Does a snowbird travel around the 'warm' or

[Roy_Lynne]

is a snowbird someone who finds a warm home and just stays put. We are leaving sometime after Thanksgiving but we have no destination in mind except the road, making a huge loop down thru California, around Arizona, New Mexico, into Texas, and and then back into New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and finally Oregon and Washington.(Well maybe we have a hundred destinations in mind) We plan to do a mixture of booddocking, and full service camping, depending on when the clothes need washed and tanks need filled.
The only thing that I worry about is that I might pass up something cool to see or do, just because I didn't know it was there so I've asked a million questions and gotten some great advise from folks on this site.
So if your a traveler, what do you plan to do, go, see.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Here in Michigan, we get "Sunbirds" during the really hot months down south - folks escaping the heat. They tend to head back south the moment they can't wear shorts. The Michigan Snowbirds fly south either before they have to shovel snow (me); or right after the Holidays. One year we left the day after Christmas - and the traffic jams headed south were mind-boggling - clearly half of the northern USA was headed the same direction 😞

[scbwr]

OP....have a great trip! You may find that you are planning on going to to many locations and I suggest make sure you have time to enjoy where you are and keep a casual pace that won't tire you out!

I guess by definition, we aren't snowbirds as we only spend about 6 weeks of the winter in Florida! But then again...I've never seen the rulebook for Snowbirds!

[BarbaraOK]

We started out moving around during the winter. Arizona, Florida, Texas - just south of I-10 for the coldest months. We learned quickly that we didn't like Florida and we didn't like the RioGrande Valley. So that left Arizona or Southern California. We bounced around those two areas for a few years before settling on Mesa, AZ for longer stays and after a number of years we decided to buy a park model in our favorite park. So now we travel in the RV in the summer and spend the winter enjoying all the greater Phoenix area has to offer.

Dave was a grad student at ASU in the 70s, so I would mutter about snow birds getting in my way during my drive each morning to work. We now don't head for breakfast until after 8:30 am so that those working (and paying taxes) can get to their jobs on time. :B.

[Ernest]

I always felt the term snowbirds applied to people who came from the north at the beginning of the winter and left at the end of winter. The term was applied by the "locals" who put up with the warmer summers to have the nicer winters. They felt a little bit invaded by these travelers.

As to full-timer's vs snowbirds in over 30 years I haven't met a full timer who wintered in the North regardless of their equipment.

I haven't met a camper that I didn't like regardless of my stay or location. On the other hand there are a few campgrounds I won't go back to.

[John_Joey]

FWIW, there was a time I was a little confused about having a title also. We would travel for 5-6 months during the winter months, so that SHOULD make us snowbirds. Yet, we had so much more in common with FT'ers then Snowbirds. We seemed to get along great with every FT'er we met. We did get along with most of the snowbirds we met under the age of 70. Those that were stuck in one spot for years on end not so much. This led me to a conclusion.

It's based on activities vs experiences. Hardcore Snowbirds are very much into activities, FT'ers are into experiences. Sitting in one spot all winter par taking in activities with long term good friends and neighbors is a snowbird thing. Traveling around meeting new people, seeing new places, and enjoying new local events is what travelers do. These are the things that FT'ers are attracted to. That's why they sold every thing and hit the road.

For me, I came to the conclusion we were PT'ers. Been happy ever since, and I roll my eyes at the one size fit all snowbird.

[Skyberg01]

Fifteen years ago we decided to go to the warmest place in the continental USA. That would be Yuma AZ. We never had an urge to go anywhere else.

[Fizz]

Take your time and forget about destinations. It's the 'getting there' that's fun.
Some of the best sights and adventures we came across was when we were on our way to some famous place.
Slow down & look around.

[valhalla360]

There is no legal definition, so you can call yourself whatever you want.

But generally the term used to someone who heads south in the winter and generally stays in one spot until they head north in the winter.

You are free to call yourself a snowbird but you may want to clarify that you will be on the move all winter or people you talk to are likely to assume you find a park and stay there for a few months.

[Janss]

Birds fly so you don't have to "nest" to be a snowbird. You can fly around as planned! Sounds like a great winter!

You might also like this website:
www.roadsideamerica.com

We do the opposite in the summer. Travel around for 3-4 months. I try to gather things to see/do before we go, but it gets overwhelming. So I research as we travel. Look up tourism in upcoming towns we expect to be in. I also use Tripadvisor...e.g. google "Sedona AZ Tripadvisor" then click on "Things To Do".

[Lwiddis]

“Does a snowbird travel around the 'warm' or...”

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

[2gypsies1]

Your route sounds fantastic and the kind of trip we'd take. If you miss something you can always pick it up the next year! Just keep the weather reports refreshed. All of New Mexico can be cold in Dec, Jan and even Feb. We were surprised with that. Watch your elevations. To stay reasonable warm you'll want to be no higher than 4,000' and quite often that will even be too high depending on the weather. Have a great trip!!

[azrving]

We spend most of it in s. Az or socal. I like NM but a lot of it is higher elevation so colder. I've been over near Houston when they had ice storms. They would buy up all the water and batteries but it usually didn't amount to much and those spells only seemed to last for 2 or 3 weeks of the winter. Thanks

[Roy_Lynne]

the bear II wrote:
You might find some useful resources on this website:
https://www.roadtripamerica.com/

What a cool site Bear. Thanks for sharing

[Dick_B]

Do a Google search for `_____ tourism' and put the state or city or area in the blank space and read what the specialists recommend.