Suggestions on Southern US winter home please

[heyyou]

Grizz- Besides Arizona's Lake Havasu City, check on the towns near those other Colorado River reservoirs in western and northern Arizona. In some areas, local realtors are slow to post on the MLS. Only the large developments will have enough web presence for Google to notice.
Any place warm enough in the winter, will be too hot in the summer for the same outdoor sports. Welcome to the middle latitudes.
Joe

[RunningBum]

I've heard that story about Arizona, it looks obvious that Phoenix was replaced with Huntsville, and a couple of changes made but not things like growing cactus.

[Grizz]

Funny, you folks in the south kind of sound like people up here in Canada only we complain when a week of -40 (F and C are same at this temp) pretty much means that you are stuck inside with the wood stove supplementing the furnace, your car won't start, and if it does, you have to continually scrape the frost off of the windshield while you drive because even though you've taken the time to secure a piece of cardboard to the front of the cars radiator the heater can't keep the interior warm enough, and the whole thing kind of creaks as you drive, and it rides rough because the tires aren't very rubbery at all at this temp. Oh, and the cat has to come into the house from the garage or its ears and tail will freeze off.

We all know about us snow bound types going south for winter and then spending our wonderfully temperate with 20 hours of daylight summers back here, but I'm curious, what do retired southerners do? Is it typical for them to have a home in the north to go in the summer when it's unbearably hot there?

[unclemick]

Hmmm - the year I went to high school reunion changing planes in Phoenix - it had 'chilled down' to 108 - last week in July.

heh heh heh - 73 and sunny here outside Kansas City. Gonna dig out some of my winter clothes.

P.S. Living in New Orleans - we often went to Reno(family get together) for Mardi Grais - definitely cooler. I knew those that went sking via clubs in New Orleans. And of course - the RV'ers went to Yellowstone and points north in summer - before school.

[W2R]

We plan to move north to retire, like Unclemick.

I don't know any retired people down here who have a house in the north. A lot of families do have fishing camps that they visit for a few days every week or two, to go fishing. But these are usually within a couple of hours' drive of the city. Or, some will purchase a condo on the Gulf Coast at a location like Gulf Shores, Destin, or wherever, that they go to for a few days now and then. They might drive to some small town in Louisiana to visit relatives. Or, they might hop on a cruise ship down by the docks and go on a cruise for a while. Our secretary just got back from 10 days in Italy. But I don't really happen to know any retirees that migrate for the majority of the year to another home. I really don't understand that mindset, either. It seems so indecisive!

People often leave New Orleans over Mardi Gras, whether they are working or retired. This is because the snarled traffic, parades, and delays due to floats being moved to and from parade sites can grow old. So, people go to Disney World, or go shopping in Houston, golfing in California, or whatever. We like to go for long drives researching potential retirement locations over Mardi Gras.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizz ...but I'm curious, what do retired southerners do? Is it typical for them to have a home in the north to go in the summer when it's unbearably hot there?

A second home is more than my budget and energy level can hack, so to get some relief from the heat and other stuff*, we plan to pack up the RV and head for the mountains of NM, CO, etc. for a few weeks. That is once DW finally retires...and if she'll peel herself away from the g-kids for more than a few days at a time



* Scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, and unbelievably high property taxes.

[dex]

Check out the North Georgia mountains or that general local to the north, east and west.

[Grizz]

.

Quote:

But I don't really happen to know any retirees that migrate for the majority of the year to another home. I really don't understand that mindset, either. It seems so indecisive!

If you spent some winter here, you'd understand. It is cold from and including Oct.-Apr. and there is only daylight from 9 AM to 4:30 pm in mid winter. The lack of sunshine can be quite depressing actually. Our more or less 2-3 months of summer is worth coming back for, as I mentioned before, 20 hrs of daylight, Fairly dry, with average daytime temp. of around 75F. You can get in a lot of golf in the summer here.

As well, snowbirds are only allowed 6 mo. in U.S. for recreational purposes or they need to apply for immigrant status. Also we have "free" (taxed to death while working) health care up here and if they stay away too long, they can temporarily be denied their health care coverage for a few months when they return back home. The health care system in Can. isn't perfect, but it's a pretty sweet deal for the elderly not to have to buy any insurance.

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizz Also we have "free" (taxed to death while working) health care up here and if they stay away too long, they can temporarily be denied their health care coverage for a few months when they return back home. The health care system in Can. isn't perfect, but it's a pretty sweet deal for the elderly not to have to buy any insurance.

My wife and I are thinking of moving to CA in a few years (and by few I mean 10 or 15). I've been to BC a few times and loved it every time (even winter... of course that's because I was snowboarding at Whistler)

[Grizz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior My wife and I are thinking of moving to CA in a few years (and by few I mean 10 or 15). I've been to BC a few times and loved it every time (even winter... of course that's because I was snowboarding at Whistler)

Nice choice, Southern BC is the exception to the rule as far as weather goes up here. It is also easily the most beautiful area of western Canada and would make a wonderful year round location to retire. A very laid back place as well, possibly due to pretty much unrestricted marijuana usage. It's got a very artsy/hippy feel in many places. Unfortunately the cost of real estate is out of this world & getting much worse for Americans to buy or visit since our dollar has gone from 68 cents U.S. to around 96 cents today in a fairly short time.

[AltaRed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizz . If you spent some winter here, you'd understand.

My sentiments with Grizz's post. I would add that I would have not thought for very long about retiring in a Southern USA location on a semi-permanent basis if it was not for US limitations on residency and taxation based on the 180 day IRS formula, and more specifically US health care.

I spent >10 years of my working life in the USA on assignment, most recently 2001 to early 2006, and while I received good health care in the USA, I would not want to expose myself financially to the US health care system. The Canadian health care system has treated me very well, including recent eye cataract surgery by the Internationally recognized Gimbal clinic in Calgary at zero net cost to me.