Snowbird Lifestyle

Fall is here.  The leaves are gorgeous, but the temperature is not!!!  There is already lots of frost every morning.  Hot water bottles are my staples every night  to keep warm. In previous years, I used to look upon the upcoming harsh Canadian winters with much dread.  SAD ( seasonal affective disorder) was a  regular condition of mine while spending the winters in Canada.

What can be done about SAD?  If you do an internet search about the subject, you'll quickly discover that medical treatments for the condition include "luminotherapy" or light therapy which involves exposing yourself to artificial sunlight or UV light from the various types of lamps available on the market.  I tried this in the past with little success and much inconvenience.  Next on the list of medical weapons for the condition are anti-depressant drugs (insert anti-drug rant here...).  Anyone familiar with my blog (despite the recent addition of ads to the contrary which I'll explain later) knows how I love the prospect of making the drug cartels rich over my misery-NOT.  Aside from all the short and long term, known and unknown side effects of these drugs, a person like me that has had serious kidney issues in the past does not want to be putting those said poor kidneys in any further danger!  Likewise my liver which is not fundamentally designed to detox the complex chemical poisons of the 21st century, thank you.  What's left?  Winters in the south...

Most people dream of adopting a snowbird lifestyle for their retirement.  They work hard and save for their pensions so they can retire in the sun one day.  How many of those people actually make it to their retirement in a healthy state to be able to enjoy it???  How many people save for most of their lives for this dream only to lose it to poor health???  I determined long ago that if I was going to make it to healthy  and happy old age I would need to take proper care of my health.  Dealing with SAD has to be on the top priority list of things necessary for my health and happiness.  How have I gone about it? I'm still far from retirement age after all. I still need to earn a living, despite rumors to contrary, I am not a wealthy person.

For years, since childhood really, I have been winter holidaying  for short periods of time-usually Florida.  Many years ago, I also took a vacation to Costa Rica where I immediately fell in love with the country.  I inherited a little money. I bought a small property and built a small cottage on it.  I started spending longer and longer vacations in Costa Rica, but I was still far from living a snowbird lifestyle in which I avoid almost all of the Canadian winter.  This was my goal.  I set about to train myself  to work in summer seasonal jobs.  For me, it turned out to be horticulture.  There are many other options.  I work long, hard hours in this field during the summer so that I can earn enough revenues to spend my winters in the south.  I rent temporarily while in Canada and put all my personal stuff in storage when I go south. I keep my Canadian expenditures to very basic levels so I can earn enough money for the winters.  I have a property in the south to go to, but if I didn't, I still would spend my winters in the south.  How?  Couchsurfing is one possibility.  Housesitting is another.  Homestays and home-exchanges are yet another.  Cheap temporary rentals can be found in many southern destinations also.  Where there's a will, there's a way.  If I ever get tired of my lovely garden in Costa Rica, I'll probably investigate these options further.  I can't imagine ever getting tired of my garden however.

There you have it, my example of how to live a snowbird lifestyle on a small budget. Make your dreams come true now.  Don't wait for some hopeful future to start living the life you want.  You might not get there. Worse still, you might get there in such a sorry state that you won't be able to enjoy it.