Snowbirds...? The Choices Are Shrinking and the Voice of Reason is Small...

As we age (how many times have I said that?) I find that the things I thought were tasty or interesting don't bring the same emotions. I think I should still like that beef stroganoff I made for a party when I was 30...it would still be delicious...but no.

I actually made it this summer and there was something missing. What was that? Garlic? Better sour cream? I do not know. Yet, there it was, a big bowl of beef sitting in a bowl with no one to eat it but my poor husband. I know I wasn't going to. Sigh.

It seems that it was at that point I or we began to question everything...where we lived, how we ate and what we had expected of life, our children or even our friends. What did WE want?

Oregon Summer Backyard

Path to our front door...Oregon

Being a snowbird is one of the great joys of our life. We have a townhouse in Arizona and, when we go there, it is like going on vacation. My husband golfs and I write, cook and socialize. We have friends and continue to make more. It is a very good life.

But as the years go by, I want to come back to Oregon more often and my husband wants to go to Arizona and stay.

So it came up in the discussion the other evening at cocktail hour. Should we sell our Home here on Harewood Place as well as our Arizona townhouse and buy a big house in Oregon? Or should we leave Oregon all together and move lock stock and barrel to Arizona?

Arizona at it's best!

I know! Both of those choices are a dream. We could rent somewhere in either location and spend a few months. What would be a good choice.

Here is the bit that might throw the plan all off...my husband will be 83 in February and I will be 79 in November. If I were 20 year younger and I heard of someone our age even talking about these big choices, I would have had a fit. Aren't those people ready to go to assisted living? I would have thought to myself.

We are not going to do either...or at least I don't think we are. It might be foolish and unreasonable. Wouldn't you agree?

BUT...there is another way, a place in the middle that might work. Now it is up to us to decided because we actually are allowed to do that still. The opportunity for change is shrinking as the years pass. If you are old you know what I am saying.

Any ideas?

Link: How to Snowbird and do it right!

Comments

Five Little Ducks...stories played out!

The children's song about the little ducks leaving the nest to fly away has always been one of my favorites. Every mother has seen their babies fly away and rejoiced. Life comes full circle. Animals live that same cycle. Babies grow up. Birds leave the nest. Life goes on. So when the three ducks show up every year near my patio I am not surprised. But I am puzzled that it always seems to be the same three. Something just doesn't seem right. It appears the one did not fly away at all. Five little ducks Went out to play Over the hills and far away. The mommy duck went "quack, quack quack," Four little ducks came swimming back... And then Three Two and One. A drake, a female duck (a hen) and a not quite a drake but still not a hen gather here on the 5th green of the golf course. She leads and the other two follow along obediently. They eat, sleep, and guard each other. Each and every day this time of year they come. I have not named them. Jinxing them would be very pos...

How to be a Snowbird in 2024

Early years in RV resort! Our motor home is parked next to our first Park Model When it begins to cool in the evenings and the geese fly in formation, my mind turns to Arizona. Yearning for the desert air and vibrant blue sky is compel me to fly away. I do it every year and will as long as I am allowed. Townhome near Tucson's Pantano Wash and bike trail. We started this way of life when we retired. First with a fifth-wheel trailer, later with a motor home, and finally in something permanent that evolved over the years. First, it was a park model in an RV Resort, then a townhouse close to walking trails, and finally into a home on a small golf course. Congress Hotel from window of near by hotel. Each time we moved, we upscaled and increased our monetary wealth. That is the way our mind works. It is as though we couldn't just have fun without working a lot. We painted and planted flowers and haunted thrift stores to find just the right furniture. We were always hav...

How to be a 12 Month Snow Bird

Vacation Rental in Mexico I live around snowbirds 6 months of the year. I have heard those people say that they all want to live the "snowbird" lifestyle when they go home. But it just is not possible. They are isolated and cold. Social activities with friends and beautiful weather are greatly missed when they return to the realities of their "real" life. One couple I visited with lately returned to Florida this morning where they own a home. The woman is a nurse and works in the summer. They are not going home until May this year. It is too cold in Michigan in the spring so they are hoping to extend their good weather season by simply staying away. Besides that they love their Florida lifestyle a lot. Last week I visited with a woman that lives the snowbird lifestyle year around. No going home to the Midwest in the spring. They essentially vacation 12 month out of the year. And I thought their solution for avoiding unpleasant weather and keeping their lifestyle in...

Retire In Style Blog Too

Search This Blog