Wintering in SW (fulltimer)

[Bracha]

I'm looking for somewhere to winter in the Southwest. I wintered in Las Vegas last year at the Oasis. Want somewhere just as nice but less expensive. I'm currently in Portland and will be leaving here September 30th. Any suggestions?

[Guest BillAdams]

I'm looking for somewhere to winter in the Southwest. I wintered in Las Vegas last year at the Oasis. Want somewhere just as nice but less expensive. I'm currently in Portland and will be leaving here September 30th. Any suggestions?

That will leave S. CA out of the question so you will be looking at AZ or somewhere with very low population in NV. The choices here are simply endless.

Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma (really cheap), Casa Grande, are the top destination in AZ. We will head back to LV and stay at Circus Circus as it was less expensive than Oasis and a much better location (but not as secure). YMMV

As to some out of the way NV locations you can take a look at Mesquite or similar small towns to see if you can find something you like.

Take a look at http://www.rvparkreviews.com and search some of the cities in the States you might be interested in staying.

[tbutler]

It's not exactly the southwest but the prices are right and you'll find a wide variety of facilities available. The Rio Grande Valley in Texas has parks from the coast inland to the Mission/McAllen area. The latitude is near that of southern Florida giving us a mild climate for most of the winter. The usual pattern is for cool temperatures in December and January and then warm temperatures return in February. During December and January we may have a day or two of temperatures at or below freezing. Of course weather is never really predictable. There have been wet winters, dry winters, windy winters, cold winters and warm winters. We've been wintering in the Rio Grande valley for 9 years and will return for our 10th this fall.

The RGV has world famous birding with many migratory birds and sub-tropical birds from Mexico. The same is true for butterflies. There are preserves for both throughout the valley. All areas have active parks with dance halls open to anyone in the valley. You can take dance lessons almost any day of the week. There are many great bicycle trails in the valley and in better times bicycle trips into Mexico were popular. Needless to say, the ventures into Mexico have been greatly curtailed lately. There are also quiet parks with few activities. You will find high-end parks with paved sites with storage sheds on your site. Some parks have tennis courts, volleyball courts, etc. Most parks have swimming pools and many have heated pools for year round use. There are also low end parks with unpaved roads and parking on grass. Most parks have as many activities as you wish. There are senior softball leagues, musical groups, hobby groups of all kinds and colleges and universities with classes, sporting and cultural performances. Finally, you will find malls with all the usual city shopping, most any chain eating establishment you want and some of the best Mexican restaurants to be found anywhere in the US. On the coast there are deluxe parks and state parks on South Padre Island and up the coast to Corpus Christi and beyond. Charter fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico originate from most ports along the coast.

There are numerous excellent golf courses throughout the valley. We play golf once a week with a group from our park. The rates for a round with half a cart average around $30 for the valley. You can find more expensive and less expensive courses. We also bowl in a league once a week.

The RGV is a longer drive from Portland but would be worth your consideration. It is a great place for full timers and snow birds who want to be south in the winter.