Nedd some opinions from Florida Snowbirds/Snowflakes

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Bobandpamlemay

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Apr 26, 2009
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Schaumburg, Illinois
Unfortunately, because of recent knee surgery, my wife and I decided to not go to Ocala Florida. We're currently encased in snow and ice in the Chicago area and slowly getting cabin fever. Because I'm not sure how my knee will progress, I'm looking at options other than bringing the 5er down every year. One of my thoughts was to find a nice over 55 RV park with some amusements for older folks that has annual rental or possibly sites for sale at a reasonable price. We like many areas of Florida and would plan on being there January through April. 

Any recommendations from you seasoned Snowbirds????

Bob
 
I am living in an all age park in central Florida and the space rent is $320 per month plus electricity. I love it here. There are literally hundreds of RV parks in Florida so you should have no trouble finding one.

PS I was born in Elgin.
 
We are looking at purchasing a lot in Florida - different reasons, but same idea!  We live in west Michigan, but only one is retired!  Our thoughts were if we purchased a lot we could take the RV down around Thanksgiving and leave it there - visiting as, and when, we need/want until spring.  For us, proximity to MCO is important - it is the only FL airport with "reliable" non-stop service from Grand Rapids.  That has narrowed the search a bit, but we are looking at Citrus Valley - and plan to take a look when we are in the area next month.

Eventually, we will become snowbirds, so that also factors in to the purchase/rent issue.  However, we figured if we use if for 10 years, and sell it for what we paid for it, it has been pretty cheap and useful over that time compared to renting.

YMMV!
 
Personally I would not buy a lot in Florida, I would rent one. If you buy one then a hurricane could completely ruin the whole thing. If you rent you could move in a heartbeat.
 
In my Florida neighborhood you can sometimes buy a lot with a house on it for what many RV resorts charge for a lot. The house is likely to be a single or doublewide trailer. One down the block from me was for sale at $39,995 last month.
 
There seems to be quite a few parks in FL that offer off season storage for RV that only get used during the winter season. That may be a better option than buying if the storage rate is reasonable.
 
Have you looked at Sun-N-Fun in Sarasota, FL? We spent a couple of months there last year and loved it! They have so much there, it's hard to list it all. You can take a look at their site and if you want you can read about our experience there on our blog.

It seems to mostly be 55+, but children are there sometimes on weekends and especially over Christmas.
The people there are so friendly. Made some great friends. Would have gone back this year, but it's pricy and we've recently put a lot into a recent remodel in our rig.

Lord willing, we'll definitely be going back some time.

Link to their site: http://www.sunnfunfl.com

Link to our blog post on Sun-N-Fun: http://countyroadj.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html

Another one we liked is Siesta Bay RV Resort. I didn't like the park as much as Sun-N-Fun, but really liked the area, it being next to Sanibel Island. Beautiful and lots to do around the area.
Siesta Bay link: http://www.sunrvresorts.com/Community/SIE

Have fun in your search!

-Roni
 
East of Ocala & Silver Springs:
Wilderness RV Park sells lots and is quite a nice park, but it isn't inexpensive (you didn't say what a "reasonable" price was).

There are seasonal sites at Ben's Hitching Post on SR 40 east of Ocala. It's a small park and very much its own community.

Salt Springs has a large campground with deeded or seasonal sites, but that's quite a way out from Ocala area.

You may find a better deal on a Resale rather than buying form the campground. See http://www.rvparkstore.com/rv-lots-for-sale/florida/silver-springs
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. Gives me things to think about while I'm working on getting my leg better. While I like Ocala, although I never had a chance to meet Gary, it's been pretty cool there this year and as I recall, it was cool last year. DW would like something a bit warmer as we escape Chicago winters. We're even looking a buying a small house if we can find one reasonable ( still a mystery amount).

Bob
 
To Bob and Pam

We rent don't own, our choice. We stay at Outdoor Resorts in Clermont ( so they say) but we are in Hwy 192 about 8 miles from Disney, a 30 min drive from ORL ARPT.  Plenty to do, but I will say it gets crowded.  There are lots ( just cement pads) for sale, and lots with double wides on them. 

This park was the overflow for Disney hen they opened Fort Wilderness.  10 min from Celebration, Disney, campers World, and many stores.

This is just one of many places.  It is a gated community like many others. 

Florida is a smorgasbord of RV parks.

Every site has 50 Amp, and water and sewer.

Jim

One more year thn we try Arizona for the winter.
 
Thanks for the response Tin Man. Where in Arizona are you heading? We've been in a few places in Arizona, and while we like Arizona, the drive was a bit much for me. We've been to WestWind in Yuma and didn't like Yuma. We've also been to Fiesta Grande in Casa Grande. While we liked the park, it was our first year of being a snowbird and we didn't get there until February so we didn't join in anything because we didn't want to barge in on organized groups. Our favorite park was Voyager, in Tucson. We like the area and things to do there. The park will cost more than $600 a month but it's really nice with lots of nicities like a restaurant, health facility, barber/beauty shop grocery store and a nice pool area.

Bob
 
Have not decided yet, but we plan to go out in two years. No idea but I knowill get great advise from the members online. 
We plan to leave the MH and car out there in storage till June, than fly back and spend a few months traveling the west coast.

That our plan.

This summer ALASKA.
 
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