If we continue to live in San Diego when we retire we will be reverse snowbirds. At least for the number of years that we are healthy and fit we would like to spend a couple of months each winter somewhere here in the west near great skiing. Our plan would be to rent a place for two months to ski and we would find someone to stay in our home in San Diego for two months to take care of our cats. Our friends in the south of England have said they would love to come over and do that in the winter!
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Glad to hear others are in the âtry it outâ stage for the snowbird/seasonal locale!
One thing I wondered - if you were to pick a secondary location that you stay in say, 2-4 months of the year (with an eye to potentially moving permanently down the road if you continued to like it, kids would visit, etc.) - do you end up with two sets of doctors until you make the switch? I have friends whose parents fly up from FL if they need medical care.
Like Himom said - I can see that the medical piece can be very important (and very quickly, depending on the condition!).
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We are planning to drop daughter off to start college in late August, then will take 6 weeks scoping potential areas to move to. Currently on the list: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas (hill country). Not really sure how thorough we can be in that time.
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My internist has declined to be the MD for my kids because she has a full load of patients AND she doesnât want to have patients who primarily live out of state. With current shortages of medical personnel in many parts of the US, I suspect her position is pretty common. I suspect you will be directed to urgent care or minute clinic or similar if you need care when you arenât in the area of your healthcare team.
Specialists tend to be even more difficult to get appointments with, in my experience. My current lung doc couldnât see me for about 4 months, even though my allergist referred me and begged and they are good friends.
Sadly, as we qge, I suspect medical care may loom larger in all our lives, especially when we have challenges getting in to see the MD or specialist we want/need.
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I know quite a few people who snowbird. All of them are really happy, make friends where they are and also visit friends from up north. But medical care is difficult. Everyone I know keeps their doctors where their home base is and if there is an emergency, which happens they try and cobble together medical care. My friends in Florida have complained that the level of care theyâve experienced hasnât been the same as their established team.
I know my older neighbors stopped going to Florida because one winter they both had medical issues that didnât get resolved until they got home.
I have very outgoing friends who pick a different place seemingly every winter. Theyâve always made friends wherever theyâve been. I know theyâve been happy with RV parks, the place last year had places to rent but this year they brought their 5th wheeler.
I will say this and Iâm not sure if itâs anything but everyone I know likes to have cocktails and much of their social life revolves around that. But I imagine that you can find like minded people who share other interests.
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My friends that moved to Arizona 5 years ago had been coming back to San Diego for their doctor and dentist appointments. They had a lot of trouble getting appointments during the pandemic and have now switched to doctors where they live near Phoenix.
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People from Arizona come to San Diego during the summer to get away from the heat - the antithesis of snowbirds. We learned theyâre referred to as Zonies.
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Is anyone doing what we are considering â being reverse snowbirds? Kids live in MN, and we are considering spending summers with them.
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My parents didnât live up here, but they made long visits up here from Texas almost every summer. They loved it. 
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I love the idea (but probably not the price!) of snowbirding.
DH is anxious to move when we retire in 5 years, but we wonât go anywhere as long as my parents are still alive. DH is completely on board. We say weâll take them with us but they will be in the late and very late 80s, so I donât know how feasible that will be.
My MIL said recently to not stay here for them - I didnât tell her that neither of her sons plans on doing that!
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My folks were not good as travelers in their 80s nor 90s. They got very confused and would continuously lose things. It was tiring. We had to pack for them, be sure to keep them calm and occupied, keep track of their IDs and flight documents, etc. It was disorienting for them to be in different places. If it were a permanent move, theyâd have to get new medical team as well and get used to new place to live.
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Mine are in their early 80s; theyâve been living with us during the transition and house hunting stage (8 months). Itâs been interesting getting all of the specialists coordinated, especially during a pandemic, but all of the providers have been great. Dad had to have a major neck surgery within a month of moving here; it was so much easier for them and us having them here for that. Itâs really difficult to move at that age, not just physically but leaving friends and things like church. Luckily mine ended up really liking the area we moved to; the next step is getting my MIL to come down as well.
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My aunt and uncle used to rent at same condo complex few months each winter. The last few years their daughter would drive them and car down, then fly home. And then the reverse to get them home.
Medical care is definitely a challenge of snowbird etc lifestyle. It works best for healthier people, and of course none of us knows our future.
I know a couple that has a summer lake house in New England. They drive there in late spring, then fly home for a visit to the house and grandchildren in the middle of their 4 month stay. Perhaps that also allows them to catch up on appointments if needed.
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We have a friend whose parents (in their 80s) go from their home in Florida to their cabin in North Carolina for the summer. Either our friend or one of his siblings has to drive them up and then fly back. They can drive around town but not on the interstate for multiple hours to get there.
The last four years there has been some calamity that necessitated their coming home suddenly. So, our friend or one of his siblings has to drive up and get them and bring them home. Usually itâs a health situation for one of them (they are in HORRIBLE shape), but this past summer, one of his dadâs brothers had passed away so they needed to come back for the funeral. My friendâs sister drove up to get them only to discover that they had had a fender bender with their car but hadnât told any of their children. They got, âcaughtâ because of the death of the brother. They planned to get the car fixed and not tell anyone about it.
Itâs exhausting, and I am only an observer.
Sorry - off-topic from downsizing for sure.
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Actually, it sounds like on topic since it has been raised that some folks have elders in the area they are considering in their plans on where to live in their next phase.
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@Jolynne_Smyth : We live in 2 states (about 2400 miles apart) & spend anywhere from 4-7 months in either. Iâve tried to keep primary MDâs where the home is located, but have added a few specialists in both areas (dentist, eye, dermatologist). My primary has been great and has no issues with sharing information. Finding a primary in 2nd location has been tough though. Anyone who has been recommended is not taking new patients.
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Interesting experiences thanks for sharing!
This makes me think through more aspects of any second location possibility. Mexico sounded like a viable option, but if I project out a few years - would that have the kind of healthcare I could get in the states (easily and on short notice and with strong specialists, if needed?). Maybe not�
Same here. In IL, and taxes are a situation! Love all the comments here though!
The Zonies have been coming here to San Diego forever!
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Our neighborhood is only 40% year-round; everyone else lives in Northern cities like Chicago or NYC.
@Hoggirl we had that with my FIL before he went to assisted living and later passed. He had Fronto temporal dementia, so his memory was intact, but behavior declined. It was the side swipe and wanting to leave that prompted the eval. We were living in NC at the time. I had to keep flying/taking train up. Near the end it was every weekend one of us were traveling. It took a major toll on OUR health. Thatâs why weâre trying to get my MIL to consider moving here. My parents watched what everyone went through it and realized they really needed help, especially after watching FILs decline; they were close friends. Itâs so hard in todayâs society when kids often canât stay in their home towns.
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