Cheap way to be a snowbird and escape cold winters (55, beach)

[augiedogie]

Many places in Az have RV parks that rent cheap.So you buy a used RV in Tucson, or other city.Have it delivered to the park for a small fee. You have a winter home. Many parks will let you store it cheap. Now you have a winter home out of the snow.

Any other ideas?

[AlaskaErik]

How cheap do you want to go? You could always buy a tent and camp out on BLM land. Just be sure to move every 14 days.

[StealthRabbit]

For USA stays, BLM / 'disbursed' camping on a bicycle and in a tent would be very cheap.

many other options...
1) Friends with farms / ranches in S / SW USA (spare homes in winter, off season to harvest, or RV sites)
2) Summer camps with spare housing off season (you can barter fix-it chores for free room and board)
3) Very cheap RV (trailer, van, Class C can be had for $3000)
4) House boat on a BLM lake / Dam (My mom did this for 5 yrs... $2000 house boat)
5) Workamping for free site (I meet many in National Parks and National Forests doing this)
6) Living under a bridge (very popular option in USA)
7) Amazon Fulfillment center (with campground)
8) RV park 'platinum' membership (buy 2nd hand)

or... we go to southern hemisphere and volunteer in exchange for housing and food.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia...quite inexpensive to 'winter'.

Plenty of rural spots in Mexico and Central America. (Away from places USA and Canadians migrate.)

[marino760]

I guess it comes down to how desperately you want to get away from the snow. Personally, I wouldn't be desperate enough given the choices so far.

[luv4horses]

But you meet the nicest people wintering under bridges in the USA. Trolls, vagrants, poets, philosophers. Hmmm

[Cuzzant]

Did I wander into the Frugal Living forum?

[dnkw]

There’s a website called seniorhomeshares.com for seniors looking for a roommate. That might be an option for snowbirding as well.

I’ve talked about doing this with an old school friend in Atlanta. She would spend June, July, and August with me in Minnesota, and I’d spend December, January and February with her in Georgia. The other 6 months we’d get away from each other. I don’t think either of us has a place large enough to comfortably share for a 3-month period but it was an interesting plan to consider.

[Charlie&Rose]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

For USA stays, BLM / 'disbursed' camping on a bicycle and in a tent would be very cheap.

many other options...
1) Friends with farms / ranches in S / SW USA (spare homes in winter, off season to harvest, or RV sites)
2) Summer camps with spare housing off season (you can barter fix-it chores for free room and board)
3) Very cheap RV (trailer, van, Class C can be had for $3000)
4) House boat on a BLM lake / Dam (My mom did this for 5 yrs... $2000 house boat)
5) Workamping for free site (I meet many in National Parks and National Forests doing this)
6) Living under a bridge (very popular option in USA)
7) Amazon Fulfillment center (with campground)
8) RV park 'platinum' membership (buy 2nd hand)

or... we go to southern hemisphere and volunteer in exchange for housing and food.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia...quite inexpensive to 'winter'.

Plenty of rural spots in Mexico and Central America. (Away from places USA and Canadians migrate.)

All these ideas would be great.....if I were twenty.

[MrJones17]

Find a spot in a cheap upstate NY town that you enjoy in the summer. Many small towns will have affordable duplexes for sale. Sure, they may need some work, but if you buy properly, you can find one where the rent from one unit will take care of the majority of the monthly expenses. Keep it rented year round either yourself or through a property manager. Use the other unit to live in during summer. Towns to look into include Johnstown (close to Sacandaga Lake and Adirondacks), Amsterdam (fairly close to Saratoga Springs), Greenwich (if you like a more country setting with mountains nearby), Poughkeepsie (if you want to have transportation access to NYC), Plattsburgh (if you want to be closer to Burlington, VT and Canada).

As for the winter home, you could do the same thing, although quality duplexes in good neighborhoods typically are not cheap. If that's the case, just get a smaller single family home, townhome, or condo. The latter two if you don't want to worry about exterior maintenance.

[VTsnowbird]

We used to rent a 2 BR condo for 4.5 months, for $2500 (total), very close to the beach in Alabama. You have to do some looking and negotiating. Alabama's high season is summer, not winter.