BIRD TALK

Dear Bird Talk,

We have been Florida snowbirds for the past 10 years but are becoming weary and more and more wary of the general attitude of the Florida government and big business towards snowbirds at all levels.

The current insurance crisis is one aspect, the way we subsidize their homesteaders’ tax breaks, and the lack of the same incentives that are offered in other states because business owners feel they have a stranglehold on this market are only a few of the many issues that are making more and more of us feel unwanted in this state. This was supported this week in a St. Pete’s Times article which showed that the three biggest moving companies reported more people moved out of Florida than moved in during 2006.

This is pushing many to think that it might be time to explore other winter havens such as can be found in Texas or Arizona, where they seem to go out of their way to attract snowbirds. We own a nice mobile home in a resident-owned park, but trying to search for similar places on the web has been a frustrating exercise.

Do you have any information on websites or links where we can browse what’s available online, or any other sourceson any of the OTHER southern states like Texas or Arizona that you could pass on?

Thank you,
Arthur Duncan

Response:
Ed: We have found the Internet to be less than enlightening, as well. The very best source of information is other snowbirds, from other locations. Many of them come to our Extravaganzas, and the RVers in particular can be very knowledgeable because they tend to “get around.” We will do some research for you for future issues and if anyone out there has any bright ideas, please let us know.