Much like birds fly south for the winter, many older people in the United States have a tendency to head south during the colder months, temporarily migrating to sunnier states like Florida and Arizona. Unfortunately for these snowbirds, a backlash is brewing on TikTok, and no Boomer is safe.


Advertisement


A TikToker named Ashley, who lives in Venice, Florida, recently shared a video of an older man walking away after parking his car. She then panned to the car to show off his parking job which was, in a word, terrible. The text on the video reads, “When you live in a town with snowbirds. This is how my man parked and proceeded to walk in the street,” while the caption says, “At some point we need to test for driving abilities past a certain age.”


Many commenters agreed with Ashley’s critiques, as well as her suggestion of more regular tests for drivers past a certain age. In Florida, drivers under the age of 79 only have to renew their licenses every eight years, while drivers over the age of 80 have to renew theirs every six. In other jurisdictions, the rules are stricter, with some requiring drivers over the age of 75 to have annual medical examinations in order to keep their licenses.


Several people pointed out that older drivers tend to cause more accidents. One woman wrote, “I work in an ER and the number of car accidents caused by folks in their 80s and 90s…,” while someone else offered, “And every season, at least 3 of them drive through a storefront.”



Another TikToker, Emily Bourne, who lives in Phoenix, took to the app with a slightly less serious complaint about snowbirds taking up all the parking spots at her local Safeway. “One day you’re living in Phoenix and you’re minding your own damn business and the next day every single spot in the Safeway parking lot is taken. It’s a mass migration,” she explained.


There may be a solution, however. As one commenter noted, “I live in New Hampshire; it’s the opposite here.” Obviously, what everyone who lives in sunnier climes needs to do is get really good at tolerating the cold and move to New England for the winter in order to avoid the parking space-stealing, dangerously driving Boomer snowbirds.