Where the snowbirds go?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by pj3000

You could always find French Canadians and Canadians in general in pretty high numbers in the Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, North Miami Beach, Sunny Isles areas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGwH-b367_o

[Vlajos]

As a Chicagoan, I have family with homes in Naples. None in Arizona or the atlantic side of Florida.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

And what happens when the snowbirds relocate and become permanent residents of their chosen hotter clime, then find that you pay for pleasantly warm winters with summers that are hotter than the devil's asshole?

Yes! They become the summer people who, every May to October, flock en masse to the Appalachians for years on end before they eventually abandon Florida altogether and move here to become our problem!

"Halfbacks". People who moved to Florida..hated it for whatever reason but didn't want to move back up north so ended up in the Carolinas. Last time I was in NC (a couple of years ago), there were more NY plates than NC plates. I felt like I was back home. I'm sure there are more Bills and Giants fans there than Panthers fans.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

"Halfbacks". People who moved to Florida..hated it for whatever reason but didn't want to move back up north so ended up in the Carolinas. Last time I was in NC (a couple of years ago), there were more NY plates than NC plates. I felt like I was back home. I'm sure there are more Bills and Giants fans there than Panthers fans.

Depends where in NC. The Research Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) was always full of people from all over the country and they aren't just winter people (or summer people). They are students, faculty and employees of the various companies located there.

Yes, the mountains in the western part of the state has its people from the deep South seeking some relief from the heat and the Outer Banks definitely gets summer vacationers (my family did that a couple of times growing up in MD). None of this is anything new.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Sunny Isles Beach used to be home to many Quebec...(whatever it is that people from Quebec are called) but they seem to have been squeezed out by the Russians. You still do see a ton of Quebec license plates driving north on I-95 come spring time.

The Québécois mostly cluster in Broward County (Hallandale I think would be the heart of Little Qc in FL) but I've seen plenty in my area too (Space Coast).

At the right time of year, I'll always see many Quebec plates on I-95. Off season, not as many.

Little anecdote, last year we were laughed at at a gas station somewhere in the Carolinas for "going the wrong way!" by a Québécois we randomly met (we were heading to FL at the beginning of spring), then in the following weeks we found we'd had the last laugh on him because the spring of 2017 was record-breakingly cold and rainy at home... too bad we didn't have his contact info to brag about how we were right!

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by JManc

Florida is basically New York state with alligators and bigger bugs. I think half my graduating HS class wound up there and most of their grandparents certainly did.

I've spent a lot of time (at least a dozen trips) in The Villages, Florida, where a friend of mine lives. It's in north central Florida between Orlando and Gainesville. I've met some people from New York, like you mentioned, but for some reason most I've met have been from Pennsylvania and Ohio. But my sample size is fairly limited (maybe a couple of dozen). It would be interesting to see a breakdown of origins of the people there. I've enjoyed the northeasterners. Very straightforward (sometimes to excess), but fun to be around.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Be careful. There are sun cities all over--it's a brand name for "active adult" retirement communities. There's also one outside Phoenix and many other places. Do the people you know go to the one near Austin? Strikes me as an odd place to spend the winter, personally: No beach, no mountains, not especially warm or sunny (but warmer than Boise, I admit).

But it's very close to the hill country and lakes, so there's a lot of recreational activities within about 45 minutes. Georgetown is a cool historic city, too, and retirees love hanging out in the galleries, restaurants, etc. Regarding the weather, yeah, it can get cold and nasty, but there can also be a lot of super nice days during the winter. It's all relative, I guess.

[AviationGuy]

I wondering if there's a population of people, particularly retirees, who do the opposite. When I don't have to work anymore, I'd give anything to pack up and go north from May through September. I can't stand the heat and humidity, even though I'm from this region. My ideal place would be Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is at 7000 feet at the base of high mountains, and perfect during the summer. Really anywhere in the mountainous West, or maybe New England.

My dilemma is how to deal with my cats (or future dogs). They really tie you down.

[CaliNative]

There is an area just east of the Salton Sea in the California desert known as "Slab City". People with RVs and other vehicles apparently come from all over and camp for free from October to April. A few stay year round, but summers are brutal. Apparently it is a popular gathering spot for "snowbirds" and perhaps homeless people with vehicles and people return year after year from all around. I guess they have to drive to Indio or other towns for supplies and water. Some Canadians show up. I don't know much about it, but I don't live more than 100 miles away so I might drive out there and look the place over. Apparently there is a famous monument where some former resident made up Bible scenes in folk art, and that draws some tourists. Anybody else know more about the place? Sounds like a "Burning Man" festival/party kind of scene, but more permanent and maybe with more retired people than young.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I wondering if there's a population of people, particularly retirees, who do the opposite. When I don't have to work anymore, I'd give anything to pack up and go north from May through September. I can't stand the heat and humidity, even though I'm from this region. My ideal place would be Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is at 7000 feet at the base of high mountains, and perfect during the summer. Really anywhere in the mountainous West, or maybe New England.

My dilemma is how to deal with my cats (or future dogs). They really tie you down.

That's what "summer people" are. Every year from May to October, they flood into Western North Carolina stay until the first frost, and then go back to Florida or wherever. The house directly behind my own is owned by a lady from Sarasota who's only here in the summer. Most of them own second homes or keep apartments when they're here.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I wondering if there's a population of people, particularly retirees, who do the opposite. When I don't have to work anymore, I'd give anything to pack up and go north from May through September. I can't stand the heat and humidity, even though I'm from this region. My ideal place would be Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is at 7000 feet at the base of high mountains, and perfect during the summer. Really anywhere in the mountainous West, or maybe New England.

My dilemma is how to deal with my cats (or future dogs). They really tie you down.

Moving north when they retire is pretty common among South Floridians (there is only one direction to go if you stay in the US). South Floridians generally retire and move north to Georgia or North Carolina (or just stay here).

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

There is an area just east of the Salton Sea in the California desert known as "Slab City". People with RVs and other vehicles apparently come from all over and camp for free from October to April. A few stay year round, but summers are brutal. Apparently it is a popular gathering spot for "snowbirds" and perhaps homeless people with vehicles and people return year after year from all around. I guess they have to drive to Indio or other towns for supplies and water. Some Canadians show up. I don't know much about it, but I don't live more than 100 miles away so I might drive out there and look the place over. Apparently there is a famous monument where some former resident made up Bible scenes in folk art, and that draws some tourists. Anybody else know more about the place? Sounds like a "Burning Man" festival/party kind of scene, but more permanent and maybe with more retired people than young.

I've been to Slab City. The monument is interesting and worth a look--a man-made mountain out of hay bales. I only drove through, and I could be wrong, but I did not get the impression that Slab City was a snowbird destination. I got the impression that it was more people that wanted to live "off the grid." There is a sign as you drive in that it is the "last free place" in America. I found it all pretty creepy. Would not be my winter destination.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

That's what "summer people" are. Every year from May to October, they flood into Western North Carolina stay until the first frost, and then go back to Florida or wherever. The house directly behind my own is owned by a lady from Sarasota who's only here in the summer. Most of them own second homes or keep apartments when they're here.

I would learn to live with it. It's not going to get any better in the future, especially as Char-lanta grows into a megalopolis. "Summer people" are everywhere and in high numbers because that's when kids and college kids are out of school and it's easy to take long vacations to areas with some relief from the long hot summer.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

I would learn to live with it. It's not going to get any better in the future, especially as Char-lanta grows into a megalopolis. "Summer people" are everywhere and in high numbers because that's when kids and college kids are out of school and it's easy to take long vacations to areas with some relief from the long hot summer.

We've lived with it since the 1880's. It's why we exist as a city, in fact.

[JManc]

"Char-lanta"...sounds like the end result of Gen. Sherman's handy work during the Civil War.

[IconRPCV]

Palm Springs seems like it is half-Canadien during the winter months, this is a good thing.

[xzmattzx]

Snowbirding and retiring seem to go hand-in-hand.

Sports teams tend to indicate trends across the country. Look what Sun Belt NHL teams have more of a certain fan base at their home games, or look where MLB teams call home for Spring Training.


Philadelphia concentrates around the Tampa Bay area (even giving it the name "Tampadelphia", usually when the Eagles or Flyers play in town)
New York City concentrates around Miami and Miami Beach
Chicago concentrates around Phoenix


There's quite a few others that i don't remember. I think Boston concentrates around Sarasota, for instance. I can't remember what metro areas concentrate around Naples or Orlando, or Las Vegas NV.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Sports teams tend to indicate trends across the country. Look what Sun Belt NHL teams have more of a certain fan base at their home games, or look where MLB teams call home for Spring Training.

An interesting point that I hadn't thought about. One wonders whether hockey will take off in Florida or Arizona - then you realize how many Northerners have moved down there.

Come to think of it, I've wondered why hockey is popular in Boston and Detroit but Cleveland despite being a very big city never had an NHL team. Maybe the difference was the presence of Canadian immigrants a century ago (Cleveland never really attracted Canadians).

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Docere

Cleveland never really attracted Canadians.

It attracted the Canadian who created one of the most famous American superheroes though.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Docere

An interesting point that I hadn't thought about. One wonders whether hockey will take off in Florida or Arizona - then you realize how many Northerners have moved down there.

Come to think of it, I've wondered why hockey is popular in Boston and Detroit but Cleveland despite being a very big city never had an NHL team. Maybe the difference was the presence of Canadian immigrants a century ago (Cleveland never really attracted Canadians).

Cleveland had an NHL team for a couple years, which merged with the Minnesota North Stars.

I think it's more than just Canadians living in American cities. New York and Chicago had NHL teams in the Original Six as well, and Philadelphia has been one of the most successful NHL markets, where hockey is not embedded at the grassroots level like in Massachusetts and Minnesota, from the start of the team.