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After a 30-day trial of wintering in warm weather, I’m not convinced. I find this humorous because this is something I’ve long wanted to do.
When we lived downtown Chicago, leaving didn’t make sense, because we could always get out in the winter: public transportation and an undercity pedway made moving around relatively easy. But after our move to Sioux Falls, where I became dependent on driving everywhere and timing of snowplows, I readily agreed to trying what I thought I wanted to do: skip the snow and ice and run to dry roads and higher temperatures. I considered this a dry run.
Lake Pleasant, AZ
So I should want to stay here until April, right?
Wrong. I miss my new house in South Dakota even though we have a more than lovely rental here. I miss my daughter and her family. I miss my visits to the health club where we meet up. I miss the grammie talk from my little grandchildren. I miss my shopping 10 minutes away. I miss… I miss… I miss…
our AZ patio
Over our iced mochas, we discussed each area in detail. I got the idea to draw a pie chart (thanks to math and statistics teachers) to try to quantify which areas were more important than others. Nicer weather in winter was certainly important. That’s why we were there. As older women with a health thing or two, it’s much more pleasant to hang out in sunny warm swimming pools than to trudge through chilling rain or snow and ice.
We were having this discussion mainly for her sake. Recently widowed and having always wintered away from home with her husband, she was exploring what would work best for her in the future. I didn’t realize then that I would be referring to that discussion so soon myself.
But, at this point of our dry run, I’m leaning toward family being the largest slice in my pie. And our own home and bed would be next. How about you? Can you relate?
Write Along with Me 
What a delightful dilemma!
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Yes, and one of privilege I don’t take care granted! A true learning experience.
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You always manage to make me think about my future, Lois. Thanks for you wise insight!!!!
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Not sure about wise, but certainly thought through! Thanks.
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Almost every winter since retirement I’ve threatened to become a snowbird. I once spent about a week in St Simons Island in January and didn’t like coming back from the warm weather to cold. Besides, I, too, like my own bed. But I can dream about snow birding and experience it vicariously through others. Enjoy your Arizona time.
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I’ve often envied snowbirds too. A month is not long enough to make a final assessment, I know. Now, I’ve talked to lots of people about their decision to become snowbirds. Many reported trial and error, trying different states and places and lengths of time before settling. Such interesting conversations. Makes me want to conduct a grounded theory study!
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Go for it!
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We have been spending 5 months in SW Florida for about 6 or 7 years. At this point I miss Michigan when I am in Florida and I miss Florida when I am in Michigan. We love our house in MI but bought a condo in FL that is home. We have made great friends here in our complex and have joined a church we absolutely love. And my body doesn’t hurt as much when I am here. Naples is sub-tropical so we have great weather during the months we are here – except March and April get a little warm and more humid. We absolutely love our life and hope we can hang onto it for many more years. But all this means absolutely nothing to you – because you have to do what makes you happy and keeps your quality of life high. The good news is that any decision you make isn’t forever – you can go south as much and as often as you need. I look forward to hearing your continuing musings – remember that we are in this together.
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And I have confidence in you problem-solving ability because nurses are the best!
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You are right. Our heads are always spinning while at work, and even though I’ve been retired from nursing over 16 years, my mind is always in “nursing process” mode where we assess, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate. A form of the “scientific method.” It’s an easily generalizable process to my retirement dilemmas!
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Five months! That seems like a long time compared to my one month but I can see that it is helpful to hunker down and get involved before deciding anything. And I do like the idea that no decision is permanent. I’m thinking one thing that’s hard for me now is I’ve just spent six months getting enculturated in a new city and I just can’t muster up the energy or enthusiasm to do this so soon in another place. Thanks for your perspective! We are traveling this road together:)!
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It does make sense that you are not ready after the big move to a new city that is so very different than Chicago. We came to southern Florida for about 30 years for a couple of weeks – up to three week every January. During the 15 years leading up to my retirement we were talking about and exploring where we would want to go if we spent our winters here. It was not a quick decision. Take your time. 🙂
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Thanks! I’m seeing this will be a long process. And I see that it will be a fun exploration as well.
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Have you ever considered planning an annual tropical cruise during the dead of winter? Pick the bitterest month and then travel someplace sunny and warm. To me the hardest part of alternating between two different homes would be missing the familiar. On a cruise ship everyone’s in the same “boat”, so to say; enjoying new experiences and meeting interesting shipmates makes the time fly by. Then you have some delicious new memories to share until spring arrives!
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You nailed it–missing the familiar since I just made the major transition from Chicago to Sioux Falls and don’t feel like trying to get settled in at another place so soon. We do like river boat tours with around a hundred people, but don’t like ocean cruises with a few thousand. I like your idea of being with the same group of people over time without having to find them! Now we’ll be trying other things until we find the right fit. Trial and error!
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Sounds to me like several shorter trips during the worst of winter would make sense. I knew a couple that did 2-3 Elder Hostel (now Road Scholar) trips each winter. They chose the domestic ones that were less expensive and usually held one week at a time in one place (warm) to study a subject, then some extra time on their own to explore the area. You can explore several areas a year and make up your mind more quickly than just one place a year, get home to see family for some time in between and sleep in your own bed, then head off again to something new.
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That’s how we’re leaning now. But I know I have to feel snowbound again to sort this out more. It’s hard to even imagine that now in 70s sunshine having breakfast on our patio on our last day in AZ!
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