This week, the theme is snowbirding in retirement. Should you be a snowbird? It’s a challenging emotional, financial, and lifestyle decision about where you live in retirement, so I’m unpacking snowbirding this week. 

If you’ve been listening to the tips this week, you know I’ve been raining on your snowbird parade. It’s not because I want to dissuade you from being a snowbird, but too often only the glamorous side of snowbirding and the reasons to do it are considered. I just want you to think about the pros AND the cons of this important decision, and it seems to me like not many people out there are talking about the unglamorous side of snowbirding, which is what I’m focusing on today. 

We’ve talked about the cost and renting vs. owning, but today I want to focus on a few non-financial headaches that comes with being a snowbird. Here are just a few examples: 

• Stopping and starting your newspaper, forwarding your mail
• Having someone you trust check on things back home, pick up packages and the newspaper that inevitably still comes even though you’ve called them 3 times, check your basement and pipes to make sure your house doesn’t flood. My parents came home from a month in California a few years ago, to some minor bathroom flooding that happened while they were away. 
• Stopping and starting cable and other utilities, which can be a really big hassle. Often you just end up eating the costs of paying for year-round utilities in both places which can be another cost to consider. 
• And one that almost nobody thinks about - many snowbird spots have more volatile home prices, which get slammed in recessions, and take longer to recover, which means that your 2nd home didn’t grow in value like you hoped it would. And when you die, it’s one more illiquid asset that your heirs probably don’t want to deal with or fight over what happens to it. 
• You like your doctor at home? You’ll also have to find another doctor, dentist, obgyn, etc. What a hassle trying to find someone good for all your health needs!

If the weather and sunshine are still worth all the hassle, great. But I hope the tips this week have helped you look at the pros AND cons of the snowbirding decision. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m going to give you a little preview of next week’s theme. 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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