Looking to move back and be a snowbird.

I know just plain stupid but we are talking about selling the 4 bedroom ranch on 3 acres and buying a condo here in WI. We are also looking at condos in Vegas to be snowbirds for Jan-mid April.

I know, we didn't learn our lesson the last time, but winter, snow & cold are really wearing on me. I can skip Vegas in summer, but winter is nice.

Let the "how stupid are you" comments begin.

 

Won't get into "stupid" comments.....but have you remembered what you did not like the first time out? How have things changed...either you or the location?

 

Not stupid, winter in the upper Midwest is really getting to me (and most everyone I know who has to drive in it, shovel/snowblow) this year. It just feels like it's not going to end.

If I was closer to retirement, I would definitely be looking at the snowbird option. Good luck!

 

makes sense, but maybe if you got a place outside the city a bit like Lake Las Vegas, you would be close enough to gamble occasionally, but not too close to make it an every day temptation.

 

We do remember and think for maybe 3-4 months it might work just fine if we can find a place that accepts a ~45# dog. It's also been 3 winters since we moved back and I'm just tired of it. Too much snow and cold.

Living there 12 months of the year was just too much but I think 3-4 months might be great. Previous experience taught us a lot on what not to do this time around.

btw, gambling was not one of our issues. We enjoyed it and actually were ahead the time we lived there. However, I would still cut down on casino time this time around. And no fricking buffets, even if they are free.

 

Yes, I'd say there is a big difference between lving there for 3-4 months a year vs. 12. I can certainly understand why. Minnesota winters get harder to take - every year.

 

We did have some friends living in Lake Las Vegas, but that was just too far from civilization. Gambling really wasn't an issue. Just reflecting back, we would do things differently.
Nothing firm, we are just looking at options right now. I am fed up with WI winters and also the income and property taxes. We're retired and those two combined are over $9,000.

And tomorrow, if it stops snowing and warms all the way uo to 40 degrees, I might just change my mind again.

But, I've contacted a Realtor here and one we used in Vegas last time.

 

Ha! Nevada would love to have you back, even on a part-time basis!!!!

 

This is funny to me because my husband and I joke that if we win powerball, we have to get a place in WI

I agree that if you can list the reasons you left Vegas and how those problems are not a factor now (because your time there is shorter or whatever else) then it should be fine. You already know the pros & cons because you've done it.

Seeing my in-laws move around (and buy & sell) multiple houses in various locations and never know where their stuff is makes me insane, so I don't want to do that. But who knows - I guess ask me again in 25 years:evillaugh

 

I am not proud of this but in 31 years we have bought and sold 11 houses. We lived in 10 of them. One of them was a rehab and flip in 14 months. We are so good, well my wife is, at packing it's scary.
We moved into this house two years ago and I kept all the moving boxes. I just had a hunch.

 

Hey, Joe, little tip here: There's more to the U.S. than just Wisconsin and Vegas.

 

Yea but.....CA high income taxes and even higher prop taxes.
TX more heat and humidity
FL, just forget that one
AZ too damn hot

I'm very comfortable in Vegas and know directions and most of the roads, even if my Garmin doesn't I know most of the off strip places and where to find good food. Why start over?

 

I agree......Vegas is GREAT to VISIT....but too brown/bland to live there....I need GREEN grass....TREES...etc to be happy......If I had to choose between Wisconsin or Vegas it would be Wisconsin HANDS DOWN.

You just need a cheap place for Jan/Feb/March to get away from the snow...come April winter is over....don't be a fool and sell the ranch.....you'll hate yourself later.

 

Do what my parents did before moving to Florida. RENT the first year, or maybe even two years. Then decide.

NOBODY here can answer what will work for you, especially me.

 

You are definitely not stupid, but you are suffering from what I call Winter Sucks syndrome. I have it too, and I swear this is the last winter I want to spend in new Hampshire. You have the advantage of having tried Vegas so you know how to do it right this time!

Here's my situation. I am retired, the baby graduates from a TX college in May and DH is now working from home and he can work anywhere in the country. So, we are free to live wherever we want. The problem is, we just can't decide where we want to go!!

Florida - don't like most of the state except maybe the southwest coast, but so far I haven't seen anyplace I want to settle. No state income tax.

Hilton Head - In a heartbeat if it wasn't so ridiculously expensive.

Texas - maybe if the boy stays there after graduation. No state income tax.

Virginia - meh
NC - meh
Arizona - nope

Nevada - could happen. It makes me happy. No state tax. DH doesn't gamble, though.

I don't know. Sometimes having the option to actually make a change is harder than having no option at all!

 

Spoken by someone who doesn't live in WI and our fricking winter doesn't end in April. Some years I am still wearing a sweatshirt in June if I am near Lake Michigan.

I am not going to disagree that this is a knee jerk reaction to the winter we have had, but the older I get (61 this year) the colder the cold seems and the heavier the 8hp snowthrower seems to get.

This is from 2011 and yes, last year was a milder one but this is a lot like 2012/13 looked like. I just didn't take pictures.

No grilling going on here!



Ken2V shush!

 

Lots of snowbirds here.

Me,no way,I'm not paying off some other guys taxes and mortgage. Have an indoor pool and jacuzzi right up the street and a nice bar. AC 45 min. away ,some flakes coming down now ,but not even sticking so why would I spend a fortune in Florida?

 

It's not the winters that get us down, it's the long, long wait for spring to bring decent weather. And, this year has been exceeding brutal for those of us in northern Illinois.

 

At least you're not a northern Illinois native who had the bright idea to accept a job transfer to....Minneapolis. Winters in IL are bad, but in Minnesota they are downright depressing.