Winter Texan numbers dropping in the Valley

[pawatt]

From the McAllen Monitor newspaper:
Click the link below.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/winter-texan-numbers-dropping-in-the-valley/article_17c72758-22...

[Luke_Porter]

joebedford wrote:

DW and I pay over $1000 for health insurance for the 4 months of the year we're in USA and we're both in very good health.

So, that's about $125 a month each.

[joebedford]

John&Joey wrote:
Another thing I thought was interesting was the owner saying that Canadians continue to become a larger percentage of their business year after year. My guess is not having to pay for health care allows them the luxury to retire early and well vs USA.

You're joking, right? No we don't explicitly pay for health care but our overall rate of taxation is much higher in Canada then USA.

DW and I pay over $1000 for health insurance for the 4 months of the year we're in USA and we're both in very good health.

[dcason]

PENSIONS! Hubby and I are late 50's and are semiretired. We have no pension and most of our friends do not either...so if we hadn't been frugal and saved, we wouldn't be able to do what we do now. And our children...luckily two have pensions (fed/state government) but we have drilled into them that if you want to have fun in you retirement you had better save now because otherwise you aren't going very far.

Travel is a priority for us:B

[GrampaKoot]

We are at the "70+" point now also. Not ready to give up our snowbird escape so will start going only alternate years when we need to.

[TomG2]

The funny thing is that though there may be fewer of us returning, some are heading south earlier than ever. Several in our park are already there for the season. Not sure why, unless they are tired of traveling elsewhere. It is over one hundred degrees for goodness sake.

[daily_double]

That is a decision we all have to make at some point. I wish we didn't but........ Best of luck to you!

[her_I]

We are Canadians living on a fixed income on St. Joseph Island, Ontario. We own a small park model in the RGV and unfortunately we feel that the time has come where we will not be able to travel to the south anymore. As has been mentioned by other posters our Provincial Government health insurance only covers any medical issues up to the approved amount that is paid at home which in most cases is only a fraction of the same cost in the U.S. This means that it is essential that we take out additional emergency travel insurance to guard against unexpected events. Unfortunately the premiums for this insurance are based on pre-existing,current conditions and age. After 70 years of age it goes up every year. I am 71 with a past minor heart condition and my wife is 70 with high cholesterol and blood pressure.
We have totally loved our time in San Benito but with the rising rate of lot rentals, travel and the aforementioned insurance premiums combined with the fact that the cost of living has eroded our actual fixed earned income the time has come to make a very sad decision.

[John___Angela]

qtla9111 wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Not going to wade into the fray but just a correction. Canadian health care covers a Canadian anywhere in the world but only up to the amount that the procedure would cost in Canada. As the cost of procedures in the US is higher than Canada many Canadians choose to purchase supplemental insurance to cover the difference. However for those that travel to other country's with comparable procedural and hospitalization costs there is no need to purchase supplemental insurance or if they do it is considerably cheaper as long as the individual doesn't enter the US. An example would be a Canadian snowbirding in Spain. If they have a massive heart attack and need a bypass the cost is roughly the same as Canada's. The Canadian would pay the bill and submit it to their provincial health care provider. A bypass operation and 19 day hospital stay in Spain is about 9200 dollars. We have been in this situation (not the heart attack thing, something much simpler).

We were surprised at the amount of younger (late fifties) Canadian snowbirds in southern Spain. Comparable weather to SoCal and a very nice country and culture. We have plans of snowbirding in the US on our property in Palm Springs until we are fully retired at 60. ( We still work 5 months of the year. ) At that point we will probably sell our property there and explore other non English speaking destinations. I don't expect we will be buying supplemental insurance then. Nothing against english speaking societies. My hobbies are language and history and the cultural diversity that comes with that.

John, I didn't know that. It would be interesting to see a list of destinations that are frequented by snowbirds other than the southern U.S. and Mexico. I know many people go to Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.

Also, why is the Canadian insurance not accepted in the U.S.?

Good morning Chris. It's not accepted because really it's not insurance. It's just a one payer health care system that pays to medical providers but only at a pre prescribed Canadian rate. Eg. If someone has a heart operation in Canada and it costs 10,000 dollars it is paid to the provider in Canada at that prescribed date. If the same procedure is 80,000 in the US it wouldn't be fair to have the Canadian tax payers pay for that operation for the traveller. It is up to the traveller to make up the difference on his own or buy supplemental insurance to cover the difference. I don't like getting into the "my system is better than their system" debate. Just explaining the mechanism of the system.

We enjoy our time at our place in the US. We pay our taxes and try to contribute to society there. We live in a Latino area which we like. It is close enough to home to drive to in a few days and overall we like the American people. But once we are fully retired we will choose alternative long term winter destinations including some of the places you mentioned and of course nuestro querido México. So many interesting and nice places out there. Life's too short to live it all in one place. :).

[TomG2]

Rockport must be gaining at the expense of the RGV where the fear of being close to the Mexican border outweighs it advantages. (The National weather service shows average highs to be five to nine degrees warmer in the Valley for Jan and Feb for instance)

[LynnandCarol]

Well this is certainly not the case further north in Rockport, TX! Most CG's are filling up fast with reservations and several are already booked for the winter with waiting lists. This has been happening the last few years. We decided to leave our TT on our site in order to keep it. We came down earlier this year to enjoy some HOT and we have not been disappointed there...lol Rockport is becoming more and more popular. And there is not allot of workers here either.

[qtla9111]

Regarding the article in the Monitor, last fall when staying in the RGV, we noticed more people renting or buying mobile homes and park models. Some of them, including park managers say that as people are aging and the increase in gas prices, it's cheaper and easier to just fly down.

Surprising because at Casa del Valle they brought in about four double wides and eight park models. They had no problems selling or renting before the season got started.

Maybe this is the new trend. We like RGV because I work there occasionally, we have made some good friends, and it is close to our home in Mexico.

[qtla9111]

John & Angela wrote:
Not going to wade into the fray but just a correction. Canadian health care covers a Canadian anywhere in the world but only up to the amount that the procedure would cost in Canada. As the cost of procedures in the US is higher than Canada many Canadians choose to purchase supplemental insurance to cover the difference. However for those that travel to other country's with comparable procedural and hospitalization costs there is no need to purchase supplemental insurance or if they do it is considerably cheaper as long as the individual doesn't enter the US. An example would be a Canadian snowbirding in Spain. If they have a massive heart attack and need a bypass the cost is roughly the same as Canada's. The Canadian would pay the bill and submit it to their provincial health care provider. A bypass operation and 19 day hospital stay in Spain is about 9200 dollars. We have been in this situation (not the heart attack thing, something much simpler).

We were surprised at the amount of younger (late fifties) Canadian snowbirds in southern Spain. Comparable weather to SoCal and a very nice country and culture. We have plans of snowbirding in the US on our property in Palm Springs until we are fully retired at 60. ( We still work 5 months of the year. ) At that point we will probably sell our property there and explore other non English speaking destinations. I don't expect we will be buying supplemental insurance then. Nothing against english speaking societies. My hobbies are language and history and the cultural diversity that comes with that.

John, I didn't know that. It would be interesting to see a list of destinations that are frequented by snowbirds other than the southern U.S. and Mexico. I know many people go to Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.

Also, why is the Canadian insurance not accepted in the U.S.?

[John_Joey]

It is nothing for a US citizen under the age of 65 to pay $800/month/single $1,200/month/family for health care coverage. That makes retiring early pretty difficult for most. Spending $14,000 a year for something you hope you never need to use keeps a lot of people working till 65.

I also hate to say it, but many that are 65 and over act like they have one foot in the grave. Snowbirding takes effort and a willingness to explore. Not all are young in heart and mind.

On edit:

I always thought that my aunts and uncles that snowbird were young in heart and mind due to being south in a warm climate (much easier on the body) vs battling the cold and harshness of winter up north. Just occurred to me that maybe I had it backwards. They snow birded because they were young in heart and mind to start with. Like I said it takes real effort to pack up everything, jump into a RV, drive cross country into parts unknown, meet people from all over the place with different view points, and then settle into a spot like you lived there your whole life.

[pyoung47]

I'm not sure where the venomous "red cent" comments come from. I found it very economical to winter in the RGV at least. Most of the snowbirders probably did their share of red cent squeezing themselves.

[John___Angela]

Not going to wade into the fray but just a correction. Canadian health care covers a Canadian anywhere in the world but only up to the amount that the procedure would cost in Canada. As the cost of procedures in the US is higher than Canada many Canadians choose to purchase supplemental insurance to cover the difference. However for those that travel to other country's with comparable procedural and hospitalization costs there is no need to purchase supplemental insurance or if they do it is considerably cheaper as long as the individual doesn't enter the US. An example would be a Canadian snowbirding in Spain. If they have a massive heart attack and need a bypass the cost is roughly the same as Canada's. The Canadian would pay the bill and submit it to their provincial health care provider. A bypass operation and 19 day hospital stay in Spain is about 9200 dollars. We have been in this situation (not the heart attack thing, something much simpler).

We were surprised at the amount of younger (late fifties) Canadian snowbirds in southern Spain. Comparable weather to SoCal and a very nice country and culture. We have plans of snowbirding in the US on our property in Palm Springs until we are fully retired at 60. ( We still work 5 months of the year. ) At that point we will probably sell our property there and explore other non English speaking destinations. I don't expect we will be buying supplemental insurance then. Nothing against english speaking societies. My hobbies are language and history and the cultural diversity that comes with that.