We are Snowbirds | RV Life

Well almost. We don’t have a second residence for summer.

The best part of RV life is taking our home wherever we go. In the summer months, we head north for cooler weather and head south for warmer weather.

“Retired people head south for the winter. They’re called Snowbirds.” Technically, I’m not retired; I just don’t have a traditional job.

The term snowbirds is quite old. In the 1920s, migrant workers went south for work. It went to retirees around 1979. The number of retirees flocking to Florida and Arizona started to ramp up, and more retirees jumped on the trend. Canadians are the most noted snowbirds—the UK snowbirds head to Spain.

The last few years of my mother’s life, she lived in Arizona. She resided in an RV park in a 35 foot travel trailer. Bearing the Arizona heat she resided there all year. There was excitement in her voice when fall came around. “The snowbirds are starting to arrive. The parks coming alive again.” I could tell how happy she was to see her friends. Generally, the same couples would come back year after year. There would be a few new ones now and then.

Now in that stage of my life with full-time travel we decided to stay south for the winter and park for three months to stay warmer. The deciding factor is that our propane heater is not working, and we need to stay on full-hookups so we can run our space heater. As I have mentioned before we don’t plan our travels. The place where we decided to stay is full of snowbirds. Repeat campers who find the warmer southwest is the place to be in winter.

There is a community in living the RV life—more when you snowbird for the winter season. You develop friendships and learn about their lives, kids, grandkids, professions, likes and dislikes. You meet campers in your travels and have quick chit-chats and exchange names. You might see them again at another campsite in another state, but when you snowbird once a year in the same place, it’s like going home to visit family.

This is our first year, and, as I mentioned, we have not planned to snowbird. It was a last-minute decision when the heater issue wouldn’t be a quick fix. The area we are in is with several campers who are here for the winter. I like our temporary neighborhood.

The most popular snowbird states are Florida, with Arizona coming in next. Then Texas and New Mexico. We are not in either of those places. We are in the southwest, and not following the trend is how I want to RV full-time. I’m still close enough to visit family for the holidays.

I am not a fan of the desert, but I dislike cold weather and snow more. I’ll sacrifice beautiful scenery for a few months to be warm.

Have a great week!