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Off the road where


Catharine

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For all of you who have travelled the country, many have found a good place for when they finally left the road. Besides where relatives live, would you mind saying what place you chose and the reasons you like it. Or places you had first picked but then passed up because of problems not anticipated. Maybe where you are now was your choice but you found that there were other factors you wish you had considered. (Even if your relatives were the reason, if you really like the place and think others would, please let us know about it also.) Thank you.

Cathy (Catharine) Summerfield Hana

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Other than RV parks, where we may stay as a destination or merely for the need to dump and do laundry. As we are traveling, we may stay in designated roadside rest areas or even the occasional truck stop. We also frequent Wal-Mart parking lots. Among our favourite places to stay are Cabela's; they often invite us with their long pull-through sites with free water and dumping or no cost or sometimes $5.00.

oRV

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2010 Phaeton 40 QTH

2014 Honda CR-V Toad

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We sold everything and headed out fully expecting to have only the RV as home for as far into the future as we could see. We had a vague idea of what might follow and we had done some planning for that event but after 10 years we began to experience a series of orthopedic surgeries (or Pam did) and quickly discovered that an RV is not very friendly to people using walkers and crutches for long. As a result we began to look for a place to call home-base and so be able to recuperate more easily. Because of our experiences assisting my parents in their declining years, we decided to look mostly near one of the three boys, who lived in different parts of the country. If we live long enough, most of us will eventually need assistance from someone so I think that consideration is a valid issue for most of us. We settled on north Texas for a lot of reasons, but mostly to be within 2 hours drive of our son and his family. We wanted a home that would provide secure storage for an RV when not traveling and one that could be secured for long periods of time when traveling for several months at a time.

 

The home-base which we found seems to fit us quite well as it is a place that began as an RV park for owner/members but that has evolved into a place where fulltimers come to transition back from RV life to living in a stick home once more. More than 80% of the members here have been fulltimers at some part of their lives and most did so for more than 5 years, with an average of close to 10 years on the road and the highest couple were fulltimers for 26 years! We love the fact that it is an RV society, just as you would find in one of the destination parks with regular residents year after year. We have social activities here in the community center and we also have camping outings for as much as a week in length where most of the community joins in. Yet when health of other needs arise most of us have built homes here that are small and very practicle but with the amenities needed as we age. We are a closed community with private streets and in a rural part of east TX yet less than 1 mile from the nearest golf course and about 20 miles from three major hospitals and all medical facilities.

 

We looked very hard at the Escapee co-op parks but didn't join because we wished to be able to build a small home that had no stairs for the difficult times when it might be difficult to get up and into an RV and most of us here have homes that are fully wheelchair accessible, which very few RVs are. We also considered several other closed communities but most were too far from any of our sons, which we expect we may need help from at some point late in life. We put a major emphasis on finding a community that was dominated by people who are or used to be RV folks because we wished to remain a part of that community. Perhaps as many as 2/3 of our members either are or used to be members of Escapees.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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We bought a house in TX (DW's home state) a day's drive from our kids in AL and in an area where DW's allergies do well and there are great medical facilities. We stayed a month each in several towns around the area over a period of 2-3 years before we narrowed our focus to the area around one particular city.

Paul (KE5LXU), former fulltimer, now sometimer...

'03 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage 40E

'05 Honda Odyssey

Escapees, FMCA, WIT, SMART

http://www.pjrider.com

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As former Michiganders we knew we didn't want harsh winters when we got older and six months of very little sunshine. Over our 16 years of full-timing we found we absolutely loved Arizona. Presently, we escape the summer heat by renting a small cabin for a couple months in the nearby Arizona mountains. However, the days we do happen to be in the desert on hot days, we have found to be very tolerable. You just do things in the mornings and late afternoons/early evenings. Afternoon is siesta time! The community we chose is a 55+ with tons of medical facilities, excellent hospitals, and many wonderful short and long-term care. Although our kids didn't stay in Michigan either, they don't live in our town. We don't plan to rely on them for care in later years. We have the facilities to do so right here.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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Our only child is a truck driver so there's no "where" to settle near her. Dave wanted to go back to familiar places and his model railroad community so we are back in Minnesota, now in an apartment about 1/2 mile from our last house so we don't need GPS to get us to shopping/eating places. Within an hour's drive he also has a sister and a nephew who would help us if it comes to that. (Sister with medical/financial setups and nephew with computer stuff like the websites Dave hosts.) I still don't like winter so I hibernate six months of the year--it's the tradeoff I make to keep Dave happy. Sure glad to have you guys on here to keep me company. :)

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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We looked and thought about several areas. Seriously looked at the Asheville, NC area, but we could not find any area that fit both our wants and our budget.

The only consistent criteria were a university town, good climate, and affordable housing.

 

We decided to just wait until the time came. After seven winters in Tucson we decided that we liked this area as a place to land. Over the top real estate taxes in Illinois helped hurry us along in our decision. Hard to justify the cost of maintaining a home there when we are gone more than half the year.

 

We like Tucson for the people; the good restaurants; the university and it's attendant amenities; the climate; and the size. We already have friends in the area where we are building a house. No kids so that is not an issue.

 

For the time being we plan on traveling in the summer instead of the winter.

Dennis & Nancy
Tucson, AZ in winter, on the road in summer.

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and '11 smart that gave it's life to save me!)
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As former Michiganders we knew we didn't want harsh winters when we got older and six months of very little sunshine. Over our 16 years of full-timing we found we absolutely loved Arizona. Presently, we escape the summer heat by renting a small cabin for a couple months in the nearby Arizona mountains. However, the days we do happen to be in the desert on hot days, we have found to be very tolerable. You just do things in the mornings and late afternoons/early evenings. Afternoon is siesta time! The community we chose is a 55+ with tons of medical facilities, excellent hospitals, and many wonderful short and long-term care. Although our kids didn't stay in Michigan either, they don't live in our town. We don't plan to rely on them for care in later years. We have the facilities to do so right here.

 

Being from the Midwest also, we want out of the ice and snow, too --- right now it's all around us. We sometimes look into a smaller community but the medical facilities are minimal with locals often going an hour plus to a sizable city to get medical treatment. It is definitely a big consideration. Good for you that you could find everything you need in the place you chose.

Cathy (Catharine) Summerfield Hana

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We looked and thought about several areas. Seriously looked at the Asheville, NC area, but we could not find any area that fit both our wants and our budget.

The only consistent criteria were a university town, good climate, and affordable housing.

 

We decided to just wait until the time came. After seven winters in Tucson we decided that we liked this area as a place to land. Over the top real estate taxes in Illinois helped hurry us along in our decision. Hard to justify the cost of maintaining a home there when we are gone more than half the year.

 

We like Tucson for the people; the good restaurants; the university and it's attendant amenities; the climate; and the size. We already have friends in the area where we are building a house. No kids so that is not an issue.g

 

For the time being we plan on traveling in the summer instead of the winter.

We thought we were going to move to Tucson a few years back. Then my husband happened to go down there when it was much hotter than usual and he had no interest after that. Ironically, I went down within a few months of his visit, but in winter, and it was one of the coldest winters there ever, with snow. I like Tucson and plan to visit a few times but we are not moving there. Of course, many in those far south places always leave in summer but the mountains are not far.

Cathy (Catharine) Summerfield Hana

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Our only child is a truck driver so there's no "where" to settle near her. Dave wanted to go back to familiar places and his model railroad community so we are back in Minnesota, now in an apartment about 1/2 mile from our last house so we don't need GPS to get us to shopping/eating places. Within an hour's drive he also has a sister and a nephew who would help us if it comes to that. (Sister with medical/financial setups and nephew with computer stuff like the websites Dave hosts.) I still don't like winter so I hibernate six months of the year--it's the tradeoff I make to keep Dave happy. Sure glad to have you guys on here to keep me company. :)

 

Linda Sand

You didn't say where you hibernate. Maybe you move around. Good that you have that work.

Cathy (Catharine) Summerfield Hana

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We sometimes look into a smaller community but the medical facilities are minimal with locals often going an hour plus to a sizable city to get medical treatment. It is definitely a big consideration.

 

.....We thought we were going to move to Tucson a few years back. Then my husband happened to go down there when it was much hotter than usual and he had no interest after that.

Medical facilities was a factor in our choice as well. We are about 1/2 hour drive from 3 major teaching hospitals in Tyler, which is a city of about 100K people and is the major medical center for east TX.

 

Living in northeast TX, we can get pretty warm in the summer, but not nearly so hot as Yuma although humidity can be a problem some summers. We were never able to find anywhere that has good weather all year around, without heat or cold if we were to stay in the continental United States. Weather can be problematic at least at times in most places one can reasonably select. Like so much in life, most of us eventually find a compromise that we are able to live with.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I am adding to my potential list as I travel for when I am not on the road. I am hoping it will be 10 years or more since I just turned 60

So far

the CARE center in Livingston (and I hope there are more locations like this by the time I need it)

Port Townsend WA (Just put my name on the wait list for the Chimacum Coop Park near here)

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You didn't say where you hibernate. Maybe you move around. Good that you have that work.

I went south as a solo for a few winters after we moved into the apartment but I had to stay south for six whole months or winterize my rig. I missed Dave too much to stay away that long (we've been married almost 50 years) and the winterizing got old fast so I sold my snowbird rig and now hibernate through the winter in the apartment in Minnesota. I'm not much more active now even in the summer but I do go out when the weather isn't such a hazard for me.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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I have never heard anyone say that NE Texas has good weather all year long! Kirk

I would not say that, it is to hot and humid during the long long summer, mostly way to humid.

Then there is all of the bad winter weather there as well. I have yet to find one location in the US with

decent weather all year long, maybe HI?. I will dread the time when I have to stay in one place all year long.

Until then in will be up north in the summer and southern Florida in winter, below Palm Beach. Good Luck

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I have never heard anyone say that NE Texas has good weather all year long!

You are absolutely right and nowhere have I ever said that either, nor will I. In fact, if you read what I said in posts #3 and #11, I didn't give weather as a main reason for our choice of location, and that is because weather played only a small part in our choice, far down the list. If I were to choose based only on the weather, I'm not sure where I would choose but it would probably not be where we are now.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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We have only been on the road a little over 3 years and have really only covered the southern states from the west to east coast but IF we were to get off the road today we would probably go back to southern Oregon. Summers are not to hot and not much humidity and in southern Oregon around Grants Pass there is very little snow if any some winters. Tree's, close to mountains and the coast, good hospitals near by and friends.

We are however looking for 2 perfect places, 1st to be probably in Arizona to spend 3 or 4 months a year and then second (not now but in a few years) a place up north someplace in higher elevations to spend the summers but have no idea where that will be.

Dave & Diane

2020 New Horizon Majestic  5th wheel

2018 Ram 5500

2014 Tiffin Phaeton 42LH (SOLD)
2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited (SOLD)

http://daveanddiane.wordpress.com/

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We had lived in Grand Junction CO before I was recruited for a job in NH. We were there 18 years before I retired and we started full timing.

We ended up here in Palisade CO (abuts Grand Junction) after traveling all the country. It is in a high desert valley. Four seasons but 330 or so sunshiny days a year and an average of only 18 inches of snow per year.

Great medical community.

When we first started we didn't realize how important good medical care would be but as we aged that became a key element in our search.

Clay(WA5NMR), Lee(Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats)
Full timed for eleven years in our 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Snowbirds for 1 year. Now settled down in western CO.
Honda Accord toad.

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