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Post Info TOPIC: Rolling stone with no moss-Question for FTers


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Rolling stone with no moss-Question for FTers


Just throwing a question out there for the FTers.  How many of you stay (at least relatively) on the move over the Winter?  How frequently do you move around?  Where do you stay as a general habit, BLM land, RV Resorts, NPS/COE?

Any and all perspectives welcome.



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We usually found a workamping gig where we could stay put in the winter. Winter storms are no fun, and can make travel dangerous, so we tried not to travel unless we had to. The cold and snow never bothered us in the motorhome as long as I didn't have to travel.

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We moved around the first few years and then found a park we liked and tried 3 months. Decided we liked to decompress (well I did) and have some time where we didn't move - - so we did that for several years. This year we (well I) decided that since we were going to stay for the winter, we might as well spread out a little, so we purchased a Park Model. We got a very good deal on it and we can move some of the things from the RV into the PM and leave them here during the summer while we travel (we're going to spend 6-7 months on the road) as well as have work done on the coach without having to live in garage parking lots, etc. Just part of the slowing down that happens as we get older. Actually I have a feeling it will make our time in the coach a little more exciting - a change of routine, so to speak. And after a few months, getting back to the PM will again be a change in routine.

Barb


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Howard and Linda stay relatively on the move I think but tend to have longer (month or so?) stays in winter. We park in SW FL from Nov 1 to Apr 1. Gives us some down time as we average 8-10 day stays the rest of the year. 



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We are new.. and are moving through the southeast ..mainly florida so far. maybe 1 more winter in the south east.. then southwest winters.. And I think we may end up there for winters, as snowbirds..

too much humidity and bugs and stuff for us, in florida.. But it's early yet.. We move a month at a time. Next stop .. Ft meyers..for dec.

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I think you will find this varies with each person or couple. As Barb says, it also can vary each year. Many go to a snowbird location, find a campground and spend 3 to 6 months there year after year. Others stay out west, where they can move around and boondock at least some of the time. Others stay in membership campgrounds and move every 2 to 3 weeks all winter. We have done most all of these over the years. We have a pattern of going to Florida every other year and out west, California and Arizona, the other year. The longest we have stayed in one place is 3 months, but 6 weeks to 2 months is more normal. 

I do know that many who go to the same snowbird campground year after year, treat this as normal and think those who move around are strange. This is especially true of those who started this pattern their first winter. They also have a tendency to think their campground is unique, no other place is as nice, no other place has features like a woodshop, no place else has good winter weather, etc. But, since they have not visited other campgrounds and areas in winter, they don't know any different. They also associate with those who only RV as snowbirds, driving hard to and from their home to the snowbird campground, taking the same route every year. Those snowbirds really think we are strange, we can take weeks or months traveling from the north to the south and we might take a different route each time.

We also know people who base their winter on rallies and other events, on the move a lot, but much the same each winter.



-- Edited by bjoyce on Sunday 30th of November 2014 07:14:59 AM

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Longest stay 3 months. We try and stay one month (cheaper than weekly or daily rate) but we seem to do mostly a week here or a week there. Covering long distances can be a lot of daily stays as we only go 200 miles a day when traveling.

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We have workamped 5 of the last 6 summers so we were stationary for 4-5 months. This past summer we did Canada and Alaska so we moved quite a bit though we did stay one place for 18 days. During the winter we try and stay some place warm for a few months. The rest of the time we travel to visit family and friends. No set plan on how long we stay, just what ever we want.


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Thanks so much to the folks that have chimed in so far.  I hope more do so.  I think these are all excellent view points.  As we start our journey next Summer, we're going to do the snowbird thing, making our way to AZ for the Winter months.  And that's mostly to sort of feel out the process and see how we sit finance wise.  And then we'll take off for who knows where, from there.  But I don't think being on the move across the South during the Winter months is strange at all.  It just further shows the almost infinite possibilities.  The wife and I are talking about these things on a fairly consistent basis.  I also like the idea of wintering each year on alternate sides of the country.  What to do, what to do!

This kind of prompts another question - I'm assuming snowbirders mostly hit the RV Resorts.  Does this leave the Natl Parks/COEs/State Parks across the south less crowded? 

Thanks.



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"Does this leave the Natl Parks/COEs/State Parks across the south less crowded?"

Not in Florida and Alabama, which have public campgrounds in the warm areas and some of those allow long term stays in winter.

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I start to get antsy after about a month to 6 weeks and am ready to move on especially if I don't have something to do. I may find out if I can make it longer as we are supposed to stay for up to 3 months at a location this winter. I'll make it but I'm sure I'll be ready to go.


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And no matter what you think now, give it a couple of years and you will find you are doing something different that what you knew was the 'correct' thing to do.

Barb


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Our first couple years on the road we pretty much liked to stay 1 to 2 weeks and then move on but always kept an eye out for an area we might like to stay put in for a month or maybe even two figuring we would feel differently at some point. We have not really found that place yet but sure we will.

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After 5 years on the road, we still move about once a week, sometimes more, even in the winter. We go back and forth between resorts, and state parks/BLM land all winter.
We have finally booked 6 weeks in Lake Havasu to see if we can stand staying in one spot for that long.

Sue

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The lifestyle is ALWAYS changing and adapting based upon your desires/needs.
When we started this adventure 8 ½ years ago, we traveled all summer, camp hosted for three months in the fall/winter.

We have found a camp-host spot we absolutely love. So now, we host all summer. Rest in the winter, and travel in the spring and fall.

Completely different from when we started.

So the conclusion is pick what you want to do, but do not expect it to be permanent.

Embrace the changes. That is one of the many features of this lifestyle: The freedom to move and change as we see fit.


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We're only half way through our second year of FT'ing and since we're both still working we prefer not to move too frequently and try really hard not to move during a week but again, we do what we have to do. We don't really find that we move any less in the winter vs. other seasons, but then again, we follow the art show circuit for Dale's business and enjoy doing the outdoor art festivals where the weather is comfortable.

We do prefer state/county/national campgrounds, aren't super fond of the RV resorts and the claustrophobic feeling we get there. Many of the state parks in the West have a 10 -14 day limit which can determine how much we move around.

As several people above have stated, we expect our travel habits to change over time. After all, one of the advantages to this life is the ability to be flexible.



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We started out spending winter in two or three RV parks in two or three states. After three or four years we ended up staying in the same RV park in AZ each winter.

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This is our first winter in Arizona, so far we have enjoyed the park we are in, however we will be leaving here in February to try out some other areas in Arizona. If people have favorites that they would recommend I would love suggestions. We like both RV Resorts and State and National Parks and would prefer to have electric but its not a deal breaker if a great place doesn't have hook ups.

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

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Olywa - you are in Mesa, correct? We just left Usery Mountain Regional Park, really enjoyed being just outside of Mesa in a park with wonderful hiking trails. So far we've had good success with various AZ state parks including Catalina, Piccaho Peak, Buckskin Mountain and Dead Horse Ranch. All of them had sites big enough to accommodate our rig. We'll be adding new places to our list this winter, but are also looking forward to a couple of different trips out to Quartzsite, if my work plans work out okay. Right now it appears that I might be doing a bit of traveling for work in January which might result in us needing to stay closer to Phoenix to have access to an airport. BTW, the trip I might have to take?? Seattle, yeah, in January. Sheesh, we left there to get out of the rain, something just doesn't feel right about flying out of Phoenix to Seattle in January.

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We've only been fulltime for 5 months now and this is our first winter.  We'll be moving from December in Florida west through the gulf states ending up with spending April in Arizona.  About 1 week or so at a time.  Our original "plan" was to spend roughly 2 weeks at a time as Steve still works from the rig.  Our longest stay has been 3 weeks.  I find that I tend to get antsy.  Once I've hiked/biked/kayaked most of the areas, I'm ready to move on to the next adventure.  True, there have been a few larger parks where we didn't get to do anywhere near "everything".  We also prefer state/county/COE type parks.  Hopefully our trips will lengthen up as we go on.  This first year we've had many friends/family we wanted to visit which limited many of our stays.  I can't imagine us staying a month or more, but I guess we'll see.



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Just curious for those already out there.....do any of you spend winters in the Tennessee, North Carolina or Kentucky areas? Neither of us are really warm weather birds and would still not mind seeing some possibility of snow, just not what we get in PA for winter. We were wondering if anyone spends winter in those general areas rather then mostly south and what it's like?

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First, I gotta say all of the different approaches that folks have, and ideas for setting out have been fantastic.  Talk about stuff to think about!  Thank you to everyone.  But if anyone feels like it, don't stop now.  I'm sure there are more ideas.  This has been awesome.

Hey Marianne, I don't know anything of the states your asking about, but I do know a little about Carlisle - run away while you still can!  Just kidding.  Moved from there to Colorado a long time ago.  May not necessarily be warmer, but definitely dryer.  Can't wait to head south next year.  

Central PA has some beautiful country side, rolling hills, Amish country, and now some good breweries (I'm partial to them, but that's just me).  But a lot of truck depots, too.  Lot's o' trucks.  One of the major highway crossroad centers in America.  No offense to the truck drivers out there.  I know it's the life blood of commerce.



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Marianne - while we haven't spent winters in TN or KY and really don't intend to at this point, my Mom and her hubby wintered for several winters in the Knoxville TN area in a 5th wheel, they were more "static" full timers who really didn't travel much. They didn't see much snow, usually fairly short lived. They also wintered several winters north of Seattle in their 5th wheel but got very tired of the gray skies.

For us, the gray skies is one of the deciding factors of where we want to be during certain times of the year, I don't really care if it's not really warm, but I much prefer blue sky to gray sky.

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Marianne,
We're in the process of setting up a permanent site in Cherokee, NC with a mini-house for my office and craft stuff, and enough room to use our recliners and some things I don't want to give away. Have never spent a winter there but other people live in the park year-round and say they're quite comfortable. Amazingly, it was warmer there yesterday and this morning than in our S&B in mid Georgia!

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NWescapee, yes we are in Mesa right now. I have been looking at the regional and the state parks and someone even mentioned a few casinos today, so I will have lots to choose from I just need to nail down some dates. Sorry your work might take you back to Seattle during the height of the raining season.

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Laughing Pkhalin at the Carlisle comment  :)  You're exactly right.....my husband said if he could maneuver the fiver through truck traffic around here, he could probably manage it anywhere!....but surely looking to head out in a little over a year.   Between 81 and the turnpike traffic, it gets a little crazy.

Thanks NWescapee and Manycats too.....I'd say we're leaning towards TN or NC, but just curious if anyone does those areas rather then Fl, TX or Arizona....and it sounds like it's possible.  Thanks guys!



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Amarianne, think Pieere is year round in TN. I used to work closely with a factory there and their weather could be horrendous with storms, ice, outages, blizzards,nwind, etc. I'm sure there are pockets in almost every state that are exceptions. As we traveled the past year+ I loved to ask folks where we were what winter was like. If it was an intriguing area Id 'bookmark' the location in my weather app and follow it.
Many weather sites can give you monthly statistics - be especially aware of winds, tornadoes.

Just my opinion.

You're becoming short-timers!! 😄

Sherry

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Thanks Sherry!....I've actually done something similar on my weather app in my phone just to see what they have daily compared to us! We sure would like to avoid the tornadoes etc :) Hope you and Jess are warm and getting ready for Christmas! You both take care and you're always in our prayers!

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GRACIE’S GOLDEN GETAWAY
Barry and Marianne traveling with Golden Retriever Maggie
2014 Ford F-450 DRW Super Heavy Duty Lariat
2015 Solitude 305RE for full-time in 2016
Current:  Carlisle, PA

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