snowbird

Snowbirds

迁徙者

Anybody who drives in Arizona at this time of year will be familiar with the annual migration of “snowbirds” — retired people seeking to escape the sub-zero temperatures of the north for the warmer desert winter. As many as 300,000 snowbirds flock here each year, so if you haven’t seen them before, there’s a good chance that you will encounter one of them when you find yourself stuck behind a caravan with Nebraska licence plates doing 40mph on a single-lane highway.

在每年的这个时候，那些在亚利桑那州驱车行进的人们一定会对旅行者们一年一度的迁徙很熟悉，这个迁徙指的是退休的人们试图逃离冬天温度在零下的北方去寻找冬天里温暖的地方。每年多达300，000的旅行者会在此聚集。因此如果你之前没有见过他们，当你发现你在单车道公路上被一个速度为每小时40公里的内布拉斯加州牌照的大篷车队卡住不能前进时，这会是一个很好的机会去偶遇他们当中的一个。

Most of Arizona’s snowbirds start their journey in the rural mid-west. They tend to be less affluent than the urban north-easterners. Still, they do bring an extra $1 billion a year to Arizona. Winter residents occupied 65% of caravan spaces and 37% of mobile home spaces during 2000 -2001 winter season. But their occupancy rates have been in decline since the mid-1990s. Mild weather in the north has seen many snowbirds delay their trips, while others may feel reluctant travel far from home and family in the wake of September 11.

大部分亚利桑那州的旅行者是从中西部农村地区开始他们的旅程的。虽然他们不如东北部城里的人富裕，但，每年他们也给亚利桑那州额外带来十亿美元的收入。在2000-2001年的冬天，居民的大篷车占据了65%的空间，移动房屋也占据了37%的空间。但自1990年中期以来，他们的居住率就开始下降了。一方面，内布拉斯加州北方温和的天气使迁徙者延迟了他们的旅程。另一方面，在即将到来的9月11号，有些人不愿意到远离自己家和家人的地方旅行。

Notorious for their thriftiness, snowbirds frequent the parks and dinners that offer the best value. Nor are they constrained by state loyalties. Southern New Mexico and Texas have recently become popular snowbird destinations, and are beginning to advertise their relatively cheaper living costs. Better widen those highways.

以节俭而闻名的迁徙者经常出入那些能提供很好饮食的公园和宴会。他们也不用缴纳这个州的特许费。最近，南部的新墨西哥和德克萨斯州成为了受迁徙者欢迎的目的地，而且这两个州也开始宣传自己更加便宜的居住费用。另外，他们也会把那些高速公路变得更宽。

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