Snowbird Lifestyle, Cuisine, Entertainment and Travel
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In May of 2019, I published a blog post entitled "How to Be a Working Snowbird," and in 2021 it remains quite relevant. In fact, How to Be a Working Snowbird has become one of my most popular blog posts. No doubt the rise in interest is because the global pandemic combined with increasingly effective technology has brought a new generation of people who can and do "Work from Wherever (WFW)."
The terms for these remote workers include telecommuter, virtual worker, work-cationer and "Zoombirds." Being able to work remotely means there is a dramatically increasing desire to work in locations outside the primary home. I consider a Zoombird similar to a WFW Snowbird, with the biggest difference being WFW Snowbirds make it a point to escape the cold climates and typically stay awhile in their warm-weather community. Zoombirds may purposefully seek winter locations in the United States such as Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Michigan's U.P. and New England as well as Canadian locations such as Toronto, Quebec and British Columbia, which is not a hallmark of snowbirds.
Traditional snowbirds and those able to "Work from Wherever" are seeking the best places to spend some or part of the winter in a southern climate, which means there is additional competition for housing accommodations. My husband and I have worked remotely in NW Florida for six years and we put much thought and consideration into choosing the best rental property to meet our unique needs. There's much more to finding a suitable rental property than simply getting a place with a table and chair next to an outlet to plug in your phone charger and laptop computer. Here's what we have found is important in a rental property.
First of all, there's no point in considering a rental property in a remote "off the grid" location that does not offer reliable, high speed wi-fi. Therefore, some mountainous regions and very rural or exotic locales that may be great for a quiet, eco-vacation will probably not work out for your WFW quest.
Can you and your equipment easily transport to your desired new community?
Do you have a vehicle large enough to move everything you need to work remotely as well as your personal effects, your pet/s, spouse or partner and/or family members?
Are you able to drive to your snowbird community? If so, are you willing and able to share a vehicle with your spouse/partner?
Do you need to be located near an airport, rail station, bus terminal or other form of transit?
Will you need to fly to your new community such as an island location, foreign country or places too distant or challenging to make the drive?
If you fly, does your budget allow for a rental vehicle or second vehicle to be stored on site? If not, can you walk or hire a driver as needed to go to the places you need to conduct business?
Are you considering a location that is readily accessible to business services such as shipping, printing, supplies, banking, post office and more? It's not always possible to control how packages are sent to you, so therefore if the post office tries to deliver something to you, cannot make the delivery and you have to retrieve it from them, will you be driving a long distance to get there?
Can you adjust to and work within a different time zone?
Do you have a reliable home team: trusted neighbors, friends and family members who can help out with anything needed while away?
Do you have a supportive spouse / partner to help as needed with the unpredictable situations that will undoubtedly arise?
What is your target price range per day, week or month? Cost of Snowbird Rentals: Beach, Desert, City/Metro
Condo, home, high or low rise? View? Amenities? Parking? Pet friendly? What to Look for in a Snowbird Rental
Park model or RV community? 21 Considerations for RV Snowbirds
I don't think I'm the only one who wants the wow factor in a WFW rental. There has to be something appealing that draws you to a place whether it is the location, view/scenery, amenities, local attractions, people you know in the area or perhaps a combo of everything. It is far too much work to pay for and then pack up and move yourself and your stuff across the country to settle for mediocrity. You'll eventually resent a space that has nothing appealing about it and next thing you know, you'll be homesick, lose your ambition to work and wishing you hadn't bothered to WFW.
Look carefully at the online photos promoting the property. Pay attention to all of the details because the images and angles are designed to make the space look and feel bigger than it actually may be. Ask the property manager a lot of questions, such as: Are the property photos current? If I rent the place, will the furnishings and furniture match what is shown in the photos? Are there any known issues with anything that would interfere with your ability to work there? Are there things stored in the closet/s or under the beds that might take up space that you need for your business essentials? What is the actual square footage of the property? If you get a vague answer, check the property records.
Is there adequate space in the rental you are considering? Be realistic about this. If you rent a condo with a small dining table that also doubles as your desk, is that truly enough? Because you also likely need to have a printer located next to the work space as well as files, components, equipment, parts and supplies. If there are no other available options to eat your meals, this set-up isn't going to work. It's not only your desk space, but your files, ancillaries, supplies, products and more. Think it through, it may not seem like you need much until you start adding it all up.
Make sure you can put your business supplies and everything related to that in a cabinet, closet/s or corner of a room so you aren't miserable in a layout that simply doesn't meet your needs. On TV, they try to make "tiny" houses seem appealing, but not if you can't function in the space. No one is going to sit outside all day to work remotely, nor is it practical to sit in a coffee shop to conduct business.
Our first season, a visiting friend remarked to me, "Are the owners OK with you changing things around?" I had rearranged dishes, removed unattractive artwork into a closet and modified the living room furniture arrangement. As long as things are put back where they were by the time you leave, no one knows about or cares what you do, providing items aren't lost or damaged in the process.
Try to set up so you are facing a window with a nice view or at least some sort of interior feature that you enjoy looking at such as a focal point in the room. If it's large enough space, make sure your work space and relaxation space/s are not the same.
For years, we moved a desk for my husband from the primary bedroom next to a large panoramic window in the living room with a gorgeous ocean view. We placed our printer on a sturdy dining chair and a portable file cabinet on another chair. For my "desk," I moved a game table next to an outlet and placed my computer monitor and keyboard on top with the hardware tower sitting on the floor. Neither of us had "office" chairs, so we used the game table chairs, which are not especially comfortable, nor do they have wheels.
The very large dining room table (which seats ten) functions for shipping/receiving products and supplies as well as for setting up the medical devices and systems we import from Europe. We can eat meals at a long kitchen counter area or outdoors on the deck. The third bedroom is where we store products, parts, supplies and shipping materials. The second bedroom is dedicated entirely to guests or used as a TV room. We know we are more than a bit spoiled because our unit is 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths and 1,900 sq. feet plus a 500 sq. foot balcony.
However, all of this space comes at a premium price. It is expensive to rent a great place at the beach with unobstructed views. For us, it was a reward and an incentive to work diligently all year and worth the cost because the entire goal of working remotely is to escape the winter and enjoy a change of scenery in a warm climate. We offset the high rental cost by staying less time than a full winter.
Is there adequate security for packages being received? By this, I refer to situations such as a busy condo complex with many guests coming and going past your door. A package sitting in the open can be very tempting. Don't count on security cameras to help. If there's any installed, they aren't necessarily working or monitored.
Your snowbird community is not the same as your primary home where everyone knows their neighbors and has a doorbell camera. Even if someone is caught stealing on camera, there's low odds of finding them, especially in communities with many transients. Who wants to go through the trouble of tracking someone down and pressing charges? The damage has already been done. Your package is MIA and now you need to redirect energy into replacing it.
Keep in mind, Amazon, FedEx and UPS drivers, have the discretion to leave your package or not if no one answers the door. If they feel it isn't safe to leave it, they will take it back to the terminal.
One option is to arrange for the front office of the place you stay to sign for your package/s. Of course, this is only if the service is available and it requires pre-arranging in advance, although it isn't a guarantee everything will go as planned.
Our condo complex does not offer business services such as that. There have been many evenings where we wanted to go across the street to eat dinner, but instead had to stay and wait until as late as 8:00 pm for packages to arrive, especially those that required a signature.
Last, but not least, is the place you are considering quiet enough to be free from noise and distractions? Working remotely from wherever is great, but it won't last long if you can't stay focused on work and find yourself distracted by noise, other temptations and become derailed.
Put much thought into your choices. If you like where you WFW, reserve it for your return trip a year in advance, preferably while you are on site. It won't be there if you procrastinate. This can and does happen because there's not a lot or any loyalty from property managers to look out for you. They are typically very busy and cannot block in "potential" dates unless the dates are properly contracted via electronic signatures and collection of your deposit money. For the same reasons WFW is popular, technology is what makes booking online the only way to essentially guarantee you get the same place again.
If you don't like your place, re-evaluate your priorities and seek something more suitable. Ask around, conduct research and don't hesitate to try something else. Again, reserve far in advance, a new place might even turn out for the better. After three years of staying in a place we thought we loved, miscommunication caused us to lose the condo for the following year. We were upset, but accepted an alternate choice that turned out to be an even better Western sunset view. After that, we purposefully returned to the "new" place, which had the same fantastic layout and amenities as the original condo. The old saying, "Everything happens for a reason" proved to be true for us, thankfully.
-- Ryan Blair, American Entrepreneur and Author
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My husband and I recently purchased our first vacation rental property in Northwest Florida. This did not happen overnight, it was years in the making. Much thought and consideration went into research of the housing market, types of properties, costs, return on investment and how we would manage the property from our primary home. Now, we have family who are considering purchasing their own winter home property and wanted to know where to start and what to consider.
Of utmost critical importance is to determine whether you plan to buy a true investment property, which is one that is largely rented to guests versus a second home, which is vacant for most of the time the owner isn't there. Everything else will relate to your primary objective: financing, location, price, type of home, management, insurance and much more all tie in to the property's primary purpose.
Never lose sight of the fact that location will be paramount to the very next steps to purchase your second home, particularly the cost of your investment home. As the climate gets warmer or closer to the golf course, mountains, water way or beach, the price will go up. Same with property type, size, age and amenities. Price relates to all of it. If you get the best location based on your objectives, it will be less likely you have buyer's remorse. Therefore you need to establish what you can afford to spend on your property, as well as what a bank will lend if you are financing it.
I've included a personal account of my search for a second home as well as insight from other's experiences with their own search. Please feel free to contact me with your own goals and objectives and first-hand accounts.
When I mentioned years of research prior to purchasing our own vacation rental investment real estate, I mean YEARS. Looking back, I was always hoping that I was prepping for my/our future purchase, but hopes and reality don't always line up. It may seem like a pipedream, but conscious steps to educate yourself are ultimately going to help you reach your goals because no one but you can actually turn that goal into a reality through your own choices and actions. Who knows? You may decide it isn't a good idea to own your place now or ever and that's OK too.
I watched many, many seasons of real estate shows on networks such as HGTV and I must say, at the time I felt that maybe I should be doing something more productive than another marathon of "Beachfront Bargain Hunt", "Vacation House for Free," and "Flip or Flop." More recently, HGTV's "Vacation House Rules" has been another go-to show that I watch, as does my trusted advisor, my sister.
Real estate television shows are entertaining, informative and invaluable for minimizing your own mistakes, objectively seeing real estate from a different perspective as well as empathizing with others that there is a lot to learn and things will go wrong. If you learn and grow, then that is the best outcome.
As I stated above, price, the type of home and location are all interconnected. We considered every possible price point from less than $10,000 on up. Location will determine price, as well as other factors such as type of housing and amenities. Don't overlook the impact of homeowner's association fees, property taxes, property restrictions and more.
I found a fairly new, beautifully furnished park model home in South Walton County of Northwest Florida that included half an acre of land in a pine forest for $110,000, which is expensive at $1,100 per sq foot. For comparison, I also searched the Orlando, Florida area and found an aging, furnished mobile home with an attached screened sun room and parking pad that was listed for $8,500. Lot rent would be an ongoing expense for the Orlando option and all of the furniture would need replaced. We were not serious about purchasing a park model, but for the sake of completeness, it's important to know what the very least expensive options are in your area of interest compared to the ceiling of your quest.
The next price point we considered was a studio layout condotel property with balcony in the upscale Sandestin golf community of South Walton County Florida. There were several options with a bay view or garden view for approximately $150,000, plus ongoing HOA fees. Although we preferred a gulf-front property, for the price, we were willing to consider sacrificing the gulf view. However, the small size of a studio condotel was a concern and when we learned pets are prohibited, we moved on. Many lenders don't offer bank loans on condotels, which is another consideration.
We also looked at several condo options with either gulf front or Destin Harbor views. These fully furnished properties with a rental history were aging and would need remodeled. They ranged in price from $285,000 to $375,000. However, the deal breaker was large dogs, whether with owner or guest, are banned by the Restrictive Covenants of the very popular beach front resort located on Holiday Isle in Destin, Florida. No matter how tantalizing, there is no point in buying a property where our beloved Golden Retriever is banned.
Of course, the most expensive properties of $400,000+ we considered were what matched our top criteria. Ultimately we chose a gulf front condo with a vacation rental history in the location we were most comfortable with, large-pet friendly for both owners and guests and beautiful amenities. Because of the expensive price, we chose a one-bedroom condo with hall bunks and two full bath rooms. The stunning view of the Gulf of Mexico and South pool were exactly what we dreamed of.
Once we found what turned out to be the best property for us, we arranged for our local real estate agent to show us the condo via a video tour. We had also seen 24 photos of the unit via the online listing. We made an offer based on the video tour and the photos, however, not everyone may be comfortable with that. Only you can determine what works for you, but if you want to see a property in person before making an offer, keep in mind that in a hot market someone else may swoop in before you can arrive for a showing.
--Personally visit the area/s you are considering if you have not already done so in recent years
--Consider all seasons of the target area, particularly high/peak season when the tourists will affect traffic, transportation, dining out and much more
--Be realistic about how you and your household will arrive at your new home. If you live in the Pacific Northwest and want a second home in South Florida, then flying is about the only logical option. Once at your destination, can you leave a vehicle behind once you return home? If you your pet and/or your partner have physical limitations, how many days on the road can you tolerate to arrive at your second home? One? Two? Three+? No one is aging backwards, so what works today may not be so great in the next five or ten years.
--Once you determine your target area, sign up with a third party real estate site to get daily or weekly notifications of all properties within the parameters of interest. For example, my husband and I each signed up for daily email alerts in the Miramar Beach Florida area an entire year before we actually purchased our investment real estate. We chose realtor.com, but there are many others such as Trulia and Zillow and so forth.
--Ask for referrals for an experienced real estate agent if you don't already have one. Your agent can also set up your parameters to receive property alerts.
--If the real estate market is hot, like it has been for 2021, are you prepared to buy a property sight unseen except for photos and/or a video tour?
--Ask a trusted family member or friend to give feedback on the properties you are considering. I was so glad my sister, who lives in Oahu and has no personal experience with Destin Florida, offered a non-biased and totally honest evaluation of each property that we considered. She helped me recognize the deal breakers for several units, including feedback on properties that she felt seemed overpriced for the value. Another example, my sister pointed out that one unit with a 4' stucco balcony wall blocked the view of the gulf for anyone sitting on a chair or sofa in the main room of the unit. Why pay for a gulf front unit if you can't see the gulf when seated?
In summary, the single best strategy we employed was signing up for online property alerts. This immensely helped us personally know the target real estate market and ultimately, it was the secret weapon that helped us find "the one" that we purchased. Your real estate agent can help of course, but unless you do your own homework, you may always wonder if there was a bigger, better deal that you missed. I have not one regret over the choice we made, because I know we did everything possible to research the market and make an informed buying decision.
To view the property we purchased, please visit maravilla2411.com for a photo tour, rates and availability. We hope to someday host you as our guest.
-- Naeem Callaway, American, Founder/CEO Get Out the Box, Inc., a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization dedicated to educating and mentoring at-risk youth in low income and rural communities
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![The Covid-19 pandemic has forced a re-evaluation of metro vs. smaller populations for snowbirds and Zoombirds [Natchez Street, Seaside Florida]](https://midlifesnowbird.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/0_Natchez_St_6860-20200222-scaled.jpg "0_Natchez_St_6860 -20200222")
What are the latest snowbird destination trends? I was recently interviewed for an article, "Boca Raton, Florida, Takes the Crown as Best 2021 Snowbird Destination" by Maria Gatea that was published in January, 2021 on STORAGECafé blog. The StorageCafé blog is dedicated to the multi-billion dollar self-storage industry, as well as all things related to moving and storage.
The extensive article discusses the most popular destinations and trends for snowbirds and their new counterparts, known as "Zoombirds" because of their ability to work remotely via apps such as Zoom. Other topics covered include the cost differentials for snowbirds coming from various Northern states; an analysis of the concentration of area attractions, such as proximity to beaches, golf courses and parks as well as the dramatic decrease in Canadian snowbirds for 2021 due to the pandemic.
Statistics such as an area's average temps; proportional ratio of available vacant housing; cost of housing; safety-related indicators; the COVID-19 community vulnerability index; internet speed; availability of self storage and number of area attractions were compiled and evaluated. Ultimately, the StorageCafé article rated Boca Raton, Florida as the 2021 top destination of the "100 Best Cities for Snowbirds," which are published on the blog. As a whole, the state of Florida remains the quintessential destination for snowbirds, although Texas is noted for affordability and Arizona and California are popular for their area attractions and sunny climates.
The article also addresses the changing look of snowbirds as seasonal migration relates to the ongoing global Covid pandemic. Snowbirds used to primarily be retirees. Now, a new variation of snowbirds has evolved: "Zoombirds" are working remotely and their school-aged children are utilizing remote learning.
Recently, I was contacted by a reader who is a first-time snowbird who relocated from the Pacific Northwest to southern California and is considering a seasonal move to Florida next year. It's a major decision to choose a new winter location and looking at all options when choosing a warm weather home is an important step. Here are some of the top considerations based on the STORAGECafé blog article, as well as my own personal experience with temporarily moving our business from the Midwest to Northwest Florida for the past six years.
My husband and I recently moved into our southern home for the sixth time and already we have seen some dramatic changes in our beach community. We've noticed a lot more people on the beach and sidewalks than in previous years during this same time frame, which is the slowest season of the year. Quarantine fatigue is most certainly a defining factor.
A younger demographic is another change we've witnessed in 2021 with more families temporarily moving into the area. As an example, we took an evening stroll along the water and encountered a mom from Tennessee with her young son. They had completed remote learning for the day and were enjoying time at the ocean's edge. In prior years, that would be almost unheard of with the majority of children in school classrooms and parents at work.
Some migrants aren't necessarily moving to warm climates. Through social media, I discovered a high school classmate became a first-time solo Zoombird with a beautiful mountain home in Big Lake, Alaska that she found from an online travel site. She worked remotely and spent Christmas at North Pole, Alaska and also participated in amazing area attractions at Chena Hot Springs Resort including a visit to Aurora Ice Bar, a snow machine tour, mushing her own dog sled, an air taxi to Denali and an excursion to see the Northern Lights plus a tour of Aurora Ice Museum.
1. How will you get to your destination?
--If you fly, is a rental car in your budget?
2. Who will be migrating with you?
--Spouse/partner
--Children
--Pet/s
--Others such as extended family or au pair
3. What is your budget?
--Housing
--Travel to/from
--Vehicle/fuel
--Food/meals
--Entertainment
--Airfare, if applicable
4. What are your housing/space requirements?
--Type of home: single family, low or high rise condo, town house, park model, RV
--Number of beds/baths
--Parking
--Features such as elevators/steps, in-unit laundry, decor, balcony/yard, gated community, assigned or covered parking, etc.
5. What other factors will affect your choice?
--Distance from home, average temps, population density, Covid statistics, cost of living adjustments, internet, safety, shipping, proximity to a part-time job, health care, etc.
6. What is most important to you?
--A view, beach, mountains, lake, river, desert, golf, parks, fishing, restaurants, shops, area attractions, amenities, pedestrian lifestyle, type/size of community, family/friends, kid-friendly, etc.
Once you answer these basic questions, you can start working out a plan. As an example, if you've always dreamed of being a snowbird in Hawaii, but have a dog, spouse and two or three kids, it probably isn't going to work out due to the mere fact of getting there by air. Shipping a dog is problematic enough, and then adding the expense for airfare per person, housing, car rental and transporting your personal items to and from is probably too much. The cost of living in Hawaii is higher than any other state in the nation, which means your standard of living is likely going to be less than where you came from. A better option is somewhere you can travel by vehicle.
Many snowbirds end up in destinations with their counterparts from their home states. For example, Gulf Shores, Alabama and Northwest Florida and further south along the Gulf Coast is full of Midwesterners; the entire East Coast of the Carolinas and the coastal regions of the entire state of Florida are typically popular with East Coast residents, West/Central Northern states tend to travel to Texas and the West Coast residents typically migrate to Arizona and Southern California. Much of this is related to the interstate highway systems. Many migrants choose to go the most direct route to get to their destination. For us, 14 hours travelling in our vehicle with our dog is stressful enough, there is not much chance we would ever consider adding another 8 to 10 hours of driving to go to Central or South Florida, not to mention the higher cost for beach rentals.
Canadian snowbirds are the only ones that can be definitively tracked due to data collected by the government. For 2021, the pandemic has severely affected Canadian snowbirds who have been unable or unwilling to travel south for the winter.
Some snowbirds choose their location based on proximity to friends or family in the area. Our Northern neighbors have been meeting up in the Orlando, Florida area because that is where their parents also wintered. Now, this second generation of Indiana and Michigan families all own park models in the same community. We've also become good friends with a group of snowbirds who are neighbors in Illinois and ended up being neighbors in their southern homes because of the original couple who spent 13 years here.
Choosing your snowbird destination is personal and unique to each person. By prioritizing what you really want, it can help eliminate places that aren't a good fit. When researching potential southern communities, we found a beautiful single family home directly on the beach near Alligator Point, Florida, but it wasn't pet friendly. Another one was an amazing second row beach house on Cape San Blas, a barrier island of Florida, but it would have been a two hour round trip to get to the nearest shipping terminal, which was not going to work for our business needs. The third option was what I thought was perfect: a pet friendly elevated home on the beach with the bedroom, bath, kitchen, living room and deck upstairs and parking and a second bedroom located under the house for guests. And then it hit me, no way could our aging and ill Golden Retriever make it up and down the stairs five or six times a day, nor could we carry her. It was then that I sought and found a rental with an elevator, which meant an oceanfront low rise condo and not a beach house like we originally imagined. We've been in the same building ever since and it remains the best choice for us now and then.
“Our number one criteria is to be oceanfront with plenty of space for ourselves, our Golden Retriever and our business. Because we chose oceanfront property, the rate for our southern home condo is about three to four times more expensive than our primary home, so we offset that with a shorter stay. We chose Miramar Beach, which is part of the greater Destin area in Northwest Florida because it is a relatively easy 12-hour drive and beachfront rentals are not as expensive as further south,” continued Lana Scherer.
--published by STORAGECafé blog, January, 2021
-- Socrates, Ancient Greek Philosopher
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