Anyone do a reverse snowbird; South to North? (beach, weather, states)

[earthlyfather]

Anyone go from South to North every summer? We are about three years away from retirement. We recently started looking around for one to two month rentals, vrbodotcom as an example, and frankly got sticker shock. Figured there had to be a better way.

If you 'escape' the South's summer heat and humidity, to the upper Midwest or New England, we'd love to hear how you found both the town/location and every summer place (rental) to call home. Maybe you live in a mild summer weather spot and go South in the winter to escape the winters. If so, tell us about your summer weather mecca, your home area.

We are wide open at this point. So, let the suggestions fly.

Thanks.

[KiwiKate]

I do Henderson, NV for the fall/winter/spring, and Wisconsin Dells, WI in the summer. I'm sure you could find short term rentals on the Wisconsin River or Lake Delton in WI for the summer.

[no kudzu]

We used to own a beautiful condo at St. Simons Island, Georgia. Every year for 11 years we had the same New York family rent it from January thru March. Lots of great golf courses, good weather, not too crowded, beautiful beach.

We later found out they actually claimed to be the owners!. Only wish they had taken the kick in the gut when we sold it in 2008 right before a $17,000 accessment was made for new windows. Will I ever buy a rental/vacation condo again? ummmm don't think so.

[motordavid]

We don't rent, but live in the Mtns of far western NC...
imo, if you really want to escape "summer heat", one has to get some considerable
elevation under them, as in a min of 3500 ft; 4,000 to 5,000 ft elevation is even
better. Lots of great places in "northern" states, but at sea level or just slightly above,
you can bump into weeks of hot weather almost anywhere.

Western NC, the mtns of New England, any state with the Rockies in them, etc.,
would be my picks if I am trying to get to a moderate, refreshing clime to spend
a couple three months.

Not in the rental biz, but there are rentals here in our area, Waynesville, NC, et al.
GL, mD

[Joli]

Once I retire, I plan to spend summers in northeast Ohio on the Lake Erie shore.

Try looking for summer cottage rentals in Geneva-on-the Lake, Madison, North Kingsville, or Conneaut, Ohio.

Conneaut has a wonderful beach area on Lake Erie. Lot of fishing, covered bridges and many wineries in the area. Just a short drive to Erie, PA for more shopping or Cleveland, OH.

[Ellwood]

We live in upstate NY but have an RV which we use to travel south for a month in the winter. We also travel in the summer and have found quite a few fellow RVers who live in FL and have an RV which they travel north in the summer. They spend a month in Maine, another month in Nova Scotia, another month in upstate NY, etc.

We also met a retired couple who have rented their house out completed in FL and live full time in the RV.

We decided to buy an RV instead of a 2nd home because we didn't want to be tied to one place and have to deal with maintaining two homes.

[earthlyfather]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. We've talked very generally about the RV thing, but I'm not much into mechanical maintenance so, I am somewhat concerned about the cost of maintaining a RV or fifth wheel. But, I have not done any 'real' research into the subject of maintnenance. Just, a general uneasiness. Is there some rule of thumb figure that could be used for upkeep? That is, maintnenance, repairs and insurance.

[Zarathu]

I retire in 143 work days from now. We currently live in south central PA, but 3.5 years ago we bought a house in Bar Harbor, Maine. Actually the temperatures there are pretty much like a property we used to own in western PA. We hate the hot humid summers in PA, and have no problem with a winter that turns out to only be about 6-10 degrees cooler overall than PA year round.

[marmac]

I know a couple who live 6 months on a lake in MN in one of those permanent campers that resemble a mobile home ( can't think of the term)

They spend another 6 months in an identical one in FLA in the winter.

They own the 2 ( said investment wasn't that high) and pay a lot rent each place.

I thought it would be expensive, but they got good deals on the lot rents.

They claim it is much cheaper than owning one house and the big savings is in real estate taxes.

I plan to look into that as I might like a 6mos/6mos
( probably not as far south as Florida. Just far enough to avoid Minnesota winters )

[eric#1]

Black Hills of SD in the higher elevations - few bugs, low humidity, cool temps, not much wind, most people don't need AC. A touch pricey, for some, others think it's quite reasonable around here, especially when considering scenery, quality of living and things to do.