Many people living in Northern areas escape the cold and non clement weather by heading
South when autumn and winter arrives. It is a proven fact that natural light has a positive
effect on the overall mood of people and that living in the open outdoors greatly lowers the
probability of a person catching colds or other transmissible diseases. Furthermore, one can
hardly feel down when being seeing the beach, the sun and Disneyworld.
It then makes perfect sense for people living in cold and Northern areas to migrate South
when cold temperatures arrive. Planning a short or long term trip South can be very exciting
and following the simple advices included in this article will make their trip even more
enjoyable. Here are the top ten advices that one can follow to make their trip to Florida or
any other southern destination a fun and worry-free one:
1) Insurances are a must if a person is planning to travel outside their country. Many
companies offer full coverage for any medical or transportation fee a person might encounter
if a medical problem arises.
2) If a person lives in an area where snowfall precipitations are to be expected, hiring a
person to remove the snow from their entrance might be a very good idea. If an entrance is
all cleaned and nice, people going by will naturally think that the owner is home.
3) It is recommended to ask a friend or a neighbour to pick-up your mail. An overloaded mail
box is a signal for burglars that the owner of the house has gone on vacation and is an open
invitation to just drop in.
4) Investing a couple of dollars in timers will guarantee that a house’s lights will turn on at
sunset and will make the house look like it is inhabited.
5) It is recommended that a person does not cut-off the water arrival in her house to save a
couple of dollars. Hence, if a person lives in a cold area, the risk of their water arrival to
freeze is high if the water does not circulate.
6) Upon driving South, one has to make sure that their car is in good order. The last thing a
person wants to do is to spend their precious travelling time in a foreign garage.
7) Notifying family and friends that a person will be away so they do not worry and fill your
answering machines with their concerned messages is a very wise precaution.
8) Keeping a good record and photocopy of one’s passport, credit cards and important
addresses and phone numbers can prove very valuable. If a person looses credit cards
during her trip, it will be easier to contact her bank and have them stopped before anyone
can charge expenses on them.
9) Storing valuables and jewels in a safe place is also a great precaution. Tourists are easy
targets for burglars and there is no reason to tempt them by openly wearing expensive
watches or necklaces.
10) If a person is using any medication, it is easier to bring enough supply for the whole trip
and a little more (in case of delays to get back). It can be very complicated to have an
appointment with a doctor or have a pharmacist renew prescriptions if one is in a foreign
country.
All these tips and many more (infection prevention, learning keywords if you are going in a
foreign country, learning the customs in the country where a person is going to, etc) will
make their trip more enjoyable.
All this said, little problems when travelling are inevitable and if one faces them with a smile,
life goes on more smoothly. After all, being in a warm, sunny place if enough to smile about.
South when autumn and winter arrives. It is a proven fact that natural light has a positive
effect on the overall mood of people and that living in the open outdoors greatly lowers the
probability of a person catching colds or other transmissible diseases. Furthermore, one can
hardly feel down when being seeing the beach, the sun and Disneyworld.
It then makes perfect sense for people living in cold and Northern areas to migrate South
when cold temperatures arrive. Planning a short or long term trip South can be very exciting
and following the simple advices included in this article will make their trip even more
enjoyable. Here are the top ten advices that one can follow to make their trip to Florida or
any other southern destination a fun and worry-free one:
1) Insurances are a must if a person is planning to travel outside their country. Many
companies offer full coverage for any medical or transportation fee a person might encounter
if a medical problem arises.
2) If a person lives in an area where snowfall precipitations are to be expected, hiring a
person to remove the snow from their entrance might be a very good idea. If an entrance is
all cleaned and nice, people going by will naturally think that the owner is home.
3) It is recommended to ask a friend or a neighbour to pick-up your mail. An overloaded mail
box is a signal for burglars that the owner of the house has gone on vacation and is an open
invitation to just drop in.
4) Investing a couple of dollars in timers will guarantee that a house’s lights will turn on at
sunset and will make the house look like it is inhabited.
5) It is recommended that a person does not cut-off the water arrival in her house to save a
couple of dollars. Hence, if a person lives in a cold area, the risk of their water arrival to
freeze is high if the water does not circulate.
6) Upon driving South, one has to make sure that their car is in good order. The last thing a
person wants to do is to spend their precious travelling time in a foreign garage.
7) Notifying family and friends that a person will be away so they do not worry and fill your
answering machines with their concerned messages is a very wise precaution.
8) Keeping a good record and photocopy of one’s passport, credit cards and important
addresses and phone numbers can prove very valuable. If a person looses credit cards
during her trip, it will be easier to contact her bank and have them stopped before anyone
can charge expenses on them.
9) Storing valuables and jewels in a safe place is also a great precaution. Tourists are easy
targets for burglars and there is no reason to tempt them by openly wearing expensive
watches or necklaces.
10) If a person is using any medication, it is easier to bring enough supply for the whole trip
and a little more (in case of delays to get back). It can be very complicated to have an
appointment with a doctor or have a pharmacist renew prescriptions if one is in a foreign
country.
All these tips and many more (infection prevention, learning keywords if you are going in a
foreign country, learning the customs in the country where a person is going to, etc) will
make their trip more enjoyable.
All this said, little problems when travelling are inevitable and if one faces them with a smile,
life goes on more smoothly. After all, being in a warm, sunny place if enough to smile about.
by: Nathalie Fiset, M.D.
2008 (c) notjustmyflorida.com