Snowbirds or Snowbillies?

Last year was our first experience with folks sometimes called snowbirds. In the Florida Panhandle, they seem to mostly hail from the Midwest.

For one thing, the panhandle and Gulf Coast are much closer to the Midwest than South Florida. Also, this whole area is Central Time Zone. I don't know about you, but I am not much of a fan of the Eastern Time Zone.

There are even clubs for most Midwest states along the Gulf Coast which hold monthly meetings. Several bars in Panama City Beach cater to Midwesterners with the Big Ten Network.

While at the Driftwood Lodge, the neighbors to one side of us were from Indiana and on the other were from Ohio. A walk through the parking lot found cars from Illinois, Missouri, and quite a few from Ontario.

Some of the people were getting special monthly rates as low as $700 and to a $1000. Not bad when you also have no worries about the place when you're not there as you would if you owned a second home.

I think this is the way we might end up going. Just rent a place for awhile, although I don't think I want to stay for a month or more at this time. I'm thinking a couple weeks in one place and a couple more in another. What we will end up doing is still to be seen.

By the way, one lady at Mexico Beach calls those coming down for the winter Snowbillies."

Not Sure If I'm a Snowbird, Snowbilly, Or, Just Lost. --RoadDog