Winter Texan numbers dropping in the Valley

I really feel that the retired boomers are not following in the footsteps of their Parents or older relatives because times have changed. Winters , as bad as they are, are not bad enough to be spending 5-6 months per year of ones retirement years sitting in a compound type parking lot of RV's.We now have snow blowers, plows , warmer clothes, more "indoor" type activities to socialize in the winter months . Also one can make several winter get aways by plane or car for a cost a bit more than the cost of lot rents, gas , and cost of RVs ( maintenence,insurance, and initial cost of RV). Snowbirds tend to think that all retired people go south, when in fact I would be willing to bet a much greater number stay home and enjoy their comfortable larger homes. I would agree with the article that many older snowbirds are dying off or health issues are causing them not to return . There is a new wave of retired people who do not feel they need to do the same thing their previous generations did.This could help explain the lower numbers or at least be a variable. Life is Good.

Don't forget about the absolute need for Canadians to purchase travel insurance while in the US. My partner and I qualify for Medipac's "Preferred Plus" category (cheapest as we're healthy so far) and it costs well over $2,000 for 182 days.

braeworth

pawatt wrote:
From the McAllen Monitor newspaper:
Click the link below.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/winter-texan-numbers-dropping-in-the-valley/article_17c72758-2294-11e4-ac7d-001a4bcf6878.html

The question is, will they continue to treat their loyal visitors well or try to squeeze every cent out of us while they can?

As others have said, Canadians have to purchase travel insurance which for us works out to about $400.00 a month while we still pay for our "free" health care. Yes our health care is cheaper than yours, but other taxes make up for the cheaper health care.

TomG2 wrote:

The question is, will they continue to treat their loyal visitors well or try to squeeze every cent out of us while they can?

The red one. DUH!

This is North American Commerce, after all.

I, for one, hope our neighbors continue to come south from Canada in the winter because I enjoy meeting them. The stereotype of Canadians being nice people is generally very true. I sometimes campground host and am always happy to have Canadians in the campground as they tend to be better behaved, even the younger ones. I meet the same folks every year coming through (Utah) and some aren't retired but just save up their vacation time to come south.

Not going to wade into the fray but just a correction. Canadian health care covers a Canadian anywhere in the world but only up to the amount that the procedure would cost in Canada. As the cost of procedures in the US is higher than Canada many Canadians choose to purchase supplemental insurance to cover the difference. However for those that travel to other country's with comparable procedural and hospitalization costs there is no need to purchase supplemental insurance or if they do it is considerably cheaper as long as the individual doesn't enter the US. An example would be a Canadian snowbirding in Spain. If they have a massive heart attack and need a bypass the cost is roughly the same as Canada's. The Canadian would pay the bill and submit it to their provincial health care provider. A bypass operation and 19 day hospital stay in Spain is about 9200 dollars. We have been in this situation (not the heart attack thing, something much simpler).

We were surprised at the amount of younger (late fifties) Canadian snowbirds in southern Spain. Comparable weather to SoCal and a very nice country and culture. We have plans of snowbirding in the US on our property in Palm Springs until we are fully retired at 60. ( We still work 5 months of the year. ) At that point we will probably sell our property there and explore other non English speaking destinations. I don't expect we will be buying supplemental insurance then. Nothing against english speaking societies. My hobbies are language and history and the cultural diversity that comes with that.

I'm not sure where the venomous "red cent" comments come from. I found it very economical to winter in the RGV at least. Most of the snowbirders probably did their share of red cent squeezing themselves.

It is nothing for a US citizen under the age of 65 to pay $800/month/single $1,200/month/family for health care coverage. That makes retiring early pretty difficult for most. Spending $14,000 a year for something you hope you never need to use keeps a lot of people working till 65.

I also hate to say it, but many that are 65 and over act like they have one foot in the grave. Snowbirding takes effort and a willingness to explore. Not all are young in heart and mind.

On edit:

I always thought that my aunts and uncles that snowbird were young in heart and mind due to being south in a warm climate (much easier on the body) vs battling the cold and harshness of winter up north. Just occurred to me that maybe I had it backwards. They snow birded because they were young in heart and mind to start with. Like I said it takes real effort to pack up everything, jump into a RV, drive cross country into parts unknown, meet people from all over the place with different view points, and then settle into a spot like you lived there your whole life.

John & Angela wrote:
Not going to wade into the fray but just a correction. Canadian health care covers a Canadian anywhere in the world but only up to the amount that the procedure would cost in Canada. As the cost of procedures in the US is higher than Canada many Canadians choose to purchase supplemental insurance to cover the difference. However for those that travel to other country's with comparable procedural and hospitalization costs there is no need to purchase supplemental insurance or if they do it is considerably cheaper as long as the individual doesn't enter the US. An example would be a Canadian snowbirding in Spain. If they have a massive heart attack and need a bypass the cost is roughly the same as Canada's. The Canadian would pay the bill and submit it to their provincial health care provider. A bypass operation and 19 day hospital stay in Spain is about 9200 dollars. We have been in this situation (not the heart attack thing, something much simpler).

We were surprised at the amount of younger (late fifties) Canadian snowbirds in southern Spain. Comparable weather to SoCal and a very nice country and culture. We have plans of snowbirding in the US on our property in Palm Springs until we are fully retired at 60. ( We still work 5 months of the year. ) At that point we will probably sell our property there and explore other non English speaking destinations. I don't expect we will be buying supplemental insurance then. Nothing against english speaking societies. My hobbies are language and history and the cultural diversity that comes with that.

John, I didn't know that. It would be interesting to see a list of destinations that are frequented by snowbirds other than the southern U.S. and Mexico. I know many people go to Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.

Also, why is the Canadian insurance not accepted in the U.S.?