Travel

[jeanlake]

Talk to me about your snowbird experiences -- whether you spend 1 month or half a year in warmer climate. Husband retires end of December. I may as well, but manager discussed possibility of 9 or 10 month contract with me. (March or April thru December). We'll see. I do love my job at the college and it would be a smart financial transition as my husband lets go of his salary. We secured a two-month rental in Jan / Feb 2020 in Rosemary Beach, FL. South Walton Beach has a snowbird club with varied activities. That's a plus. It will be our 'pilot' snowbird trip. I also like St. Simons Island, GA and Safety Harbor and Dunedin, FL. I don't have 60ish friends who are planning on Snowbird travel, but after our cold winter -- they may be thinking about it now. 

I look forward to reading your comments.

[I am still oxox]

@jeanlake 

I would love to know more info on the snowbird club, DH will be retiring in May 2020 right after his 65th birthday and I am already retired. We are considering moving from NY to Delaware and then becoming snowbirds.

We know nothing about it so I would love to learn more.

D

Many thanks 

---

@jeanlake wrote:

Talk to me about your snowbird experiences -- whether you spend 1 month or half a year in warmer climate. Husband retires end of December. I may as well, but manager discussed possibility of 9 or 10 month contract with me. (March or April thru December). We'll see. I do love my job at the college and it would be a smart financial transition as my husband lets go of his salary. We secured a two-month rental in Jan / Feb 2020 in Rosemary Beach, FL. South Walton Beach has a snowbird club with varied activities. That's a plus. It will be our 'pilot' snowbird trip. I also like St. Simons Island, GA and Safety Harbor and Dunedin, FL. I don't have 60ish friends who are planning on Snowbird travel, but after our cold winter -- they may be thinking about it now. 

I look forward to reading your comments.

---

[jeanlake]

I haven't found anything like the south walton county snowbirds association -- the area recognizes they host snowbirds and make it easy to connect and play together.

http://www.waltoncountysnowbirds.com/join.html 

The panhandle of Florida -- about 10 degrees cooler than lower Florida but many Midwesterners and Canadians don't mind. Perfect golf, biking, walking the beach weather. 

Between Destin & Panama City is 30A (the road off of 98 Highway) -- taking you to a stretch of Santa Rosa Beach with many beach towns is called SOUTH WALTON BEACH. Not to be confused with Fort Walton Beach, west of Destin towards Pensacola Beach.

https://30a.com/when-to-visit-30a/  30A - no, I don't work for their Chamber of Commerce - ha

  

[drizzellla]

We spent the day in Dunedin on Thursday. We went for Spring Training and wanted to see the Blue Jays stadium. We really enjoyed the town. Spent the day walking around and eating. At the Blue Jays Stadium we were talking to the guy selling programs. He moved to Dunedin 12 years ago. He said he has not been back to Pennsylvania since. I can see why he likes the town.

My husband's sister lives on St Simon's Island. She moved to St  Simon's Island more than 25 years ago. When she moved there she had 4 young children. Her husband wanted to move to St. Simon's and after they moved, they got divorced. Even though she was there a short time, my husband's sister wanted to stay. She liked the area that much.

We visited her and her kids on Friday. All of her kids have their families in the St Simon Island area. And we enjoy being in the area too. 

I think the rental in 2020 is a great idea. You will get an idea whether it is something you will enjoy. We certainly enjoyed our Spring Training vacation and plan to do it again next year.

[jeanlake]

@drizzellla Thank you for your response. Great confirmation for me. We loved riding our bikes in Dunedin and rode to Honeymoon Beach several times. The downtown area is so quaint and a bike trail ran through the city. Stayed in St. Simons Island a month after retirement (the first time - education). Now I'm working at a different college. Jekyll Island was unique and lovely. My husband loves the Panhandle. Closer to home and great fishing. Decisions!    

[Claudian]

We moved to Fl in 1997 because my husband got a job here. We had always vacationed in Sanibel Island but we ended up in Tampa.   I retired and my husband is retiring in September. We moved from our home state years ago and have never lived near family. As we have gotten older we realize how important being near family is. It’s harder to make friends and as health issues come up, family near by is important.   So we bought a small condo near my daughter, son in law and grandson and have been spending about 5 months there. My husband had a big surgery in Fl and I really needed help so as soon as he could travel we went north. My advice is:

Do vacation where you’re considering first, rent for a month

Be near family, if possible

Get a location with good medical care; check availability to Drs especially if you have any health issues now

Make a list of pro and cons about each place

We have lots of critters here, take them seriously. 

As we age, I find so many things about living are changing. Our priority’s now are being around family and our grandson and that is making a difference in how long our time in Florida is every year. It is beautiful now, but because I didn’t have to leave our condo this winter, I loved watching it snow from our bedroom window, going to my grandsons basketball games, and keeping our grand-dog too.

Hope this helps. 

[riley1]

@Claudian - Well said, I agree.