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We lived in Sun City West out west of Phoenix for 14 years. It is a 55+ community of about 29000 residents. We had a one story townhouse, but there were different size houses, and some apartments. There were over 100 clubs and activity groups. There is a very large RV storage facility that is for residents only and very reasonably priced. The RV club had 400 members and was very active. Camping with your friends is fun.
We went down into Mexico and up into Canada on different trips, even back to Florida for a visit.
I would never buy a motorhome, we have found it easier to park a small trailer and go sightseeing, shopping, etc without having to disconnect electric, sewer and water and then put up something that indicates your space is taken.
At age 80 we chose to move back to Florida where we sold our trailer.
Isn't there a storage facility close by to store your RV to give you more options instead of either being forced to use it or forced to sell it?
I don't know where the OP and his wife presently live, but it is surprisingly difficult to find a space in an RV storage facility in Arizona. I have looked as far afield as Lake Havasu and Casa Grande. No luck. I've even considered buying a house in a development that has large RV garages and small homes attached to them. The prices are out of reason, though, and it's not exactly an area in which I want to spend a lot of time.
We went down into Mexico and up into Canada on different trips, even back to Florida for a visit.
A friend of a co-worker went through Mexico to Central America in a RV. I guess he made it OK because I didn't hear anything otherwise. I don't know how dangerous it is. Someone said to me "Stay away from the border cities and Mexico City and you will be fine".
I didn't read all the responses, but I can tell you I moved several times because I wasn't happy where I lived. It's very expensive to sell a home, move and buy a new one. It was an adventure and I'm glad I got to live in some nice places, but wish I had rented instead of buying houses. Moving was also very hard on my furniture. It's unique, good quality and I like it so I paid to move it, and even put it in storage a few times. A few bad movers damaged some of it. I got well compensated for it by their insurance company, but it could have been worse.
Moving also took a toll on me, it's mentally and physically stressful.
Exploring new places can be fun but it can also be a lot of work. I've done a lot of travelling in the US and Europe. It takes time to get your bearings and find things to do, place to go, where to eat etc.
Why can't you just get away and go on a road trip in your car/SUV for awhile, staying in motels along the way? It sounds like you are craving a change of scenery but that doesn't mean you have to do something drastic to get a change of scenery.
If you're in your sixties, my opinion is that you locked yourselves down way too early - I would totally ditch that boring, cookie-cutter "lifestyle" you've settled for (pre-grave warming activity) and HIT THE ROAD!!!!!!!!
Do it while you have your health. To many folks have dreams of traveling later in life and then get blindsided by an event - health issues or death of their intended traveling partner, or their own death - that prevent them from doing what they planned on "someday".
If something is unfulfilling or making you unhappy, change it. We only have one life and it is over much too soon.
If something is unfulfilling or making you unhappy, change it. We only have one life and it is over much too soon.
This should be everyone's thoughts, especially seniors who frequent retirement boards. OP you are clearly ot happy where you are so you should move. But I would never recommend full time RVing. Just too many stories of couples finding that it got old at some point. No I would always want a home base, i'm not willing to sell 90% of my possessions to spend my last years as a nomad. If nothing else try the RV thing for 6 months while retaining your current home.
Why can't you just get away and go on a road trip in your car/SUV for awhile, staying in motels along the way? It sounds like you are craving a change of scenery but that doesn't mean you have to do something drastic to get a change of scenery.
The strong disinclination to stay in hotels and/or motels of dubious cleanliness fueled the huge RV buying surge earlier this year.
You can't beat sleeping in your own bed and preparing meals in your own little kitchen. I'm looking forward to it in a few weeks myself.
No requirement to plan your life around the community's available activities or facilities. Is the place so isolated you can't go somewhere else nearby to find things you are more interested in? Do you even know what those things might be? Maybe that's part of the problem...not really realizing what intrigues you enough to spend time/effort on. Maybe what you find objectionable is the overly-designed nature of the place. Someone else's vision of what life after a certain age should offer. IMHO, there can be too much "planning" in planned developments, age-restricted or not. Every parking space to specification, defined by freshly painted white lines, every tree and shrub tidily pruned to someone else's ideal. Leaves nothing to chance. Too predictable, too managed, no spontaneity, which IMHO translates into "boring as heck with grounds maintenance".
As for RVing, I wouldn't buy an RV but I might plan trips to unexplored regions and rent one locally for a couple of weeks. No need to store or maintain it when it isn't being used. No long term commitment or needing to sell a depreciating liability later. The contrast between the two lifestyles might make all the difference. I'd know that when the RV life gets tiresome there's a familiar home base to go back to. Of course all it takes is money and prioritizing how it gets spent.
Last edited by Parnassia; 10-25-2020 at 12:57 PM..
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