The exodus of northern (retired) snowbirds traveling to southern destinations takes place every winter.
Have you noticed the RVs and car tows traveling through our fair towns?
These folks have discovered the merits of spending winter months away from the snow and cold. They are escaping the northern seasons which are almost winter, winter, still winter, and road repair.
There are plusses and minuses to any place where one would like to retire or relocate fulltime.
After studying my emails and looking at various sites, I have listed some evaluations, just in case you are looking!
Consider Phoenix, Ariz.
The desert is a beautiful, dry location. It thrives in this hot climate, especially in the summer and spring. The heat can be overwhelming. Car handles become so hot you can burn your hands. And if you want to sample how that outside heat will feel, open your oven door as it hits you in the face. The four seasons here are tolerable, hot, really hot, and "Are you kidding me?"
California is another retirement destination.
After all, this state enjoys a variety of weather since it stretches north to Oregon and south to Mexico. There are palm trees, fruit trees, and every kind of environment from desert, to ocean beach, to mountains, to farmland.
But here's the downside. You can earn over $450,000 a year and still not be able to afford a house. The smallest shack starts at about $800,000 to 1.5 million. The four seasons are fire, flood, mud and drought.
New York City is multicultural and has every kind of cuisine and language imaginable.
It supports Broadway plays, wonderful museums, and lots of people. But, there are not even available places to park a car, and heaven help you if you drive that car into the wrong neighborhood or park it in someone else's contracted parking spot.
The Big Apple is a world of its own, and totally a foreign feel. However, get real and accept that any living space will be small, small, small, and expensive, expensive, expensive. The four seasons are slush, sidewalk heat, bitter winter, and fall.
Colorado is another tempting choice.
The mountains are gorgeous. The homes on the edges of the cliffs are awesome. But to even touch a cabin or a dwelling in nature would require selling Aunt Louise's gold fillings and diamonds to merely live like a miner. A mountain bike, a box of Granola, a bald head with a ponytail, and a Cabela's wardrobe is all you will need to fit in.
And then there's Florida.
You can retire there where you eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon, where everyone can recommend an excellent cardiologist, dermatologist, proctologist, podiatrist, or orthopedist) where coupons are available for purchases of every kind, even houses and cars. There's golf, golf, and more golf. Also there's the (other) Gulf. Seafood is plentiful!
The seasons here are stormy and damp, hotter and damper, warm and tropical, and (fall) more heat and humidity.
The Deep South is appealing.
You can retire there where the area still has its historic charm; Remember that every one has two first names -- Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Joe Bob, Betty Jean, and so on. You can rent a movie and buy bait at the same store. "Y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural. And the hospitality is something to enjoy and value. To read about the seasons, see Florida above.
I have said all that to say this. We have "it all" right here. True, the population is heavy, but only because it (the population) is mainly cattle. The winters are mild. We do have snow to enjoy but it doesn't stay. We have beautiful spring and fall weather, and hot, usually dry summers. There is no need to flee for the entire winter. Golf is year round when possible, we have the best steaks in the country.
There are plenty of parking spots, and we maintain spacious yards and roomy homes. The outdoors is available to all. There are good doctors in western Kansas, historic museums and facilities that we ourselves do not even frequent as we should, and plenty of good fishing spots. There are apple trees, pear trees, and sand hill plums for the picking; and there is at least "attainable" housing for all.
So why leave, except for a vacation and a change of scenery now and then?
I don't know if we realize what we have here. Maybe we do.
We "got" it good!!

“A Woman’s View” is Judi Tabler’s reflection of her experiences and events. She is a wife, mother, writer, teacher, grandmother, and even a great grandmother.