Tips for first time extended trip

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick12 Spring Break capital of the world Panama City Beach FL in late Feb. Thge kids take over the town for several weeks. Other than that it's a sleepy FL town with a lot of rednecks.

But IMHO some of the best beaches in the country.

[Janet H]

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Originally Posted by Music Lover For the first time in decades I'm taking a trip longer than a week or so and am looking for some tips from those who travel for longer periods of time. My girlfriend and I are driving from Canada to Florida next week. We're staying in a furnished condo for all of February and with a few stops on the way down and back we'll be gone close to 6 weeks. We're basically short term snow birding. - I have a very reliable relative house sitting so I'm not worried about my house. - Health insurance has been taken care of. - I'll be putting the all-season tires back on my car so I'm not driving on winter tires in warm weather. - We are bringing 2 different credit cards each. Questions: - We're taking our laptops and cell phones but up here the phone plans suck so we're looking for a temporary plan that will allow some international calls and international texting (only to Canada) at a reasonable price. The condo and hotels on the way there and back all have internet so that's covered. - Is there anything that we're overlooking?

Guitar: If you have a nice guitar made in either Canada or the USA bring purchase proof along with you or declare it upon exit/entrance. This is a tax issue as there is some substantial import/export biz in nice instruments that goes untaxed. Border authorities are aware of this and are often interested.

Calling: Set up a google voice number (they are free) use it to make calls either by cell or your laptop. International = no charge (like skype).

Credit Cards - Check on International charge fees on your credit cards - some have none and reasonable exchange rates - others not so much. Find out what networks are available to you for atm withdrawals should you need cash.

Looking cool - if you are going to be in FL consider wearing sunscreen - even in winter.... You are a lot farther south than usual. Avoid wearing socks with sandals

[Luck_Club]

Set up a weekly reminder to make sure your bills are paid on time.
+1 on check books
+1 on 1/2 the clothes
+1 on passport
Plan 1 day trip per week before leaving. It is easy to get into a routine even when only 6 weeks.
Make several preaddressed envelopes, for any emergencies, and leave for house sitter.

[Music Lover]

Janet…that's one of the first things I thought of. I have a nice guitar and will be bringing proof of purchase and declaring it at the point of entry.

My credit card has no extra charges for US purchases and the exchange rate is fair.

We're aware of the general climate of where we are staying so will have suitable clothing. We're also bringing minimal clothes as the condo has a washer and dryer.

Luck club...I'm not sure what you mean by one day trip per week?

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover Questions: - We're taking our laptops and cell phones but up here the phone plans suck so we're looking for a temporary plan that will allow some international calls and international texting (only to Canada) at a reasonable price. The condo and hotels on the way there and back all have internet so that's covered.

If you use Rogers or Telus, I don't think the max US roaming charges per billing cycle on their Roam Like Home and Easy Roam programs are too bad. They are about $105 and $100 respectively I think. Bell's Roam Better, I think is a maximum of $160 per billing cycle though. Otherwise, they're all like $7-$8 per day.
However, if your phone is unlocked, a pay as you go plan from a US carrier would likely be about half the price.

[Retiree_Having_Fun]

You will want to study the local culture so you can meld in. The best place for this is this Florida Man site

All kidding aside, Florida is known for lots of fraud. Another Canadian friend was actually backed into at stoplight with multiple people falling out of the car pretending to be injured. You might want to get a front & back dashcam.

[Nick12]

Another dose of reality in Florida. It's a stand your ground gun friendly state. Avoid confrontations or road rage with the locals since a number of them carry their firearms.

[MichaelB]

Sounds like a great trip.

+1 to the above, especially the clothing. In Florida dress is very casual but one or two warm items will help. On the positive side, any personal items you forget you can buy locally, probably very cheap.

While still at home, you might want to map out a small set of critical locations at your vacation spot. Emergency clinic, grocer, Walmart, take-out restaurant, just in case you have connection issues before settling down.

Scan copies of critical docs to both phones.

Does your rental include WiFi? You’ll be spending a month on public WiFi or someone else’s network, so consider getting a VPN.

If you will be traveling to other areas, like Tampa or Orlando, you might need a SunPass account for tolls.

T-Mobile has prepaid plans with unlimited minutes / data that include options for int’l calls. Do you need a GPS for the drive down? You can plan to stop soon after entering the US to buy phones in a Target or WalMart.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB On the positive side, any personal items you forget you can buy locally, probably very cheap.

I'm not worried about forgetting cheap items that I can get anywhere, it's forgetting to take important things or forgetting to do something before I leave.

Quote:

While still at home, you might want to map out a small set of critical locations at your vacation spot. Emergency clinic, grocer, Walmart, take-out restaurant, just in case you have connection issues before settling down.

We've identified Walmart, grocer, restaurants, etc., on Google Maps but haven't made a paper copy or located emergency services. Thanks for that tip.

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Scan copies of critical docs to both phones.

We have photocopies of each other's passport/medical/insurance info but having a copy on smart phones is a good idea.

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Does your rental include WiFi?

Yes

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T-Mobile has prepaid plans with unlimited minutes / data that include options for int’l calls.

One of my friends suggested T-Mobile. We'll look into them.

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Do you need a GPS for the drive down?

My car has navigation but I'll print the route before we leave as backup.

[MichaelB]

Cricket Wireless has an unlimited minutes and data plan for $60 x phone which includes calls to Canada. Past threads here mentioning them have been uniformly positive. https://www.cricketwireless.com/cell-phone-plans

My brother and his DW came down to S Florida for a week. Following year was two weeks. Next year they rented for a month. Now January in S Florida is a basic living requirement. .

This year they’re in Naples. A one month rental is possible, but it does require a fair amount of research.

[Scuba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Cricket Wireless has an unlimited minutes and data plan for $60 x phone which includes calls to Canada. Past threads here mentioning them have been uniformly positive. https://www.cricketwireless.com/cell-phone-plans My brother and his DW came down to S Florida for a week. Following year was two weeks. Next year they rented for a month. Now January in S Florida is a basic living requirement. . This year they’re in Naples. A one month rental is possible, but it does require a fair amount of research.

We started researching last year around now for a stay in South FL from Jan-Mar 2019. We gave up, couldn’t find anything even with a realtor helping. Any tips on how to find a place? We are experienced users of VRBO, Airbnb, and HomeAway.

[Koogie]

When we go down to Georgia from Toronto every February my first cross border stop is at a Walmart. The T-Mobile plans are good. circa. 30 greenbacks for a month. Lots of voice, text and data.

Be aware that that sticks you with a US cellphone number. Don't know if that would be an issue for you. It isn't for us.

Alternatively, if you are going to be around Wifi a lot, just download and use Whatsapp. The call quality is generally excellent and you can use it at home and anywhere else you travel.

Your car insurance covers you in Florida and for that long in the US, yes ?
FIL had trouble once because his car insurance addon only covered 30 days at a time in the US.

6 weeks of medications if you take any....

You know the "trick" for buying gas at American gas stations with a Canadian credit card, yes ?

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koogie When we go down to Georgia from Toronto every February my first cross border stop is at a Walmart. The T-Mobile plans are good. circa. 30 greenbacks for a month. Lots of voice, text and data. Be aware that that sticks you with a US cellphone number. Don't know if that would be an issue for you. It isn't for us. Alternatively, if you are going to be around Wifi a lot, just download and use Whatsapp. The call quality is generally excellent and you can use it at home and anywhere else you travel.

One of my friends suggested WhatsApp yesterday...I looked into it and will probably use that instead of getting a phone plan since I'll have internet access and rarely talk on the phone. Also, most of my friends know I'll be out of the country and won't call. My girlfriend will do the same, plus she can still do Facetime with her daughter via internet.

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Your car insurance covers you in Florida and for that long in the US, yes ? FIL had trouble once because his car insurance addon only covered 30 days at a time in the US.

I'm covered for the entire length of my stay, but have decided to increase my 3rd party liability coverage.

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6 weeks of medications if you take any....

Thankfully, I have no need for any meds yet.

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You know the "trick" for buying gas at American gas stations with a Canadian credit card, yes ?

I know the trick but have never used it...I just go inside to pay.

[Sunset]

If your cell phones are unlocked and GSM you can use this for free calls and text's to Canada:
https://www.mintmobile.com/

[sengsational]

The most important thing to bring with you hasn't been mentioned: an open mind. This can make leaving some other "important" thing that was forgotten practically meaningless.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba We started researching last year around now for a stay in South FL from Jan-Mar 2019. We gave up, couldn’t find anything even with a realtor helping. Any tips on how to find a place? We are experienced users of VRBO, Airbnb, and HomeAway.

My sister in law is the one with the smarts for finding the places to stay. I’ll ask her and report back. One thing I know for sure is she is arranging their stay for next January now.

[Nick12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba We started researching last year around now for a stay in South FL from Jan-Mar 2019. We gave up, couldn’t find anything even with a realtor helping. Any tips on how to find a place? We are experienced users of VRBO, Airbnb, and HomeAway.

May not be beachfront but did you want to consider short term housing hotels. The business travelers or IT employees in long term assignments stay there. I am sure there are quite a few in South Florida. One national hotel chain is Extended Stay America.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset If your cell phones are unlocked and GSM you can use this for free calls and text's to Canada: https://www.mintmobile.com/

Mint is good for unlimited calls and text in the USA and for making calls from USA to Canada at no extra charge.

OP - you might want to turn off your water to the house, and lower temp a bit to save on heating, but no lower than 55.

[txtig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister But IMHO some of the best beaches in the country.

+1 !!

[SunBlueSky]

If you like seafood, on west side of PCB, the Red Bar off 30A is good. In PCB, Captain Anderson's around 4:30pm for dinner with a window seat near the fishing boats is fun.