Snowbirding vs. Year-Round Retirement

[tis]

Originally Posted by ApS

It's kind of in the boonies, but there's an Arcadia in Florida. The Peace River runs nearby, the plentiful source of large fossilized bones—and Megalodon shark teeth!


Driving from Key West to Pensacola, it takes 13 hours to drive across Florida—if you don't stop.

Surely, there's some places that would appeal to you. A reminder...in Winter, the difference in temperatures can be 30 degrees between Miami and Orlando.

Many times, a couple of Florida beaches make "The World's 10 Best Beaches" list.

30 degrees??? Night time lows?

[Bear Guy]

Originally Posted by tis

30 degrees??? Night time lows?

For reference, distance from Orlando to Miami is approximately the same as between the New Hampshire borders of Massachusetts and Canada. It then follows* that, just as weather is colder in northern NH than southern, it would also be appreciably colder in northern FL than in southern.

Here's some data from last month, that shows from north FL to Miami was up to high 20's degrees different, both in day and night temperatures... and some days were the same.


*Yes, I recognize the factors of weather, such as jet stream, are different in FL vs NH, and so I concede the comparison isn't just as simple as subtracting relative latitude.

[bruinsfan]

We've lived in Florida for over 20 years and would come up "home" to NH for a few scattered weeks-months every year.

Florida is nice. Used to be nicer.

Florida is hot. Very hot. It gets old. We lived in Southwest Florida and I can tell you that there were windows in our house that had never been opened....ever since the house was built. Not to mention the ANXIETY every time a hurricane passes through and you have to get things fixed or rebuilt.

I hated the thought of losing everything as result of a storm; and no, insurance doesn't pay out like it used to. You can thank Hurricane Andrew (1992) for that.

The flat scenery gets old. As does the beach and the same strip shopping centers one right after the other. You can only shop so much.

If you're into fishing, it's great. Everyone has a boat. Everyone.

If you enjoy boating on Lake Winni on a 4th of July weekend, you’ll love boating in Florida year round.

If you're a golfer and not willing to join a club, be ok with golfing in the summer; winter is for those with money to waste. Public courses as well. Tee times are crowded as is the course....move along and play fast.

We couldn't wait to get back to NH for good. We can actually enjoy Florida now that we only "visit" for 5 or 6 weeks every year. We go when and where we want and enjoy the different parts of the state.

That's my two cents. Good luck!