New snowbird destination in British Columbia

[tedvdb]

I live in Southern Ontario and have been spending winters in Florida for over 10 years. Considering the exchange rate, cost of out-of-country health insurance and the current political climate, I am considering British Columbia as an alternative.
I have a class B motorhome and am looking for an RV park in the warmest area possible. I enjoy golf and playing cards especially Texas hold'em. I would love to hear about any recommended park or area that appeals to you.

[Bigceasar]

This will be interesting. I didn’t have a clue that BC had any areas with climate similar to Southern Florida.
We winter in Palm Desert CA and have numerous friends from BC who flock south as well. They have the same complaints about insurance and exchange rates. Politics not so much. Most plan on returning this coming season and I am actually on the lookout for seasonal rentals for a couple of friends who have lost the places they previously rented. When the temperatures drop to zero (Celsius, in respect to my Canadian friends) the snowbirds will once again fly south for the winter, exchanging Loonies for sunshine and warmth. Talk about boycotting and staying home is cheap, and I strongly believe the action of getting out when winter sets in will speak louder than those words.

[azpete]

the ordinary american has no fight with the ordinary canadians. we all want the same thing.
a nice place to stay, and friendly people around us.
the money situation is something neither of us is going to change. thats above my pay grade anyway.
we all welcome visitors, from any place. i just leave the politics inside my front door. be safe.

[Unplanned Tourist]

I live in BC and during the covid lockdown, the area around Osoyoos and Oliver all campgrounds were packed. Also the Victoria area on Vancouver Island was busy. Both areas have a pretty warm Winter, but there's always a chance of snow, but it never lasts long. Mainly prairie people that would have gone South.

After covid, those places are definatly more crowded during the Winter.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by azpete

the ordinary american has no fight with the ordinary canadians. we all want the same thing.
a nice place to stay, and friendly people around us.
the money situation is something neither of us is going to change. thats above my pay grade anyway.
we all welcome visitors, from any place. i just leave the politics inside my front door. be safe.

Thank you Paul for this message of support .

I have a strict rule at happy hour ; that always seems to be in my RV site ; no politics or religion discussion .
Somehow the crowd at happy hour gets larger every week.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by tedvdb

I live in Southern Ontario and have been spending winters in Florida for over 10 years. Considering the exchange rate, cost of out-of-country health insurance and the current political climate, I am considering British Columbia as an alternative.
I have a class B motorhome and am looking for an RV park in the warmest area possible. I enjoy golf and playing cards especially Texas hold'em. I would love to hear about any recommended park or area that appeals to you.

I'm BC born , and have never lived in another province ; until I retired I lived in the Okanagan ; winters can be mild OR miserable .
In Kelowna golf courses can open for play or open to cross country skiing once snow depth gets over a foot deep.
At the coast and on the island the same is possible , DW's son spent this past winter full timing in a Class A just south of Richmond and froze the water system up on the third day of sub freezing temperatures.
Since I retired and relocated to coastal BC I've been a snowbird all but two of the past eighteen years .
Winter here on the coast is somewhat nicer than the southern interior , but you have to be ready for long stretches of gloomy skies and rain ( or snow ).
That is the Straight of Georgia , on the right of this photo , my elevation is 385'.

[twogypsies]

I just did a Search here & here is one older post on the subject. There are more.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f38/wint...da-238811.html

[Sunnyfalls]

Vancouver Island. It can be rainy but not much chance of cold temps or snow. Really any place on the west coast is pretty temperate in Winter. And unlike Florida, there's no hurricane risk or obnoxious crowds to contend with. Just don't plan on going swimming in the ocean as it is always cold...which is why the beaches are still quite pristine and not crowded like east coast.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[Trav_lr]

During the covid lock down, many Canadians from the east migrated to the RV parks on the east side of Vancouver Island between Campbell River to Victoria for the mildest of Canadian winter climate.

[ThisIsUs]

During COVID lockdowns and not able to head south BC was inundated with RVers headed there for winter. They were so over crowded that Rest areas were slammed with permanents for months and there weren't any dump stations at them!!!

As Skip said weather in BC can be really miserable at times, so you might want to skirt, insulate pipes etc. The island is known for it's rain (friends live there FT in a CG), and most of our friends said after one season doing it not again will head south. Sadly after this past end of winter news many are hanging up their keys, also being older and going into permanent locations and starting different forms of travel. Signs of the times.

We are in a dilemma ourselves on what to do this upcoming winter being FT from Alberta since May last year. Won't know until closer to the Fall, as things seem to change like the flick of a switch so we watch observe and ....... We even thought about winterising the RV and head to Portugal or somewhere warm for a few months but the 90 day rulings there don't give us enough time to stay in that one place. Maybe fixed locale in Portugal 3 months and then Mexico for a couple??? All balls at our end are in the air right now so will watch with interest what you decide in due course as well as others sharing.

[Bigceasar]

Originally Posted by Sunnyfalls

Vancouver Island. It can be rainy but not much chance of cold temps or snow. Really any place on the west coast is pretty temperate in Winter. And unlike Florida, there's no hurricane risk or obnoxious crowds to contend with. Just don't plan on going swimming in the ocean as it is always cold...which is why the beaches are still quite pristine and not crowded like east coast.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

Hurricane season does not coincide with Snowbird season. And those obnoxious crowds have a large Canadian presence.

[Sunnyfalls]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

Hurricane season does not coincide with Snowbird season. And those obnoxious crowds have a large Canadian presence.

Hurricane season typically ends after November but hurricane cleanup is at its worst during Snowbird season...although much of Florida always seemed white trashy to us. Canadians don't tend to be obnoxious. Americans are clearly the greatest at being obnoxious.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[Sunnyfalls]

Originally Posted by ThisIsUs

We even thought about winterising the RV and head to Portugal or somewhere warm for a few months but the 90 day rulings there don't give us enough time to stay in that one place. Maybe fixed locale in Portugal 3 months and then Mexico for a couple??? All balls at our end are in the air right now so will watch with interest what you decide in due course as well as others sharing.

Yep, that's essentially what we currently do...RV to second home in Costa Rica from our primary home in Southern Oregon and stay 3 months...then fly to our second home in New Zealand from Costa Rica and stay 3 months...then fly back to Costa Rica and RV back to Southern Oregon. We have also been thinking about diversifying more assets to other countries too and Portugal (Madeira) and Spain are high on our list...we greatly enjoyed sailing there and spending time there. If one renounces US citizenship, you can also continue to receive your social security payments (it is your money after all) and you no longer have to pay US taxes. But you will need a Visa to enter US again and you can't vote in US again. I should say we also love Canada too, but the winters are brutal there like much of north central US. And south central US has high tornado risk.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[Fanrgs]

Many years ago, we opted for a last family vacation with our 3 sons. One was about to graduate from college, one was in college 1,000 miles from home, and one was about to graduate from high school. So, in January, at the end of their Christmas break, we took them to a reasonably priced, all-inclusive Club Med resort south of Puerta Vallarta in Mexico. It was warm, sunny, and beautifully landscaped, with a huge pool, a white sand beach, sailboats, a night club, great food, and "free" drinks. The boys loved it! And so did we because we had a separate casita than they had. Interestingly, about half the guests were Canadian, even in the early 1990s.

I would go back to the west coast of Mexico for snowbirding any time. In fact, we have RVing friends who snowbird every year from November to April in Puerto Penasco, on the Sea of Cortez only 60 miles south of Lukeville, AZ. They stay in a beachside RV park, soak up the sun, swim in the warm sea, surf fish, deep sea fish, and eat seafood right off the boat. They have their dental work done, get their RVs detailed, and even have their toads painted to match their motorhomes, all for much less cost than in the U.S. or even La Paz or Cabo!

Might be a good place for Canadians to snowbird in their RVs too.