Snow birding is much more expensive. But if you have the disposable income, perhaps less tolerant of the hot and humid Florida summers, or have extended family ties up north, then snow birding might be for you.
It’s true that you need two of almost everything, unless you want the hassles of hauling things back and forth. If you don’t have duplicate almost everything, then you’ll need things that are a thousand miles away, at the other house. You have to maintain two homes over a thousand miles apart from each other, which is a hassle. You need to setup each home so that you can monitor things remotely, like remote controllable thermostats, cameras, etc.
You can solve all those issues by simply dumping a lot of money on all those things. If you’re flushed with extra money, you can’t take the money with you after you pass on.
We considered being snowbirds, but decided it would be just too many hassles for us. We could have afforded to duplicate almost everything, and pay people to maintain the homes, but the hassles were just too much.
We would have probably only used the Minnesota properties 3 to 4 months a year at the most, because the rest of the year, the weather in Minnesota is too cold.
We sold the Minnesota home to an in law, where we occasionally stay for a couple to a few weeks in the summertime. We have a place to stay in Minnesota, without all the hassles and expenses.
Driving back and forth 1,600 miles gets old quickly, and is a big hassle. Driving is also more dangerous than flying. We would end up needing two sets of cars, four cars total, if we were snowbirds. Snow birding could also increase your income taxes too. For example, in Minnesota there are 26 residency intention factors. One of the residency intention factors is where you license, insure, and store your vehicles. If you violate the residency intention factors, then Minnesota can force you to pay the Minnesota state income taxes, even if you are a Florida resident. Other states could have similar income tax laws.
Renting for months in the wintertime in Florida can be extremely expensive, when the rent prices escalated. But when you’re renting, then you have to haul a lot of stuff, or do without that stuff. Plus, your Florida home won’t feel like your living in your own home. You’ll feel like a temporary renter.
The best solution for us was to be full time in Florida. The summertime heat and humidity isn’t that bad, compared to the lousy cold, icy, snowy, and dreary winter weather in Minnesota. Plus, all the hassles of snow birding, for us, wasn’t worth the benefits of being snowbirds.
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