i spend 3 weeks in ft.myers in the winter, soon as i retire, will go there for good, iam from ohio, but i live in mich. cant wait to get out of mich!

I'm retired but my husband isn't. I also live in Michigan and can't wait to be able to winter somewhere warm. We usually go to AZ but only for a week each winter.

I am a permanent resident of Florida and love it for 3 seasons. For the summer I will be in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Elaine in Florida

We are permanent residents of Arizona and don't want to be anywhere else in the winter! We get many, many winter visitors here . Some buy mobile homes and stay from October or November to April. Summers are very hot, but winters are wonderful!

Mamatoad, we go to Mesa and we love that area. Is it anywhere close to where you live? Our friends have a trailer and spend the winters there and we go down to visit.

I live in Snowbird country too. I can walk down to the Intercoastal Waterway and watch the yatchs going South for the winter. Then North when the snow melts and the South heats up.

Nice, says I, and I wish as I watch that I could afford to change my place of residence to suit the seasons. Not that I would, I just wish that I had the money so I could if I wanted to. LOL (It doesn't take much to make me happy)

We are living permanently in SW MO now. Some of our friends here do go south to TX for a few months in the winter. WE think the winters are so mild here, though, that we have no desire to go further south. We moved down here from Wis. 5 years ago to get away from those cold, cold winters, and are perfectly happy where we are!

qshopper, we are just outside the city limits of Tucson. Mesa is a great place to spend winters, also!

I live in Gulf Side of Florida, Central part..

Kids come down in Spring Break and it's a month of hell. Recent TV News embarassed a lot of parents up north.... SEX FEST.

People from the North come down in winter and drive like they read Miles/per/hour in Kilometers/per/hour.

Restaurants up the prices on their menu, and our yardbirds go up to $50 a visit rather than $50 a month.

GO TO ARIZONA. A recent article in Bloomberg Mag says it's cheaper there since they "just discovered" it a few years ago.

Don't come to Florida!!!

Gina, I'm west central Florida too. I live in the middle of the state forest, so no teenagers are about to bother me here, LOL. The drivers down here, residents and snowbirds alike sure do leave a lot to be desired, but it's better than having them slide into you up north!

Elaine in Florida

Elaine, if I could find a concrete goose, I'd probably not buy a dress for it, but... I've been disparaged by others about my love for concrete! (had a Statue of Liberty, Little Boy, numerous bird baths, and plant my annuals in concrete blocks every year)

Where are u?

do people from florida really dislike us that move to florida..I have a friend in Jacksonville and a doctor she went to said something really mean to her about "us" moving down to Florida..but my opinion is, most of us do not live in the same state we were born, we go where our jobs are so what is the difference...I feel bad that they dislike us.

I really have enjoyed some of your answers. We have lived in MI, OH, WI, PA and then moved to NC 21 years ago. That was not retirement then but a business move. We now live in SC in retirement.

When we first moved south many southerners called us d*mn yankees but you have to just forget about that attitude. Many southerners are now dear friends.

Every area wants to keep things just like "they used to be". Florida has received a great amount of northerners so many have that "doctor's" attitude. If he were my doctor I would get a new one.

Before you retire to an area you should be a snowbird for several seasons. I grew up with green trees and didn't like the southwest for that reason. I didn't like the desert and mountains that look 20 miles away but are 100 miles away.....lots of driving! Some love it and I understand that but I couldn't be happy there. We all have our own preferences or we all would be living in FL. LOL

I like the SC/NC area because we still have seasons even though we do have hot summers.

You southerners are Yanks to me! When I retire, I'll probably head to S.C. permanently. This is not a good place to retire.

These are all really old posts but since I just joined the Forum, I was wondering if anyone has changed their minds regarding retiring to FL considering all of the hurricanes.

Ain't never been south of PA in this area, IA futher west, and LA on West Coast.

Sis, born ON, moved to SK as a pre-teen, spent most of life in SK, had a trailer in Mesa for a time, met an older man (she ain't no spring chicken herself) down there, they built a relationship, she moved from Vanc. Island back to Sask., now lives near my brother (recently retired farmer) and her man-friend - who still has a trailer in Mesa.

My ex (an Iowa girl - who left as a teen) had been head dietitian of a psych. hosp. here in London, Ontario, used to spend late Dec. - mid March travelling FL - TX, sometimes AZ when our daughter lived there, in her motor home.

Retired early, as they were talking of closing her hosp or a similar one only 15 or so mi. away so she felt that taking the golden handshake rather than waiting for a severance package might be best.

She fed millions during her 25 year career, died a year and a quarter ago, ironically it was her gut that did her in.

At age 66. Kids said at the time that, had Mom retired at usual time, she'd have had less than a year, and I commented that she'd have been sick for more than half of that.

As it was, she had 10 years to carry on her hobbies (miniatures, needlework, etc.), visit friends, travel in winter and generally have a ball.

Kids have spent over a year sorting and clearing out the home, gave a good deal of the furniture to their cousin who recently moved Sask. - Ont. to pursue a career in music (he hopes). House sold a couple of weeks ago, we had wind-up dinner last night.

Hope you all enjoy each day as it comes.

ole joyful

I remember that you, Mergie, were doing some rather specific research with respect to favorable retirement areas in Florida. What were your findings? You also ran into possible negatives from Florida locals about retirees moving to Fl. Don't these folks realize that the retiree nomads are in the majority and keep the state's economy going? You may remember me from the bird division at the zoo (NZP). Did you get a degree in Chemistry at U. Md.? I can be reached best : polymath@clearwire.net Thanks, good lady. Your old friend, Neal

We have a new neighbor who retired to Fla and just moved back, she hated it. I would never move to a hotter climate than Kansas, I hate the heat. We spent a month in Panama City Beach a few years back, it was like a huge miniature golf course with souvenir shops. I would prefer the hills and lakes of Missouri or Arkansas. I like all seasons.

Looks sort of like "Different strokes for different folks", I guess.

ole joyful

P.S. I'm too cheap to maintain two rsidences.

If I stay out-of-province for under 180 days annually, can continue Ontario Health Insurance, but still am not convinced to spend winters south.

Of course, it helps that I don't have to scrape ice off of the windshield and travel to work in the dark, then back home in the dark.

If weather looks unattractive, I have the luxury of saying, "Oh well, I didn't want to go out today, anyway".

Enjoy your life, wherever you are: life sure is tough, if you don't/can't.

ole joyful

ole joyful I think you have the answer

"Enjoy your life, wherever you are: life sure is tough, if you don't/can't."