Western Snow Birds

In case you're not familiar with the term 'snow bird,' it is actually not a bird but a person. It's what you call a person (usually an older person) that flocks to the warmer climes during the winter months. Growing up, I've always been used to the snow birds of the east, going down to Florida for the winter and driving their big Cadillacs (equipped with Florida license plate) back up to New Jersey/New York. After going to Arizona, I have found that pretty much anyone west of Pennsylvania and South of Michigan flocks to Arizona.

There are plenty of reasons why I think older people tend to go to Arizona vs. Florida. The primary is probably due to housing costs. The second is probably more consistently warm weather. But I did find it funny that at the ballpark, we seemed to be surrounded by mid-western snow birds.

I was actually surprised to see how many "young people" were at spring training - but then I remembered that a lot of schools were on spring break. Other than the young people, there were the older people...beyond retirement age. On our first day at the ballpark, we probably brought the average age of our general section down about 25 years. We had people from Minnesota, Illinois (not surprising since we were at a Cubs game), Iowa and some Michiganites. I think those from Michigan are probably split down the state in terms of where they go - Florida or Arizona. The second day, I sat next to a couple from Indiana and I overheard there was someone from Tulsa. What a mixture. Again, average age of the people around us when we're there: 48-ish. Average age of the people when we're not there: 58-ish.

Half the time they would yap with eachother and then ask my husband what just happened or who this new guy is. My husband, being a virtual encyclopedia of baseball knowledge, was happy to share what he knew. No one seemed to care about the other guy there, with his wife and kids, that knew that the Daktronics scoreboard was made in South Dakota...okay, Dwight Schroot! My husband probably related better with the snow birds because if you ask him how old he feels, he'll tell you, "68.'

On our first night in Arizona, we headed over to my husband's Aunt & Uncle's house for dinner. They're both retired - his aunt will be turning 70 this year and they're snow birds from Indiana. They drive out to Arizona a couple of weeks after the new year and go back to Indiana after Easter. This year's trip is a little shorter due to the early Easter - but they really like it out there with their condo in it's southwestern theme. They asked us how old the people around us were at the game - we told them, politely, that they were about their age. They weren't surprised. Because we were seated under a shaded section, that tends to be where the snow birds gather.

So interesting to hang out with all the retired folks and know that my parents, who are retired, would be bored to death if they lived their lives. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.