Winter break in the Florida sunshine: Winter warmer

More and more people are flocking to the Sunshine State during the cold unbearable seasons of the UK. “My wife Jean and I have spent five winters in Orlando, Florida, so far,” shares Peter Stanhope from York. “The time we tend to spend in the state varies from three to five months, either in one stretch or split into two visits with a return to York to spend Christmas and New Year with our family and friends. We usually go out in early November and stay right through to the end of March, just before the Easter rush, returning to York in the spring with a beautiful yellow carpet of daffodils blooming on our ancient city walls to welcome us back.” Stanhope believes that winter is the best time to visit Florida “as there is none of the humidity or the bugs that you get in the summer, and no hurricanes either!”

Because Stanhope goes to Florida yearly, he formed the Florida Brits Club, a social club for Brits who own homes in Florida. He also started Florida Brits Realty, a real estate consultancy company. These two ventures are known collectively as Florida Brits Group.

Being in the real estate business, Stanhope has seen for himself the increase in the number of British people looking to escape the harsh and cold winters. “We know quite a lot of Brits, many from our Florida Brits Group, who have bought homes in Florida with a view to semi-retirement in the state as snowbirds in their later years”, he explains.

It has been reported that more and more Brits are looking at the possibility of swapping a British winter for a Floridian one. “The winter is usually ideal for wearing short-sleeved shirts, although there is the occasional chill in January and February and it can sometimes even freeze in the Orlando area”, Stanhope explains. “But, all in all, the great attraction of wintering in Florida is the ability for us to enjoy more of the year, due to outdoor living still being possible in the months when we would normally be gathered around a roaring fire back home. ” The winter migrants also enjoy Florida’s beautiful landscapes, lakes and beaches. “Jean and I have felt much healthier [since becoming snowbirds] and have a ‘Florida glow’ all year round. We have largely forgotten our aches and pains due to the higher temperatures and have spent far more time in each others’ company and seeing and experiencing new things together”, adds Stanhope.

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Winter break in the Florida sunshine: Winter warmer

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