Your winter destination

ventrman wrote:

jdb7566 wrote:
For those of you who live in the northern climates, we live just west of Minneapolis, what time of year do you usually begin your travel to your southern destination? I am retiring end of July, and if DW's doctoring goes well, we will head south, destination not yet decided, the first or second week in December for about 3 months. Thinking south Texas, Mississippi, or Alabama, or spending time in all three.
All comments welcome and appreciated.

We are heading to Mission, Texas which is in the very southern Tip of Texas In the Rio Grande Valley. We love it there.
We are planning to be there around the first of October.
We winter in Mission Bell RV Park. I highly recommend it.
We Pay for 6 Months, then we pay Storage for 6 Months.
They Charge $210 for 6 Months Storage. It is very reasonable.
There are all kinds of Activities and Concerts.
Most of the Performers are out of Branson. If you went to Branson, the Tickets would be around $30 per Person. Down at the RV Park in Mission, it is $10 or $15 per Person.
The People there are a great Group. Our Dogs got loose and the entire Park looked for them. I cannot say enough good things about the Park and the People there. The Managers are great Christian People.
Everyone is very welcoming.

We are planning South Texas, never been in Texas... have not picked a location yet.. but Mission Tx is the Plan.

We plan to depart N.E.Ohio the end of October... I am so SICK of snow.. and this will be our second time wintering over away from home... and the Coast of South Carolina was Very Chilly last year
Several people here have had very nice things to say about Mission Texas.

I wonder if ( WE ) could get a Group discount :). :)

I am a full timer so technically not a snow bird. Semantics. I use October as my travel month to meander south to my winter quarters in south Florida. I will spend time in Kentucky, Missouri and states south of those and pull into my site on 1 November.

I'm originally from Iowa and remember how changeable November can be. And the further you get into the month the more chance the weather can turn ugly. No need to do any winterizing which is good because I live in mine 24/7.

We leave the last week of November and head for Florida. Last year we stayed in Florida until March and then headed west on I10 to Navada. Enjoyed all the states and gave us some ideas for winters to come. It is all an adventure. Enjoy.

I head down in October, lead an RV caravan into Mexico for 2 months, spend Christmas in Az or California then back into Mexico leading another RV caravan for 3 months. When all is said & done i camp 6 months in the sun for free. Retirement is good. Well apart from the odd pain in the butt participant in my caravan.

We will arrive in Mesa, AZ the first week in October and leave usually by April 15th as it starts to get hot.

We're booked into Mesa AZ as of December 1st. That date is pretty normal for us. We travelled more and did multiple location winters when we started snowbirding 14 years ago.

We may just not go into the US this winter depending on things.

jdb7566 wrote:
For those of you who live in the northern climates, we live just west of Minneapolis, what time of year do you usually begin your travel to your southern destination? I am retiring end of July, and if DW's doctoring goes well, we will head south, destination not yet decided, the first or second week in December for about 3 months. Thinking south Texas, Mississippi, or Alabama, or spending time in all three.
All comments welcome and appreciated.

We are heading to Mission, Texas which is in the very southern Tip of Texas In the Rio Grande Valley. We love it there.
We are planning to be there around the first of October.
We winter in Mission Bell RV Park. I highly recommend it.
We Pay for 6 Months, then we pay Storage for 6 Months.
They Charge $210 for 6 Months Storage. It is very reasonable.
There are all kinds of Activities and Concerts.
Most of the Performers are out of Branson. If you went to Branson, the Tickets would be around $30 per Person. Down at the RV Park in Mission, it is $10 or $15 per Person.
The People there are a great Group. Our Dogs got loose and the entire Park looked for them. I cannot say enough good things about the Park and the People there. The Managers are great Christian People.
Everyone is very welcoming.

Arizona (Tucson or north of there) and the California deserts (Palm Springs and south) are good bets for warmth, but there are always exceptions to the rule, we hit snow (an inch or so) in Monahans west Texas in November one year and measurable snow in Tucson in March another year. Good news was that it only lasted a part day and it was back to "sunny days"!

Anywhere in the southern parts your planning on visiting will be warmer than Minnesota. Weather can vary from year to year and your choice one year because of last can be a mistake. We have spent the last 4 of the last 6 winters in Florida both north and south and 2 in the hill country of Texas. Of the 6 we have only had season of unpleasant weather in Texas.

Our plan for next winter is visit the DD in Tampa for the holidays and then just wander west along I10 to maybe California. We don't expect snow anywhere along the route but you never can tell. Years ago my mother got stuck in New Mexico with freezing rain/sleet.

jdb7566 wrote:
we will head south, destination not yet decided, the first or second week in December for about 3 months. Thinking south Texas, Mississippi, or Alabama, or spending time in all three..

For your first snowbirding trip trying out different areas is highly recommended. It would be a shame to be stuck somewhere and already paid for it when you find out it's really not for you.

For Mississippi and Alabama you'll want to stick around the Gulf coast for the warmest (definitely not real warm, but doable). For Texas the Hill Country will be colder in Dec/Jan than farther south. Rockport and Port Aransas are nice areas.

Have a great winter. You'll get hooked!

Next year try out southern Arizona or southern California. New Mexico can be very cold and windy.