Newly Retired

[Happy_Nana]

Hello All. My husband and I are recently retired and are looking to spend a couple of months down either in Arizona, Florida or California. We would like to drive down maybe in January without trailer to one of these areas. Looking for advice or recommendations firstly as newbies which state....secondly where can we find a rental for 30 days nearby. Thank you all in advance!

[toedtoes]

agesilaus wrote:

But you are right the OP was asking about Condo rental not politics so why did you bring it up?

You are the one who brought up politics:

agesilaus wrote:

Besides be extremely expensive CA is choked with rules, laws and regs. I'm not sure if most businesses are open. We avoid the place if possible.

Expensiveness is a legitimate consideration. But why would rules, laws and regulations (like the potential future banning of gasoline powered small engines - which is NOT even slightly guaranteed to happen) have any bearing on a 3-month visit?

And your comment about businesses not being open is nothing but political trash talk with absolutely no basis in reality.

[agesilaus]

CDC wrote:
Florida: 3.8%
New Daily Cases: 0
Tests per 100k: 335.4

California: 1.5%
New Daily Cases: 7450
Tests per 100k: 879.3

Arizona: 10.9%
New Daily Cases: 2495
Tests per 100k: 279.9

CDC Statistics Oct 22

Covid cases nationally are way down and going lower.

As for laws and regulations, which state is banning gas powered generators? Which state is slapping new regs on Class A RV's. Which state has legalized shop lifting and other crimes? Which state has regulated campgrounds out of existence? The list goes on and on and if you are trying to defend Cali on that basis you are taking a losing position.

But you are right the OP was asking about Condo rental not politics so why did you bring it up?

[wanderingaimles]

Nana, since this is intended as a research project, exploring areas somewhat, maybe take a bit of a roving approach, find a couple of monthly rentals one in Az, and another down in Texas.
I dont know how crowded it will be this winter, but check over 55 parks with permanent park models which can be rented, most years the owners use most of them in the winter, but with Coronacrud????? Many will stay north.
Extended stay motels are another alternative.

[FordDiesel250]

Just my reply I would try Florida or Texas. No dog in this fight just my two cents in this matter.

[2112]

Search Airbnb and vrbo. Or just google condos for rent in each state

[jetboater454]

I think It's Apartments.com that may have some rentals. Or maybe Airbnb. Good luck.

[Happy_Nana]

Thanks again for the comments. I am not looking for a condo to go to on a regular basis...only for this particular trip. We have never been down to the southern states and want to have a look at places we might be interested in to take our trailer the year after. Jan/Feb of 2022 is just a search trip....it would be the year after we would take our rv down. Thank you again!

[toedtoes]

As you are looking to rent a condo or apartment, I would suggest you look for advice elsewhere. This is an RV forum, and as such, posters will not be the most knowledgeable on availability, etc.

[toedtoes]

agesilaus wrote:

Florida would not be my choice because of the high rates of covid cases

This is political hogwash and you should ignore it. I'm not advocating for you to stay in Florida, it's just the state I know the most about. AZ is a good spot but has a more limited area to stay in because of the weather in the north higher altitude parts of the state.
Other possibilities are the Alabama coast, most years the Texas Rio Grande Valley, but the area is inundated by a million or so border jumpers right now. Maybe south New Mexico around Silver City is another.

And your comments about California weren't political hogwash???? And your comments about border jumpers isn't political hogwash?

The OP is looking to rent a condo for about 3 months - not domicile for 6 months or more...

[pianotuna]

agesilaus

Active cases rate is 2.4% in Florida.

Active cases rate is 0.8% in Arizona.

Active cases rate is 0.2% in Saskatchewan--and that is the WORST in Canada.

So IF I were going to choose which is safer, I'd pick Arizona.

I'm not going to either, at least for now.

[agesilaus]

Florida would not be my choice because of the high rates of covid cases

This is political hogwash and you should ignore it. I'm not advocating for you to stay in Florida, it's just the state I know the most about. AZ is a good spot but has a more limited area to stay in because of the weather in the north higher altitude parts of the state.
Other possibilities are the Alabama coast, most years the Texas Rio Grande Valley, but the area is inundated by a million or so border jumpers right now. Maybe south New Mexico around Silver City is another.

[MarkTwain]

Happy Nana wrote:
Hello All. My husband and I are recently retired and are looking to spend a couple of months down either in Arizona, Florida or California. We would like to drive down maybe in January without trailer to one of these areas. Looking for advice or recommendations firstly as newbies which state....secondly where can we find a rental for 30 days nearby. Thank you all in advance!

Florida would not be my choice because of the high rates of covid cases and deaths. I would choose Ariz. first and Calif. 2nd. In Ariz. there are many more RV parks that offer RV stays for months at a time. Calif. has fewer RV parks that offer long-term stays and are generally more expensive. Generally "snow Birders" make RV reservations for 3 to 4 months from Nov. to March which are the ideal weather conditions. Spring and summer is really hot weather. Generally the longer your stay in Ariz. the lower the rates. I would look for RV parks/resorts 15 to 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix
in towns like Surprise.
Generally, you have to make reservations a year in advance.
I would also consider Oregon for RV longer-term stays. But making reservations in advance is strongly suggested. The Oregon coast is beautiful but tends to be very busy in the summer months.

[agesilaus]

Not for Condos, we are full timers and just haven't rented any.
As for areas FL is packed with condos, mostly on the coasts. The farther south you go the more expensive they get with the peak down in the Keys. Especially in January which is right in the middle of 'the season' which runs from Thanksgiving to April depending on the weather up north.
We have stayed in AZ around Benson last winter but don't know much about condos. For winter I'd guess you'll find them around Tucson and maybe Phoenix.


Besides be extremely expensive CA is choked with rules, laws and regs. I'm not sure if most businesses are open. We avoid the place if possible.

[Happy_Nana]

Thank you for the reply! This trip we are looking to rent a condo for the month we are there, not a rv. We want to go where we think we are most interested in and drive to places to see what we like. We hear California is more expensive. Any personal recommendations in Florida or Arizona?

[agesilaus]

California will be very expensive. FL and AZ less so and they are welcoming to snowbirds with many campgrounds targeteted at these camper. Az parks are mainly south of Phoenix. Fl has parks state wide but below Orlando they get a LOT more expensive especially close to either shore.
You may have a difficult time finding spots in January as you will be late to the game.
Florida is one of the three preferred domicile states since it has no income tax, TX and SD are the others.
I know nothing about renting RV's.