Every year at about this time we Floridians look forward to the Return of the "SnowBirds!"
Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes..... Jimmy Buffett
After all, As Jimmy Buffet says," the lower the latitude, the better the attitude"...
and they seem to like our Florida attitude...cause they keep coming back...
They [those Snowbirds] come from most of the Northern states to all parts of Florida to escape the cold weather, icy roads, snow, plummeting temperatures, and blizzards to come.
They don't want to shovel snow, scrape windows, or spread salt on their walkways and driveways.
Instead they want to be out boating, fishing, golfing, staring at blue skies, and walking on the beach. Playing tennis, biking, Kayaking, gazing at the palm trees or watching all the beautiful birds that also migrate here. They come to chill out... eat seafood and lots of it.
They come from New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
They even come from Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. Some like it hotter over the winter months and they head further south to the Miami area. Iowa, Michigan, even Tennessee.
Some like it a little cooler and less crowded, so they settle on the Central Florida Coast where I reside.
Some like the gulf, and love Tampa south to Naples.
Whatever part of Florida they love best it really doesn't matter. One thing you can be sure of is they will come to Florida by the droves. Flying, driving, by trains, campers, RV's, you name it. Hauling cars behind them, Mini-Vans, SUV's. They're on their way! They are coming here for the next 6 months and there is no stopping them.
We look forward to their return every year. Yes the roads are more crowded. Yes the restaurants and stores will be more crowded. But... Many have become our friends and we look forward to their return each winter. They tell us tales of the already cold nights that they just left where they already needed to turn on the heat. We just laugh. We haven't even turned off our Air Conditioning yet.
Many have become seasonal residents on a regular basis and have actually purchased a 2nd home here for the winter months. They're splitting their lives between the two. Half of their friends and families are still up North, they have been coming to Florida long enough they have established friendships, and family members are here too. This happens quite often. They like our more relaxed lifestyle. The roads might be more crowded, but we don't have traffic jams.
Others only come to rent seasonally, and there are those that try it out for a few seasons and later on might decide to buy because they like it enough to actually come back again year after year. We are here to help them locate a new home here in Florida.
Many come as vacationers, following friends and family and settle into various communities.
We end up with one big melting pot of ethnic groups and diversity. We like that. Yes Florida gets made fun of all the time in politics, and cartoons. But we take it all in stride.
After all, As Jimmy Buffet says," the lower the latitude, the better the attitude"... and they seem to like our Florida attitude...cause they keep coming back...
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