looking for info on where people go for the winter, Arizona,texas or? want to taka a trip south to look at some places for next year. want to stay around home threw xmas and then go south for a month or so next year. do you guys take camper or rent or what? looking for ideas and the good or bad of whatever your doing. hope someone can help thanks in advance
I know a ton of Minnesotans (including my dad) that go to Fort Meyers Florida. It probably helps that the Twins spring training is based out of there as well. The tailgating and games are a blast! Pretty good fishing is close by as well, both fresh and saltwater.
We go to Arizona. Lots of people around here from Wisconsin and Minnesota. We are south of Tucson 1/2 hour from the border. We bought a place 5 years ago and come and go as we please.
Also interested and following. Hoping to hear from someone that rents a furnished place and how much a month that might cost.
Stillwater sometime she makes me go to Ellsworth
When we did rent it was a one bedroom and one bath $1200 a month. Completely furnished with wifi and cable.
When we did rent it was a one bedroom and one bath $1200 a month. Completely furnished with wifi and cable.
Thanks Doug, on a 1 month basis I was fearing something much, much worse.
This was a small villa about 600 square feet. You spend so much time outdoors. I know there are houses for rent but don’t know the price for those.
We go to Arizona. Lots of people around here from Wisconsin and Minnesota. We are south of Tucson 1/2 hour from the border. We bought a place 5 years ago and come and go as we please.
Are you in a smaller town and can you give the name of it ? how did you find the house you rented ? can you give me any more info that you can remember
My folks go to Mesa, az. They tried Florida but weren’t huge fans for a host of reasons.
They have a big 5th wheel rv and have made a bunch of great friends. Tons of Canadians and a lot of folks from up here. A little more predictable heat than Florida. Not much water but great hiking and golf. The rv park also does rentals of small houses that are pretty popular. Couple golf courses, restaurants, pool, gym, etc.
Matt can you remember name of RV park? sorry to be a pain but trying to get all the best info I can
Yes smaller town 90% of it or better you must be 55 or older.
Green Valley AZ. We have friends that had been coming down here for years and finely talked us into coming down. So they helped us find a place to rent. We rented in the West Villas.
do we both need to be 55 or older or just 1 of us
Just 1
my inlaws have a place in Tucson. Been going down for 4 or 5 years now. We went down to visit them once in the retirement community. I got smoked by some old timers in pickleball. Stepped onto the court thinking they were gonna wish they never met me. Went the other way around. Rather than go to the dance and listen to Buddy Holly the wife and I opted to go out and had some great mexican food. Overall those community places dont appeal to me very much however we will see how i feel in 30 years. Probably sound a lot better then.
As far as prices i didnt get into specifics too much with my FIL but i think park model homes can be had for as little as 6k all the way up to 60k. If i remember he told me the park fee was around 6k a year.
My aunt is currently down there renting a fully furnished home. She is paying $1200 a month and i think she said that was a pretty good deal. Said the home was outdated though and very basic.
Florida and Arizona seem to be the most common snow bird destinations with Texas being not far behind.
Matt can you remember name of RV park? sorry to be a pain but trying to get all the best info I can
This is the place:
My folks have been going there for 10 years. Started in their late 50’s and still really enjoy it.
thanks Matt will look at it
Green Valley RV park
We’ve been coming to Mesa,Az for 10 winters now. Started out doing VRBO and renting in neighborhoods. The last 6 years has been in a 55+ community with more activities than we have time for. We’ve compared our weather to Florida and found that we have more sunny days than they do. Every January we do see a few mornings with a bit of frost.
We rent January 1st thru April 30. Last year when we left at end of April the temp was close to 100!! Dry heat!!
There are many RV, park model, manufacture home parks along with villages of condos and houses.
Rent can be $1500 to $3500 per month. If you own an RV it’s obviously less.
Venture Out, Carriage Manor, The Wells, Sunland Village, Sunland Village East, Sunland Springs, monte Vista and Leisure World are just a few that I’m familiar with. All are quite nice with different types of housing.
Suppose to be 70 degrees in Mesa area today. Sure beat shoveling snow!!!
Hope this helps!!!
In Panama City Beach Florida right now. 2 bdrm 2 bath condo on the beach 1/16/20 – 2/21/20 $2400 ($200 damage deposit refunded if ok) We have went to South Padre Island the past 4 years but wanted to try something different, miles from Omaha was the same. So far so good here.
Port Aransas, Tx. for the last few years. Hurricane Harvey made a mess of things here, but gradually it’s coming back. Lots of condos are still ripped down to just the shell, but the RV parks seem to be all up and running. This year we found a house with main floor king master, 3 double beds upstairs, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, washer & dryer, satellite tv, internet, A/C for $1200 monthly Jan & Feb, $1400 March. Spring break makes it hard to get decent prices in March but as the rebuilding progresses that should improve. 20 miles of driveable beach, fishing the surf, the jetty, the ship canal from shore, a harbor with lots of charters for bay or Gulf fishing.
https://www.portasouthjetty.com/pageview/viewer/WinterVG2019#page=0
I visit a friend for a couple weeks every year who winters in Costa Rica. He rented a one bedroom on the beach for a few years for $800 month and now owns a 2 bed condo on the beach. The daily high temp in the central highlands average 75 degrees year round while the beaches on the pacific average high is 85. The food, fishing and people are great. Most locals speak English well. Great fishing can be had on both coasts and is reasonably priced. Offshore fishing Starts only a couple miles from shore. Unlike Texas and Florida you can Leave your sweatshirt at home.
Florida. We could use the tax revenue.
Unlike Texas and Florida you can Leave your sweatshirt at home.
Yeah, but our medical insurance won’t cover us in Costa Rica. Haven’t needed to use it here in Texas yet, but you never know.
You have to try different states and locations. My parents retired and the first place they tried for a winter was Florida, which is where everyone told them to go. They thought it would be great and as it ended up they didn’t like it a bit for a lot of reasons that they didn’t really consider going in.
Next was Texas, which they liked better, but then they tried Arizona and absolutely loved it so eventually, they sold the RV and bought a place there. They are in the Pheonix area.
One thing to keep in mind is what do you like to DO? Because as much as people talk about just sitting and drinking beer, etc, for a lot of people that gets old after a week. My mother has to play bridge (cards) on a daily basis. Dad plays golf and shoots trap in what he freely acknowledges is the worst trap league in the western hemisphere, but they have a great time.
My observation is that for my parents, it was less about the “place” and really more about finding the things they like to do and people they like to socialize with. The makeup of the people in different areas is very different, FL has a lot of retirees from the NE, AZ and TX there seem to be a lot more central states and Prarie Province folks.
Gotta try different places to see for yourself. There’s more to it than the weather.
Grouse
Thanks everyone for all the help so far
What Grouse said 
My parents did the same process as Grouse’s just reverse. Difference is they started west and ended in Florida.
Little fact if you are really, really into golf. Once your 80 miles south of Orlando the possibility of frost is like once in a hundred years. Arizona can be a bit chilly for golf some mornings.
Grouse nailed it. My in-laws retired to the Phoenix area and love it. My FIL is retired Air National Guard and has a lot of friends in the area which helps a lot. My parents planned on retiring to Las Cruces, NM but have friends in AZ and FL so they changed plans and for now spend a few weeks each winter in different places. That works well for them so they may end up not buying or long term renting and just come and go as they please. So I think the key is unless you have a lot of friends/family you want to spend time with in one spot, visit a bunch until you find the one that you like best. Staying with people you know makes it more affordable, but there’s lots of good rental/AirBnB options all over.
I use to think that snowbirds were crazy. The older I get I’m starting to think they are the smartest people. I would never have dreamed that I would possibly move away from Minnesota when I retired – Now I’m about 100% sure I will ( At least for part of the year ) For many years I dreamed of getting a place in Treasure Cay in the Bahamas – But last years hurricane Dorian has all but leveled that city. A friend of ours has owned a villa there for over 30 years. My family and I have vacationed there 2-3 times and I just loved the weather, people, beaches, and fishing. My friend just returned from a trip there to access and remove the damage – It was sad to see all the pictures of the damage. The only thing remaining where his villa use to be is the slab. Its going to take along time for that area to recover. Just no infrastructure there to get the rebuilding underway. They still do not have electrical or water in the area. My friend says there is going to be a lot of lots available for rather cheap. I think I’m going to maybe see about purchasing a lot to possible build on in the future. I think the cost of getting a reasonable villa built there in a few years may not be all that expensive.
A few winters ago my Grandpa’s High School Class Reunion (small town Iowa high school) was in Arizona because there were more classmates in Arizona than Iowa.
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