So You Want to Be a Young Snowbird? | Here’s How to Plan

Do you dream of ditching the cold winters and spending your days in the sun? Many people are drawn to the appeal of living a nomadic lifestyle or becoming a “snowbird” – someone who heads south for the winter months. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, I’m excited for you! It’s been the best decision for our family!

Young snowbirds are increasing since the pandemic has changed the workforce by allowing many opportunities for remote work. Traditionally, snowbirds are of retirement age, but now young snowbirds are on the rise, as remote work allows much more freedom and flexibility. Those in the workforce in remote positions are now able to work from anywhere, and many are opting to skip the winter months and spend time in warmer climates.

In this blog post, we’ll cover some of the key points to think about as you plan your transition to becoming a young snowbird. So read on, and get ready to start planning your perfect winter escape!

Planning to Become a Young Snowbird

Every winter, my husband and I would discuss moving to Florida because Ohio winters are long, gloomy, dreary, boring, and cold. There were so many things to do to make the leap, that we found ourselves just dreaming and talking about it, and not making any progress.

After the pandemic, I was working remotely, and he was self-employed. We both knew this was the right time for us to make the jump!

There are a lot of things to consider when making the decision to become a young snowbird. Housing, work, finances, school – it makes sense that there are not very many young snowbirds until recently. It is a lot of work to get started, but the reward is so worth it.

When we decided to do it, there wasn’t much information available for young snowbirds. Most of the information available was geared towards those of retirement age. That’s why I wanted to put this blog together so others can have some guidelines for how to make their dreams a reality. I’m a big believer in creating the life you love – I even got that quote tattooed on me!

Figure Out What Kind of Snowbird Lifestyle You Want

So you know you want to become a snowbird before retirement. Great! Start thinking about what kind of lifestyle you want to live.

Here are some things you’ll want to consider:

Do you want to settle somewhere or live a nomadic lifestyle in an RV? Some people want to set up a home in a warmer area and be settled for the months they are away. Others prefer to see different places and travel in an RV. Both have their pros and cons, but be sure to decide what you want to do. If you decide to opt for a nomadic lifestyle in the US, here are some amazing places in each state to take your kids while on the road!

What types of things do you want to do? Everyone has different ideas of what they want to do while snowbirding. For me, I like to read, work on my blog, and lay out at the beach. My husband likes to cook seafood, visit cool restaurants, and see tourist attractions. When we were making our decision on where to snowbird, we had to take all these factors into consideration.

What is the proximity to home? For us, it was very important to have direct flights from Florida to Ohio. We made sure to choose a location near an airport that had direct flights home. Even if you plan to be away all winter, things may come up where you’ll need to go home, even for a short amount of time.

What types of kid’s activities are available? As a traveling homeschool family (read this to learn more about travel homeschooling), it was important to me that there were plenty of free or inexpensive learning opportunities available. We have found great libraries, inexpensive petting zoos, several museums, art classes, and even amazing ways to explore nature.

What is important to you? Do you prefer a quiet area? Do you want to be close to water or inland? What type of weather is ideal? These are all very important things to consider and discuss before deciding on where you’ll stay in the winter.

What I recommend: Make a spreadsheet to determine all the things that are important to you. Set up a ranking system to help you determine your perfect location. Have your spouse do the same and compare notes.

Don’t forget to visit a few places and watch the weather for locations even from home so it can help you make your decision. For example, we considered the Destin area, but it still gets colder than we prefer in the winter, so we knew we needed to be farther south.

In what area do you want to live? Lastly, taking everything you’ve learned, it is time to decide on where you’ll go in the winter!

Figure Out What Your Plan is for Income

Now you’ve decided where to move, but how will you afford it?

How do you plan to bring in an income during the winter months?

Remote jobs are on the rise. If you are currently employed, is it an option to work remotely? If not, I suggest speaking to your boss about your options, especially if most of your work could be done remotely. For example, my dad works on huge machinery. Working remotely is not possible for him, but I do 90% of my work on a laptop, so I have the option to live the Laptop Lifestyle.

If your current employer will not consider allowing you to work remotely, how much do you love your job? If you are indifferent about it, check out Indeed. You can filter for remote positions and start applying for positions you have the skills for.

Odd jobs are an option for those with different skills. Are you handy? Do you have a talent that others would pay for? Can you offer a service?

Self-employment is an amazing option for travelers. You don’t have a boss – you are the boss. Of course, there are many cons but in my opinion, the pros are worth it! If you have always wanted to start a business, start brainstorming some ideas!

Temporary jobs are a great option as well. Waitressing, bartending, tourist attractions, and seasonal work are all in high demand and often make excellent money due to the large crowds during winter months.

Consider how your current employer will handle your time away. If you are not able to work remotely, can you take a leave of absence? If you aren’t in love with your current position, you could always put in your notice and spend the time while you are snowbirding looking for your next position for when you return home.

Here is a huge list of ideas on ways to make money ideas as a traveling family. I hope you find something that helps you become a traveling family with more freedom!

Make a Checklist and Get Your Affairs in Order

Now that you know how you’ll be making money as a young snowbird, there are still some financial items to take care of.

Make a budget of how much money you’ll be spending as a snowbird. Take everything into consideration such as higher taxes, gas prices, and groceries. Groceries are much higher in Florida than they are in Ohio. That was quite a surprise to us!

Save money for your deposit on a short-term rental or on your second home. Build up an emergency fund if you’ll be traveling. It is recommended to have 3-6 months of expenses saved in a liquid bank account before making this leap. If you are traveling, you’ll have much more peace of mind knowing that you have money in the bank to fall back on.

Get your credit in order if there are any issues there. You will need to have a credit check before renting or purchasing a house. You want to make sure you meet the standards so you’ll be accepted.

Set up paperless statements to come to your email instead of having mail piling up in your mailbox when you won’t be there to open it. We forgot to do this and had to rely on family to go through our mail the first month we were away. It caused unnecessary stress on us and a burden on our family to help us. They didn’t complain but I still felt like I was putting them out.

Set up electronic bill pays so you can pay your bills through online banking from anywhere. The last thing you’ll want to do is buy envelopes and stamps and look for a mailbox while you’re on the road.

Make sure the bank you use at home is available in the area you will be at in the winter. If it isn’t, you’ll want to have access to your funds somehow. If you bank at a credit union, you can usually make deposits and withdrawals from any credit union, even if they don’t have the same name.

Figure Out Your Plan for Housing

You’re getting close to making your dreams a reality! Now, what are you going to do with your primary residence while you’re away?

Things to consider for your primary residence:

Checking on your home – Are you going to have someone check on your house while you’re away? Who will be bringing in your mail? At least in the winter, you won’t have to worry about mowing or watering flowers!

Renting it out – Will you be renting your house out? I love this idea because you will free up more money from your budget since you won’t be using the house anyway. It’s a great way to get your expenses covered.

We have opted to rent our primary residence out on Airbnb and VRBO but you could also do a short-term rental and keep the same tenant. Renting your house fully furnished will have its advantages, but be sure to have a secure, locked area for your valuables and personal items.

Security – I highly recommend setting up an outdoor Ring doorbell with a camera so you can monitor activity at your home while you’re away. You can use a wireless Ring doorbell or a wired Ring doorbell, depending on your preference.

For your tenant’s privacy, you cannot use an indoor Ring camera if you choose to rent your primary residence, but if you do not have a tenant, installing an indoor Ring camera will let you know what is going on inside your home. You will get an alert on your cell phone if the camera picks up any activity. We love to watch the boats going by our condo while we are back in Ohio. It had us itching to head south again!

Door locks – I can’t say enough great things about using a remote door lock with the ability to change the code in between tenants. We love the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock. You can control the door lock remotely and it even automatically unlocks the door when you walk up to it if you have your cell phone with you.

Temperature control – It comes in really handy to be able to regulate your temperature remotely. We use a Nest thermostat. Before we left Ohio a few days ago, I turned our heat super low. The day before we travel home, I will adjust it. It saves us money on our utilities and it’s handy for a vacation rental.

Notifying those needed- Do you need to stop trash service while you’re away? Do you want to have your mail forwarded? Can you have your prescriptions mailed to your new address? Make sure to notify the appropriate people to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible.

Things to consider for your secondary home:

Rent or buy – Will you be renting or buying? If you’re renting, you’ll want to make sure they offer a short-term lease. Here in Florida, it is very popular to offer 3 month leases. You’ll also want to find a respectable realtor. Check out Facebook groups for the area you will be wintering. They offer non-biased opinions on everything!

Furnishings – Will you need furnishings or will your rental come fully furnished? Some rentals come furnished while others do not. Will you be moving furniture to your new location? Consider used furniture that you can rent for the first winter you snowbird. We had excellent luck doing that. We actually purchased gently used items from a furniture rental store and they were of great quality. We were able to get a big discount because others had rented them and almost paid them off before returning them.

Toiletries – You’ll need everything that you have at home in the new place. Think toilet paper, paper towels, trash cans, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sunscreen, and so much more. Start stockpiling now so you’ll be ready when you leave!

Kitchen items – You will need blenders, mixers, bowls, cups, plates, silverware, can openers, and a lot more. We were so lucky that my mother-in-law thought ahead and bought several of these items for us for Christmas the winter before we headed south. It saved us a lot of money! Add some of these items to your birthday and Christmas lists in preparation.

Figure Out Your Plan for Schooling

You’re so close, but it’s time to talk about schooling for those with children.

It is an option to use 2 school districts and have your kids attend public schools in each district depending on where you are at the time. It takes a lot of coordination. However, there is another option that should be considered.

We homeschool our son and it is working out so well. No more asking permission to take him out of school, homework in the evenings, waiting in bus drop off or pick up lines, and so many other advantages. Here is how we travel homeschool our son.

Many who have not researched homeschooling immediately rule it out thinking they don’t have the time or that it is weird. Did you know homeschooling only takes 30 minutes to 4 hours a day? Read this to learn more.

Research it. Read my other blog posts. I know it seems scary, but it is totally doable and it allows for so much freedom! Here are some ways to make homeschooling in a vacation area more fun! Remember, learning is everywhere, and doesn’t only have to come from a textbook.

If you decide to homeschool on the road (roadschooling), here is a plan to help you be a more successful and organized homeschool parent.

Conclusion

So, have you decided that you want to be a young snowbird? Excellent! Now it’s time to work out the logistics so you can make this dream a reality!

If you’re still weighing all your options, make sure to check out our post on how to find a remote job, especially as a homeschool parent. It can help take some of the uncertainty out of your decision-making process.

Have you made the leap to becoming a young snowbird? What should we add to our list of things to consider?

Deciding to take the plunge is the most exhilarating part until you arrive in paradise while it is snowing back home. Preparation is key for any successful venture. So start planning now and get excited for an amazing, warm winter filled with new experiences!