Younger ‘snowchicks’ flocking south to work remotely

The longer commute, northern license plates, longer wait times everywhere—all signs that season is here. But this we aren’t seeing the typical snowbirds this time.

This year some of them, “snowchicks,” are between the ages of 20 and 40. As some offices across the country remain closed for remote working, it’s a chance for some to escape cold weather and snow.

“I started out jumping around from Panera and Starbucks every day for a few months while I was getting started out of college, and there was no where to put my monitors for my computers or laptops and it was pretty inefficient, and I just spent a lot of time and money on coffee every day,” said Steve Calabrese, a member of TWO39 Labs.

Calabrese took advantage of TWO39 Labs in an effort to save money in 2019. As a mortgage broker, he’s had the flexibility to work remotely since graduating college. So for a fee, he’s been using the open workspace in Bonita Springs for around a year, and it’s come in handy during the pandemic.

TWO39’s intial goal was to help local startups and entrepreneurs plant their roots in Southwest Florida. It costs $150 per month to utilize the open space areas for your own work, or for $280 per month you can rent out an entire office. There are also meeting rooms where teams can collaborate.

Co-founder Alex Allen said he wanted to offer a different kind of business.

“What we found, back when we launched the business, was that there wasn’t a co-working space in the region that was really dedicated towards the technology type of culture, and an open collaboration atmosphere,” Allen said.

He says new members have joined during the pandemic, looking for a space where they can be more productive than they are at home.

Calabrese says a few months ago he himself opted into a higher fee to setup his own private office.