Has timeshare vacation led to you moving to a resort destination?

[x3 skier]

It was the other way around for me.

The day after retiring, I moved to Steamboat Springs to become a ski bum. There I found out about timeshares and eventually bought two different timeshares that allowed me to live there 12 weeks in ski season. This led to another 1/4 share in the Steamboat Grand for the amenities and RCI Trading. Then I bought a week at the Allen House in London, now gone and a week in the Raintree system, soon to expire.

I also sold one of the 12 week units but still spend the winter skiing. I’d move there full time but the kids and grandkids are back “home” where I’ll be when I’m old and decrepit.

Cheers

 

[rapmarks]

We were looking all over Florida and at this point staying in Ocala. It was cold. We had a reunion in punta Gorda and did two nights bonus time on fort Myers beach. We thought the weather was fantastic and came back to look around, eventually finding a home in Estero in a resort community

 

[rapmarks]

Yes Tan-Tar-A was the other nice resort. We were just past the Lodge of the Four Seasons. Fours Seasons built our condo. It was past the Treetops.

We owned two weeks at Lakewood in Osage beach for over twenty years, know the area well

 

[Glynda]

I love hiking, so summer is my least favorite. I love seeing snow on the red rocks in winter, flowers in spring, and the color of fall! But, ANYtime I can share the joy of hiking in Sedona with my grands is priceless!

View attachment 15686

Beautiful! Grandmother myself.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

Mild climate for us, we want no part of snow or cold to live in. We've been in the San Diego area for over 30 years and have family here. That being said, we also love the desert and frequently TS there. If we didn't love San Diego so much, we could easily live in the desert.

 

[Glynda]

Glynda I hope you are okay and not flooded. I cant believe this heavy rain...and it's from a spinning system over Florida's gulf!

We’ve had a lot of rain that should end today. Lots of streets closed due to flooding. The winds last night were wicked. But we are fine. So far, we’ve never flooded. Thanks for thinking of us!

 

[silentg]

Thank you Jim for the offer. I may not hook up in January as I am staying home because my dad has end stage cancer. However, I will PM you when I resume my regular pilgrimage again.


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Sending our best regards for your Dad.

 

[OldGuy]

Both of our houses are in places we used to timeshare to.

 

[Snazzylass]

Wow. I like Sedona but I don't think I can live there full time. My worry is always about medical care and having medical facilities that are equipped for major medical issues. I haven't researched but Sedona seems a bit remote from major medical facilities.

Naw, not sure if PamMO is planning to buy in Sedona proper, but just west, Cottonwood has all Medical. Not sure how long it's been since you've visited, but the area has exploded

 

[Deb & Bill]

We started going to Disney World about 22 years ago when our son was four. We decided to add beach time about 10-12 years ago and found Marco Island. We enjoyed that beach trip so much we added days to our Disney trips to head to Marco. We bought two weeks (a year apart) at the Charter Club about six years ago and moved here two years ago, six weeks before Irma hit. We had very little damage to our new home (we bought a house inland on the island, about 1.7 miles from the beach), replaced the roof, replaced the pool cage, replaced the AC unit all with insurance and we are happy here. We just found out my brother and his wife are packing up in Houston in six months or so and moving to Pinellas County. They plan to rent for a while before buying.

We had never been here during "the season" before moving here, so that was something we didn't expect. Population goes from about 15K to 45K and all the condos on the beach open up their storm shutters. We've found physicians that we like (and that we needed that we didn't need before).

We've since sold both of our weeks at Charter Club, but still have our DVC points. We can make nice little three or four night trips multiple times during the year to WDW. And we get to take advantage of Florida resident tickets now.

 

[Steve A]

We moved to Hilton Head. We owned two weeks at the Marriott Barony and vacationed there often when we lived in Northern Virginia. Moved to the Island in 2014 after having lived in wonderful, but very cold, Madison WI. Living in Port Royal Planation a five minute walk to the ocean and around the corner from the Barony. As local owners we can use the facilities there as often as we want. Over there to the workout space five days a week.

 

[lprstn]

This happened to us. We started vacationing in Hawaii every other year using our timeshare weeks. Started a mindset of doing yearly mini-retirement vacations of spending 1 month in one place. Eventually, we got the idea to work where you want to retire, and transferred our jobs to Hawaii and have been here for quite some time. We still timeshare and go to other places, but where we live is like vacation since we have everything we love right here to enjoy after work, on the weekends or during homestay vacations.

 

[lprstn]

Wait! You have 2 condos now?! How Awesome!

There is nothing not to like about Hawaii (except maybe the distance from the mainland- especially the east coast). Plus it is green and it has mountains! One thing I like is that when you are there you know you are in the USA and you feel at home. Ever since visiting Hawaii I have not been interested in going to the Caribbean at all. Just can't compare.

Well with living here there is A LOT NOT TO LIKE about living here. The cost of living is out of this world - NY City level expensive. Food, electric, water and sub-par infrastructure, medical care is lacking since they can't keep doctors here. We live here now, but when we get older may have to make different decisions. Every place has good and bad. Vacationing is one thing, living someplace and having to work, eat, and pay bills there, build a tribe of friends is something different.

 

[Bailey#1]

Time sharing taught me that I don't want a second home. I would be happy staying in the boondocks of Vermont and time sharing for 6-7 weeks a year in our retirement.

 

[JeffW]

...Vacationing is one thing, living someplace and having to work, eat, and pay bills there... is something different.

My thoughts exactly. Hawaii and Key West are two of my favorite vacation locations (and probably most frequent). But everytime I go there, I wonder how people can afford to live there. I'm in IT, and remote work is more common now. But without that, I'm not sure either place either place would support a job for me.

But for a week (longer in HI!) vacation, they are great!

Jeff

 

[Sugarcubesea]

We've found those things to be a major consideration. Before moving to Florida we lived in smaller towns and cities and were never closer than 1-2 hours drive from a big city. We really like living as close as we do now to a big city much more than we expected. Living in Tamarac is still somewhat like living a small town.

Since moving to Florida and having access to cheap flights out of Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando we have done more traveling with our timeshares than we ever dreamed of doing. Plus we've enjoyed staying at different resorts all over Florida that we drive to.

We still haven't given up hope that our DIL will start seriously looking for a job somewhere in the vicinity of Tampa and get one. Our son could easily transfer there if she did. They live in Ohio near Cleveland and have talked about moving. We would move to the Tampa area to be close to them in a heartbeat. The only way we are moving to Ohio is if something happens with one of us that leaves the other one with no other choice. I grew up in Ohio and have other family there but we want no part of long, gray winters and all too often cold, wet springs.

Wish my flowers outside showed up in the picture. My husband moved everything around and out of his way when he was putting up the lights and Moravian star. Being in shorts on December 23rd and having our coffee and tea on the patio while we watch the egrets and other birds on the canal never gets old. This is my view right this minute from where I'm sitting at the computer.

View attachment 15690 View attachment 15690

You have eloquently stated why I want to move to warm climate, I love being in summer clothes year round...I love having the opportunity to look out my window and seeing water and palm tree's

 

[Fredflintstone]

Just to clarify, my plans are to retire a few months a year in PV. I haven’t yet as I still work but go down there regularly.

What vacationing and (during my timeshare years) helped me to determine where I want to spend part of my winters.

The only question now is whether to buy a condo in PV or just rent. I am really undecided as both have advantages and drawbacks. I am thinking the best way, when I do decide to retire, is to rent a month one year and see if I feel the same way. If I do, extend to 2 months, etc.

I do know that PV is where, I am still unsure how I will execute the plan.


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[clifffaith]

25 years ago, well before timeshare ownership, Cliff started buying "where to retire" books. It quickly became evident that weather was the most important thing to us, and the best weather was where we already lived -- coastal Southern California. As we started timesharing we found plenty of places we liked in spring and fall, but don't venture out to snowy or humid climes. The more we traveled the more we realized we were also spoiled by LAX being 40 minutes away. But to the question about moving to a resort destination, we had started researching continuing care retirement communities 2 1/2 years ago and the CCRC in Carlsbad Village quickly rose to the top of the list. We've now stayed two separate weeks at Carlsbad Village Beach Resort, and those stays have reinforced our decision to move. We are at the top of the waitlist, but 2021 would be the earliest we'd move.

 

[Luanne]

It kind of happened for us. After spending many summer vacations in timeshares on Hawaii we were seriously considering retiring there. We eventually decided not to retire there. We spent several Thanksgiving vacations in Santa Fe both in hotels and timeshares. We also spent a few weeks in the Spring in timeshares prior to buying our house in Santa Fe which is where we live now.

 

[lprstn]

Just to clarify, my plans are to retire a few months a year in PV. I haven’t yet as I still work but go down there regularly.

What vacationing and (during my timeshare years) helped me to determine where I want to spend part of my winters.

The only question now is whether to buy a condo in PV or just rent. I am really undecided as both have advantages and drawbacks. I am thinking the best way, when I do decide to retire, is to rent a month one year and see if I feel the same way. If I do, extend to 2 months, etc.

I do know that PV is where, I am still unsure how I will execute the plan.


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I personally would RENT FIRST then decide. When you rent, you can easily disengage if you find things aren't what you anticipated.

 

[Fredflintstone]

I personally would RENT FIRST then decide. When you rent, you can easily disengage if you find things aren't what you anticipated.

Yes, I’m sure leaning that direction. You are quite right.


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[lynne]

Our original goal was to move to Pacific Grove, CA after timesharing there for 15+ years, however we were never able to afford property within walking distance to Ocean View Blvd and town. Living in NY, we would vacation every year in the Caribbean mainly on smaller windjammer sailing cruises but retirement to the Caribbean was never an option for us because of access to good medical care.

On a whim started to vacation in Hawaii. After about 8 trips, we realized that we could retire here as the cost of living was on par with New York prices and as a state, we had access to good medical care. In 2001 we went house hunting on Kauai and the Big Island and found 2 homes that would fit our needs on each island. We determined that the Big Island would be our best option and purchased our home in 2001 by refinancing our home in NY to own it mortgage free. We hired a property manager and long term rented our home for 5 years before selling our NY home and moving permanently in 2006. It was the right decision and have not looked back. After 8 years, we did move from the Hamakua coast to the Kohala coast and eventually will end up with a home at one of the resorts (most likely Mauna Lani) alleviating the need for a car on a daily basis. It's all about the view.

 

[slip]

Our original goal was to move to Pacific Grove, CA after timesharing there for 15+ years, however we were never able to afford property within walking distance to Ocean View Blvd and town. Living in NY, we would vacation every year in the Caribbean mainly on smaller windjammer sailing cruises but retirement to the Caribbean was never an option for us because of access to good medical care.

On a whim started to vacation in Hawaii. After about 8 trips, we realized that we could retire here as the cost of living was on par with New York prices and as a state, we had access to good medical care. In 2001 we went house hunting on Kauai and the Big Island and found 2 homes that would fit our needs on each island. We determined that the Big Island would be our best option and purchased our home in 2001 by refinancing our home in NY to own it mortgage free. We hired a property manager and long term rented our home for 5 years before selling our NY home and moving permanently in 2006. It was the right decision and have not looked back. After 8 years, we did move from the Hamakua coast to the Kohala coast and eventually will end up with a home at one of the resorts (most likely Mauna Lani) alleviating the need for a car on a daily basis. It's all about the view.View attachment 15824

Great picture. I can’t wait to get back to the Big Island in January, even if it only a work trip for a couple days. I will be in Hilo. The Big Island has a lot to offer and properties can be reasonable. Congratulations on making it happen.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Houses are so expensive in Denver and the surrounding areas (our house is worth 6-7X what we paid for it). We have talked about moving to the Carolinas or elsewhere and sell our house and use it as a nest egg. We wouldn't have to pay income tax on it because we have lived here 40 years, but then we think of the grandkids, and that is all it takes for us to change our minds about moving.

 

[curbysplace]

One of our favorite timeshare resorts is Marriotts Frenchmans Cove in St Thomas. We were quite interested in living there but found it would be way too expensive for our retirement. We also enjoyed our travels to Marriott Newport Coast and the Palm springs CA Marriott resorts. Again, California is way too pricey for our resources and our lifestyle. We aren't the wealthy types who have one or two homes in California and Hawaii and also a home up north like some of the early posters on this thread. We are just ordinary folks who want to live a good life. Wanting to live where it is always warm we searched Baja California and didn't find what we liked. After a little more research and subscribing to "International Living" we began exploring the idea of living in Mexico. We then started looking at the tropical Riviera Maya. In our research we discovered the blog Two Expats Mexico and found that Q.Roo Paul does an outstanding job of researching and explaining all the ins and outs of living in Mexico, the immigration things like temporary or permanent residency or continuing to live on a 180-day tourist visa, medical considerations and otherwise of the life and living in Mexico. After following (and reading the archives of) Two Expats Mexico for a few months we focused in on the Bahia Principe Resort development in Akumal Mexico. We found that particular part of the Riviera Maya to be the affordable alternative to retiring on the Caribbean. The tropical weather is nearly identical to St Thomas and the other Caribbean islands. We live an hour and twenty minutes south of the Cancun airport where there are a hundred to two hundred flights a day to the US. It is more convenient, less expensive and faster for us to get to all of our six children and eight grandchildren from here than it was from our home in South Dakota. It's not the US Virgin Islands but we have found it perfect yet affordable for our retirement. No more ice and snow and no more -40 degree windchills.