Rv or condo for snowbirds?
This has to be a question that retirees have asked a hundred times in these forums.My wife and I retired last year, we are both 60.We have good health,good pension...life is good. But I cannot handle ...
Forum Discussion
If you absolutely love Cape Coral and it's the only place you want to spend the winter...get a condo (don't count on it saving much in the long run when you factor in taxes, hurricane insurance, maintenance and condo fees).
If you aren't absolutely wedded to Cape Coral I wouldn't buy...at least for the first few years. Pay a little premium to rent and have the option to move on if it gets old.
If you aren't set on a brand new RV, they really should be significantly less than a condo, so buying an RV doesn't lock you into the RV as your only option. We just picked up a 5er for $15k last year and the F250 we are pulling it with was $6...even if you bump that up a bit, for $30k you can get a rig that is in good shape and should be past the worst of depreciation so the risk shouldn't be much.
I see two really nice options if you want to bounce around. We use both depending:
- RV allows you to move around a lot or get a month stay (much cheaper site rents). If you are going to be in rural areas a lot, it's probably the better option. The last couple years we are mostly in the RV in the summer.
- If you want to include cities...including other countries, airbnb style apartment rentals are a great option. In you are in prime snowbird areas, do expect to pay a bit of a premium.
With every other month working overseas on a project, we've taken to spending a lot of time in Europe over the winter...and if you are staying long term, it's really not very expensive. Over the last couple winters we've spent a month in the following locations (colder cities are early or late when the weather is in the 60's for the most part):
- Rome
- Barcelona
- Budapest
- Prague
- Amsterdam (in 2 weeks)
- Athens (planned for next year at Christmas)
- Egypt (great fun and dirt cheap with driver and guide)
You can do similar with US cities.
If you aren't absolutely wedded to Cape Coral I wouldn't buy...at least for the first few years. Pay a little premium to rent and have the option to move on if it gets old.
If you aren't set on a brand new RV, they really should be significantly less than a condo, so buying an RV doesn't lock you into the RV as your only option. We just picked up a 5er for $15k last year and the F250 we are pulling it with was $6...even if you bump that up a bit, for $30k you can get a rig that is in good shape and should be past the worst of depreciation so the risk shouldn't be much.
I see two really nice options if you want to bounce around. We use both depending:
- RV allows you to move around a lot or get a month stay (much cheaper site rents). If you are going to be in rural areas a lot, it's probably the better option. The last couple years we are mostly in the RV in the summer.
- If you want to include cities...including other countries, airbnb style apartment rentals are a great option. In you are in prime snowbird areas, do expect to pay a bit of a premium.
With every other month working overseas on a project, we've taken to spending a lot of time in Europe over the winter...and if you are staying long term, it's really not very expensive. Over the last couple winters we've spent a month in the following locations (colder cities are early or late when the weather is in the 60's for the most part):
- Rome
- Barcelona
- Budapest
- Prague
- Amsterdam (in 2 weeks)
- Athens (planned for next year at Christmas)
- Egypt (great fun and dirt cheap with driver and guide)
You can do similar with US cities.
