Talking in person to RV snowbirds...where do I find any

Hi readytogo94 -

check out this site for tips:

Link to frugal-rv-travel

I didnt mean talk to anyone here. I am in Wisconsin. I wondered if there are clubs where people get together. I would not ask to talk to a stranger.

We have never tried boondocking, but it sounds like fun (and less costly). I am curious about that and even the cheapest RV park...so many questions that you cant ask them all on a forum.

We rent now so our RV will be our home. We will live on mostly social security so we need all the frugality tips we can get. My husband and is a mechanic and beyond that there is little he can't fix so we are going to start looking for an old rig that runs and fix it up. He does this with cars. In the Air Force, he was an airplane mechanic. He was in the AF for ten years then quit but was honorably discharged.

As you can see, the questions are endless. Thats why I was hoping to find a gtoup. It doesnt matter if they are full or part time. We will be living in our rig full time. We will come back to Wisconsin in the summer to be near our kids, but we will still have to find a spot for our rig. At least, that us the plan a year in advance. plans can change, Im sure.
We are more interested into outdoor activities, hiking, fishing, enjoying birds and wildlife, maybe some target shooting, and I am very friendly and would enjoy finding people to chat with as well.

I guess we're snowbirds, 6 years full-timeing, we've never paid for a winter campsite down South. 4 years in Florida and 2 in Texas, volunteering. Sure everyone wants warm winter, but warm to one is hot or cold to another.
Of the 6 winters we stayed down south one was not nice but compared to Northern Illinois it was a winner.

You will want to check out www.volunteer.gov you don't want to wait till you expect to go. We're always 9 months to a year out in applying for volunteering positions and they are usually posted shortly after the season ends.
All of the federal agencies post openings but not all openings are posted.

For state parks go to there home page and look for "volunteer" or "get involved ".
Sometimes these are difficult to find but a search box or site index will also lead you to their volunteer page.
In Florida almost everyone wants to be in the warm southern part of the state so you want to look at the North half of the state. Our first winter was at Gold Head Branch state park between Gainesville and Jacksonville as camphosts. We did have several nights in the upper 20s in January but never needed more than a light jacket during the day.

Hope this helps with your planning. We don't mind in fact we enjoy volunteering and it stretchs the retirement income and keeps us active.

Start here:
Escapees.com

Very well known and respected RV club. Been around for eons. Join up and they have regional and local clubs complete with members phone numbers etc. They have CG rallies all over where you can meet and talk to RV'ers with similar interests as yours. And also is nice to have a destination trip every now and then to an RV club outing that you are a member with. :C

and contrary to belief they are NOT just a full-time RV club they welcome everyone!! :W

Call me anytime.

Ask away....we'll try to help!

There is also a snowbirding section on this forum so some of your answers might be there. I know there have been some long posts on what you do when you leave your house for a few months, etc., if that would be of interest to you.

As for places to go - some of the most frequented ones are Florida, Alabama, Texas, Arizona and California - the southern parts are the warmest. New Mexico is great but it's higher elevation even in the southern part so it's colder than say, Arizona, right next door. Personally, we like Arizona for the winters.

Tell us what kind of RVing you enjoy - private RV parks or public parks. Do you want bare bones or 'resorts'?

It would help if we knew where you are.
United States is kind of ambiguous.
But I am in the United States also so come on over for coffee tomorrow.

Moved from ATC

Ready,

There is no single clearing house for the information you want. Snowbirds (such as they are) typically (generalizations are typically in error) inhabit large Class A coaches and 5th wheel trailers.

I suggest you post some basic questions to those groups and hope you get to understand enough to ask meaningful questions.

Matt