Dunedin Ranked No. 3 Destination In United States For Snowbirds

DUNEDIN, FL — Snowbirds who have chosen to flock to Dunedin made a wise decision, according to Storage Cafe, a website specializing in storage options.

It ranked Dunedin third in the nation on its list of the best places for snowbirds for the 2021/22 winter season.

According to Storage Cafe, the top five destinations for snowbirds in 2021-22 are Venice, Naples and Dunedin in Florida plus Mission in Texas and Apache Junction in Arizona.

While larger cities like and Tampa ranked high as destinations for senior citizens seeking warmth during the winter months, Storage Cafe said smaller communities nearby like Apache Junction, Arizona, and Dunedin emerged as better options this year with their mix of attractions, charm, lower overall costs and fewer crowds.

Nevertheless, Florida maintained a strong foothold as a top destination for snowbirds, with 43 cities in the top 100.

The traditional snowbird has longtime favored Florida for good reason, said the website. The Sunshine State offers warmth and miles of sandy beaches as well as countless golfing options.

But this year snowbirds are competing for tee times with a new category of seasonal residents nicknamed "snowmads" or "Zoombirds." This is the new generation remote workers who aren't bound to an office desk.

They can work from anywhere and still join their colleagues for online meetings.

With that in mind, to find the best cold-season hideaways, Storage Cafe looked at almost 1,000 places around the United States and evaluated them for 11 factors:

• Temperatures from October to March (obtained from Weather Source)
• Housing for snowbirds: Availability for seasonal use, and median cost to rent and to purchase as a second home
• The incidence of crime per capita in each destination
• The length of beach found beginning no more than 10 miles from a destination
• The amount of park space per capita and the number of golf courses nearby
• Local internet speeds, as many snowbirds will be zoombirds or may simply want to blog a lot
• The number of health care and social assistance establishments per 1,000 of the local population — the average of all the places considered is 3.2
• The cost of renting a self storage unit — snowbirds visiting the same destination every year, and even second-home owners, can ease their luggage burden by keeping golf clubs, surfboards or seasonal clothes in a unit

Dunedin scored high nearly across the board.

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Boasting a distinctive Scottish heritage, Dunedin has a population of around 36,000 and enjoys an average temperature of 67 degrees from October to March.

In addition to the city's own 28 parks, Dunedin has direct access to Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island state parks, which see more than a million visitors each year, more than any other Florida state parks.

There are almost 16 miles of beach nearby plus 43 golf courses in Pinellas County including the world-famous Innisbrook Golf Resort in nearby Palm Harbor and the Dunedin Isles Golf Club Golf Course, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

At $1,675, the average monthly rent for accommodation is par for the course for resorts in this area.

And Dunedin snowbirds have easy access to major hospitals and ancillary health centers including BayCare's Mease Dunedin Hospital, AdventHealth and Tampa General Hospital.

"While by definition a snowbird is someone seeking a ‘warmer’ place to be temporarily, coming South during the winter doesn’t just escape the harsh weather, but also the gray skies and seasonal affective depression, while also capturing opportunities for off-season prices and less crowded attractions," said Lauren Duffy, associate professor at the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences at Clemson University.

"Florida has always been associated with the migration south of snowbirds. While more recently this market has diversified, and thus are traveling to places all across the south, southeast and west coast, there is still a tried-and-true market looking for a traditional sun, sand, and sea reprieve," she said.

To read more of Storage Cafe's report, click here.