Community Chat

[Marienkaefer2]

I grew up in a hot climate, and I couldn't wait to get out of it when I was old enough. I did move back to AZ for a few years, but I lived in northern AZ where there is a change of seasons and I liked it. Some snow, but not tons of it like in other parts of the country.

Now I've been back in the PNW for ten years and I'll never go anywhere else. (Unless I win the lottery, and then I'm moving to Monterey, CA.

I've never loved the heat, I like cooler weather. I think where I am.now is just about perfect...for me.

[Dharma_Initiative]

Good question and one that I am very interested in. My husband and I are talking about it all the time b/c we both will hopefully be retiring in about 5 years or so. I don't have time right now to read through all the replies but I will certainly come back and do so! Looking forward to hearing people's first hand experiences.

OP, I have lived in the midwest all my life but I dream of living somewhere where the winter air doesn't literally threaten to rip your skin off. I wouldn't want to live anywhere too hot and I don't like bugs but there are pros and cons everywhere.

My whole family is from the midwest and besides me, I only have one brother that still lives here. My parents, sister (and her family) and another brother moved to NC about 7 years ago and I hear weekly when I talk to them how they love it and would never ever move back to the midwest. My other sister lives in AZ and I hear the same thing from her.

Initially I was very adamant with my husband that I am not living in this climate my whole life and after we retire (and after his parents are no longer with us -- his whole family lives near us now and he's very close to his parents), I want to move south. But now, after realizing that my son may be married and have children in this area by the time we retire, I'm thinking it would be ok if we could just live somewhere warmer during the winter months. At least initially. I think it would be great to go somewhere different every winter, until we find the place that we love and maybe someday move there permanently when we're older.

Will be back to read the other responses! Just writing about this gets me excited.

[Shelbelle]

I have friends in Vegas, they head to Oregon for some of the summer.

I know some who started out as snowbirds, then eventually moved to FL permanently, some are sorry they did.

[LilSweetTea]

I used to live in area that was frequented by snowbirds some years ago. In fact, there were two homes on my street that were owned by snowbirds.
The first couple sold their home after a few years because they really disliked being away from their grand kids and the drive was hard on them.
The second home was owned by a woman who lived by herself and decided to live here full-time. She was in declining health and even lost her driving privileges. (The neighbors would try to help but she would refuse all outside help. ) Eventually, her daughter had to come down and forcibly move her back home. The daughter told me that her mother had told the family she bought a "small mobile home" (when it was really a 3 bed/2 bath house.) The house was in such bad shape that they barely made enough off of it to pay for their mother's nursing home expenses. Very sad story.

[Bird mama]

On 6/28/2014 kaybee said:

I just lost my mother about 30 hours ago.

I am so sorry for your loss kaybee.

[151949]

There are 140 homes in our plan - most are younger retirees - under 70 and 2/3 of them snowbird. It is very popular among baby boomers because they still have young grandchildren.

[Kachina624]

Why anyone wants to live in Florida has always been a mystery to me. Heat, bugs, snakes, alligators, hurricanes, humidity, flat monotonous scenery and all of those old people (tongue in cheek). I think life in the New Mexico is just perfect. We definitely have four seasons but winters are very mild with just a little snow. Beautiful autumn leaves, few bugs (I've not seen a flea and you'll not see mosquitos unless you live near water). I sit outside every evening and have never gotten a bite. Interesting scenery including mountains and desert, no hurricanes or earthquakes, no tornadoes except in the Eastern Plaines, fascinating history and culture, lots to see and do. Low cost of living and taxes, good medical facilities, cheap available housing. Many retirees have trailers or motor homes and spend summers in SW Colorado mountains....it's about a 5-6 hr drive to many nice places pulling a trailer. Arizona is nice too but I'd have to find somewhere to go in the summer; it's too hot. Albuquerque is at the same altitude as Denver so the weather is cooler in the summer and winter than the Phoenix area, our summer evening are quite cool.

[151949]

Kachina - glad you are happy there but the desert does not appeal to me at all. To each their own.

[MikafromTopeka]

On 6/28/2014 Bird mama said:

On 6/28/2014 kaybee said:

I just lost my mother about 30 hours ago.

I am so sorry for your loss kaybee.

Thank you Bird mama.

She had a short recurrence of cancer that was in remission for over 10 years. We found out she was sick again on May 28th and she passed on June 26th. I was her main care taker. I'm still in a bit of shock.

[donasmom]

I guess my DH and I can be considered crazy, but about a month a go, we sold our house in southern CA (in 3 days!) and moved lock, stock, and barrel to Ohio. Our property is 7.5 acres with a 4 stall barn for our horses. Yes, I know it gets cold and snowy here (DH is from OH, me from NY), so we went into this with or eyes wide open. We have a generator should the power go out, snow removal equipment and the farthest we will have to go in the event of a snow storm is to the barn to feed the horses. I already have my freezer, and am slowly stocking it with food.

My DH and I have never been happier. What I love about this Country, are the options we have. Living in the South, Midwest, or Souhwest, with careful planning. you can make it happen!