snowbirds

Mominohio — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:46:10 GMT

On 9/19/2014 Qwackertoo said:
On 9/19/2014 Marienkaefer2 said: I never liked camping, HOWEVER the motor home that the o/p has sounds like a very nice living space, not like camping at all. Some of those motor homes are really luxurious. I've changed my mind about them vs staying in hotels, no matter how nice the hotel is. I have seen so many gross people, even in the most high end places, that I skeeve when I think about staying in a hotel anymore. I'd rather have my own place, whether it's a really nice motor home, or a small condo.

I agree on that . . . which is why for the last 10 years I've been using a double sized silk sleep sack and my own silk pillow case . . . I like the double as it is much roomier for tossing & turning. and while in the hotel room I always take slipper socks and never let my bare feet touch the floor . . . while yes they touch the bottom of the shower . . . that can't be helped.

Sometimes watching those Dateline or 20/20 segments is an eye-opening experience!

Hotels skeeve me out as well, they are just gross, no matter how high end they are. I go in (when we have to stay at one, which isn't often) first and with the Clorox clean up and Clorox wipes try to sanitize every hard surface, including tile floors, phones, remotes etc. We don't let our feet touch the carpet either, but keep flipflops on. I feel that way about cruises as well. I'd never go on a cruise after all the problems they've had in the last several years.

Give me a camper, fancy or plain, any day!

Re: Snowbirds

Lipstickdiva — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:51:36 GMT

We have friends that recently bought a "camper" and it stays year round at a campground. I remember crinkling my nose when they told us they bought it and the first thought that went through my mind was "how dreadful."

That was until we went to actually see it. OMG it is phenomenal. Now granted, they paid more money for this thing than many people pay for their starter home but it's very, very luxurious. It has a washer and dryer, fridge, stove, microwave, flat screen mounted to the wall, full bathroom with separate tub/shower. It's air conditioned and heated. It's nothing like I was thinking when they said camper.