- Share This Post
- submit
- 6
-
Sparkle (0)
There's a reason why Anne Murray sang about snowbirds. Canada is known for them. Every year thousands of Canadians avoid the cold and winter blahs by running down south. I'll be honest, I pretty much hate the cold. There reaches a time when you think that winter is never going to end - such as a day like today where a 20 minute walk to the grocery store left me without any feeling in my thighs. I ceased to have legs. I had legsicles (in case anyone is wondering extreme cold does not cause cellulite to shrink up and disappear). If I had a sunny location that I could run I'd be there in a red-hot minute. But alas, I must live vicariously through blogs.
Littlepatti at Mining Towns in Canada is excited about her first south-bound trip.
So, we are packing up and driving south, not stopping until I can take off my winter coat. It may take us three or four days to reach our destination in Florida as we plan to visit Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and any number of the lovely places beckoning us to visit.
Scale Down Windsor offers another reason, aside from just weather, why Canadians head south.
Like I mentioned, my parents are part of the “Snowbird” phenomenon, so I have access to first-hand accounts of what goes on during the winter months at these retirement Shangri las.
[...]
When they pack up their vehicle to head south, dozens of their friends are doing the exact same thing. In fact, their whole circle of friends packs at the same time, takes the same roads to land in the same communities in Florida, to unpack and continue the exact same life they led back home in Canada – uninterrupted.
Don't be fooled though. Not everyone that runs down south for the winter is a retiree. Check out the Forever Young RV blog. Cat and Byran, two young Canadians, cashed in their condo and live year round in an RV. Why full-time?
We knew we wanted the mobility to choose our locations and our neighbours. At the onset of this idea, we hoped to keep an apartment for half the year in Toronto, then sublet it and travel the remainder. This wasn’t very realistic, too much hassle and money. Instead we began selling everything or piling it away in storage. The progression was rapid, we jumped in head first, no turning back. We began full-timing less than 6 months after the initial idea.
And not everyone goes heads south for the long haul. BlogHer member Laurie just returned from her winter vacation . While she was experiencing lovely sunshiney weather her spouse was stuck with the cold in Canada.
Speaking of my spouse, I think he was a little chagrined with the beautiful weather we had. It was one thing to say, "It's OK, honey, you go to Florida without me. I really need to stay and work," when he thought the weather would be cool and perhaps even rainy. However, it turned out to unseasonably hot and gorgeous every day.
If only she could have bottled the warm weather and brought it back with her to share with the rest of us. It looks like we'll be huddled under blankets for a few weeks more.
Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.
