When The Time Comes

[Chickadee]

G'morning ALL: Say....got a question and was wondering whether it might be a "General Discussion" topic. Not to eliminate anyone, BUT...if you're a full fulltimer, meaning ya actually live in your rig moving around the country and have truly divested yourselves of all property (house/land/buildings, etc.) there will ...come a time...when we will need to stop RV'ing fulltime and come to rest..perhaps to live in our rig, an apartment, condo, small house or (hopefully not) a nursing care facility. ANYWAY, where are the locations YOU'VE considered as that final stopping place??? I think alot of us full, fulltimers, are always on the look out for that final roosting place and we thought it might be fun talking about possible locations and our reasoning behind places we THINK we'd like to finally stay. Whatchathink?? So what are some the locations YOU have entertained...and WHY?? Steve & Lynette

[Chickadee]

G'morning ALL: Say....got a question and was wondering whether it might be a "General Discussion" topic. Not to eliminate anyone, BUT...if you're a full fulltimer, meaning ya actually live in your rig moving around the country and have truly divested yourselves of all property (house/land/buildings, etc.) there will ...come a time...when we will need to stop RV'ing fulltime and come to rest..perhaps to live in our rig, an apartment, condo, small house or (hopefully not) a nursing care facility. ANYWAY, where are the locations YOU'VE considered as that final stopping place??? I think alot of us full, fulltimers, are always on the look out for that final roosting place and we thought it might be fun talking about possible locations and our reasoning behind places we THINK we'd like to finally stay. Whatchathink?? So what are some the locations YOU have entertained...and WHY?? Steve & Lynette

[SeeTheUSA]

Steve & Lynette,

Although we've never been fulltimers, we we're faced with making the same decision as you will be facing when we retired in 2003.

After playing the "corporate gypsy" game for about 30 years and living in CA, MO, IA, IL, MN and TX, some of them on 2 or 3 occasions, we SELECTED Texas as the place to buy a home and put down some roots. We now live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Factors in our decision were:

- weather (sold the snow blower, trashed the snow shovels, gave away the heavy coats)
- income taxes (TX has no state income tax, leaves my company and railroad retirement incomes alone)
- housing costs (can still get a nice home without cashing in your IRA)
- vehicle licensing (cars, trucks, RV's are pretty cheap)

There are obviously many other factors to consider, but I hope the brief list helps. Good luck!

[LindaH]

We have our name on the list for a lot at the SKP park in Sutherlin, OR. When the time comes to hang up the keys, that's where we'll settle...in our fifth wheel.

[AFChap]

My first choice is Albuquerque due to nice year-round climate and great local bicycle trails. BUT, DW wants to be in Texas ...you can take the girl out of Texas, but you just can't take Texas out of the girl. So now we're looking for some place in Texas with an Albuquerque climate and great bicycle trails ...haven't found it yet...

[MtManLee]

Back to home of origin, Utah. Got kids and grand kids we prefer to be near. Can think of no better reason.

[Endeavor2BnC]

This is a great question. It keeps popping up in our discussions of each area that we visit. Having just started FT'ing, April '08, we haven't found the perfect spot yet. Our criteria though includes the following:
1. Near good medical facilities
2. Near military facilities - retired military
3. Good year round climate - like Albuquerque's
4. Near children, if possible, Albuquerque & New Braunfels, TX - who knows where future generations will be located
5. Good social activities & senior citizen support - possibly university town
6. Good government - hard to find these days
7. Easy on the taxes
8. Outdoor activities - near water, lake or ocean, would be great
9. Easy access to airport - 25 miles
10.Easy on living expenses

Albuquerque and surrounding communities come close so far. Hill Country in Texas is also nice. We're going to keep on looking for now. We don't plan on quitting FT'ing for quite a while and requirements may change when we're ready to put down the jacks for the last time.

[Olive]

AFChap, I have friends in ABQ and from their reports I would not want to winter there. It gets downright cold especially in Dec/Jan and snow is not uncommon. Lows those months from what I understand are below freezing and the highs in the forties. ABQ is up there a few thousand feet. I like NM but I'm with your wife on this one.

[Endeavor2BnC]

Olive,
We lived in Albuquerque off & on for over 33 years. I'd have to agree with you on it getting cold during the winter but remember the question in not where do we want to winter over but where do we finish up.

Albuquerque really is a good place over all to live. No hurracaines, tornados, earth quakes, flooding, severe heat or cold with 300 plus days of sunshine. Go a little north to Santa Fe and the winters are too cold. Go south to Las Cruces and the summers are way too hot. Go west or east and the winters too cold with more snow. Lots of outdoor activities, clean air, good senior activities, university town with very good health care. It's not all peaches and cream. There really are some dark sides to the city too.

We really liked living there but are now looking around the US as FT'ers to see if there is another city that can meet our requirements for settling down when we are done FT'ing. It's a lot of fun for us to examine the various cities that we visit. We'll see where we wind up and enjoy the journey.

[AFChap]

Tim is right on. I went to high school 80 miles west and 2000 feet higher than Albuquerque (which is 4,000 something feet?). Albuquerque can get cold at night in the winter, but normally warms up decently during day. Due to the nice sunshine, snow normally does not last long when it does fall. The Albuquerque climate is a great compromise temperature wise, and does not have near the volume of strong thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, etc of Western Ok where I was born, and West TX where I also lived for many years.

[Olive]

I understand that. I never lived there and your statement of "nice year-round climate" threw me a bit. Temps like my friends talk about and snow does not fit that description in my book.

Of course I also don't believe we are going to find that perfect place, till we get to heaven, so we'll all go for what suits us best. I hope I can stay on the road for many years forward. I would like to then settle somewhere not too hot and not too cold like most of you, but I may end up near my family in SE PA. Talk about weather swings.

[Stanbnv]

If it wasn't in Kalifornia, and wasn't so expensive, San Diego County would get my vote. We are not sure yet where we want to settle if our luck runs out. St George Utah is one spot, just a few degrees cooler than Vegas in winter and summer. We want to head to TX next spring and check out Fort Clark Springs, as we have read about it on another forum.

[Barbaraok]

Squim, WA, you can play golf about 360 days a year. It is in the "Banana Belt" of Washington State - if property hadn't gotten so expensive we would buy a lot there. We have a deposit in a Co-Op park near there that will get a little more rain.

Barb

[Chickadee]

Hi Barb & Dave: Since I recognize your handle from the time I used to post on the Escapee forum, I assume you may talking about Chimicum? Anyway....what is winter like in the Squim/Chimicum area?? Snow?? I know Squim is in the rain shadow but don't know how winter is in general in this area. Steve & Lynette