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Snowbirding -- how to?

ScoopKona

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I'm confused about intention of this post within a post.

Squatters are a problem.

Squatters are a HUGE problem in both areas where I owned property. I've had squatters on both ends and had to run them out. Leaving a property vacant for weeks at a time is a risk -- a potentially huge risk depending on where the snowbird lives.

I was actually a reverse snowbird -- escaping summer heat (and working on the farm while escaping the heat).

Theft is a problem. Plumbing issues are a problem. And there's really no good way for a snowbird to ensure they avoid all problems. It's not a question of "if."
 

silentg

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Enchanted Isle.
There was a Tug Member, Ray Harper who used to be a snowbird. He wrote a section called Travels with Ray. His advice my be archived on TUG? We met him in Massachusetts once with his wife Darlene when we were on vacation.
Sadly he passed away, but his journeys were an interesting read.
silentg
 

WinniWoman

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Our neighbors rent an apartment for like 6 weeks every winter in Aruba. Maybe you could do that somewhere out West?
 

DeniseM

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WKORV, WKV, SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim) NEW: 2 Lawa'i Beach Resort!
We have owned a 2nd home for 12 years. Originally, we built the 2nd home to be our retirement home, but eventually we decided to keep both homes. Our original home is paid off and we have a small mortgage on the 2nd home with a 3% mortage. We got lucky, because we built the 2nd home when the housing market was really depressed, so we got a great deal, it has more than doubled in value since we bought it, and it would be easy to sell.

We love having a 2nd home and it's a "vacation home," for us now. But it's not everyone's cup of tea - kind of like timesharing:
- You need to have the income to support 2 homes with no strain.
- You need to have low maintenance so that you can leave both homes and they will run on their own for awhile.
- You need to be handy around the house and landscaping and not mind doing things yourself.

We live in a new neighborhood and have none of the crime issues that were previously mentioned. We are friendly with our neighbors at both homes, and they look after our places for us when we aren't there.

We have had a couple of drip system problems when we weren't there, but we have used a local landscaping company a number of times (they installed the system originally) and we can call them and have them go fix things, even if we can't be there. We do have a web cam and an alarm system.

Since our 2nd home was originally going to be a retirement home, we definitely have 2 of everything, but this isn't a problem for us. In fact it's ideal, because we don't have to take anything back and forth. We can hop in the car and be there in 4-5 hours, and everything we need will be waiting for us.

YMMV
 
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easyrider

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Not for some people here. God has bless them with luck and nothing bad happens in their world and they make sure you know it.

Sounds kind of like my world, lol. You have probably heard the line "God helps those that help themselves". In a way, it's about trying to be prepared so when the bad happens you have ways to work it out. God bless you renter.

Bill
 

b2bailey

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Squatters are a problem.

Squatters are a HUGE problem in both areas where I owned property. I've had squatters on both ends and had to run them out. Leaving a property vacant for weeks at a time is a risk -- a potentially huge risk depending on where the snowbird lives.

I was actually a reverse snowbird -- escaping summer heat (and working on the farm while escaping the heat).

Theft is a problem. Plumbing issues are a problem. And there's really no good way for a snowbird to ensure they avoid all problems. It's not a question of "if."
So, the OP should just stay home?
There have been snowbirds flying (or taking train, or driving for many years).
 

b2bailey

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Our neighbors rent an apartment for like 6 weeks every winter in Aruba. Maybe you could do that somewhere out West?
A friend of friend -- lives in NY. Came to visit my friend near San Diego many years ago. They fell in love with Oceanside, rented a condo for 6 weeks and have returned every winter.
 

ScoopKona

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So, the OP should just stay home?
There have been snowbirds flying (or taking train, or driving for many years).

Why are you putting words in my mouth?

I'm not saying "stay put." But I AM saying the old Yiddish idiom, "Man plans, God laughs." Maintaining two domiciles (even if one is just a temporary rental) is more than twice as hard as maintaining one. Anyone who says otherwise has been lucky. Good for them. But luck runs out.

Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht
 

VacationForever

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We are both avid golfers and spend 2 weeks after Thanksgiving every year rotating between Scottsdale, Palm Desert and Hawaii. Golfing in Hawaii is the most expensive. We then spend another 4 to 5 weeks in Palm Desert in January every year in Marriott's Desert Springs Villas 1. We tried WM Indio in Jan earlier this year. While the resort was alright (it's not a Marriott :)), the WIFI was horrendous, dropping a dozen times every hour. I wrote to WM/Wyndham CEO, COO etc... and got a response promising that they would work on fixing it. We don't see ourselves going back to Indio as long as we can get our dates in Desert Springs Villas 1.

We also spend a month or two of summer in coastal California, typically using Worldmark points, at Oceanside. This year we went to Monterey and it was too cold for my husband. Next year we are splitting our summer between WM Oceanside and Park City (Marriott).

We own at Marriott and Worldmark and find that we have our winter and summer getaway needs met between both systems.

We golf 4 to 5 days a week while home and 3 to 4 days a week when we travel. The costs add up very quickly. :(
 
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Elan

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We are both avid golfers and spend 2 weeks after Thanksgiving every year rotating between Scottsdale, Palm Desert or Hawaii. Golfing in Hawaii is the most expensive. We then spend another 4 to 5 weeks in Palm Desert in January every year in Marriott's Desert Springs Villas 1. We tried WM Indio in Jan earlier this year. While the resort was alright (it's not a Marriott :)), the WIFI was horrendous, dropping a dozen times every hour. I wrote to WM/Wyndham CEO, COO etc... and got a response promising that they would work on fixing it. We don't see ourselves going back to Indio as long as we can get our dates in Desert Springs Villas 1.

We also spend a month or two of summer in coastal California, typically using Worldmark points, at Oceanside. This year we went to Monterey and it was too cold for my husband. Next year we are splitting our summer between WM Oceanside and Park City (Marriott).

We own at Marriott and Worldmark and find that we have our winter and summer getaway needs met between both systems.

We golf 4 to 5 days a week while home and 3 to 4 days a week when we travel. The costs add up very quickly. :(
If you don't mind sharing, can you give rough estimate of greens fees in Palm Desert area. If you don't care to, that's fine. I have looked a little online, but there's always discount options like GolfNow, etc. that are sometimes hard to determine.
 

VacationForever

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If you don't mind sharing, can you give rough estimate of greens fees in Palm Desert area. If you don't care to, that's fine. I have looked a little online, but there's always discount options like GolfNow, etc. that are sometimes hard to determine.
It "depends". With discount sites like golfmoose and underpar, you can get a round under $100 at Mountain Vista (Sun City) course. They have 2 courses, Santa Rosa is the better one but both are decent, although this January they had to close off some holes due to flood/mud. It had never happened in all the years that we played there. A few of the less expensive courses to play would be Mission Hills North (Gary Player) and the newly refurbished Westin Mission Hills (Rancho Mirage - Pete Dye) course. They are about $110 to $120 a round.

We had been getting Troon cards although they changed the program in 2025 and it's no longer a good deal. When we had/have the Troon cards, we played regularly at Indian Wells Golf Resort courses and they used to cost us about $120 a round. They had the 2-for-1 deal in the old program so we played for half the price once at each of the courses on the program. That is all gone in the new program. Normal rate is about $170 a round. I think we won't be playing there in January. Classic Club is a tough course and regular rate is also about $170 or so. There are some good and not so good courses everywhere that you can play for about $110 to $120 a round. JW Marriott has 2 courses and used to cost about $120 a round for owners and resort guests. I checked recently and it looks like the rate has gone up to about $150 We really like the Palm course there.

There are 2 courses at WM Indio and they are cheap, about $80 a round. They are quite playable. Cimarron (Boulder - 18 holes) golf course is also in good condition and costs about $110 or so, based on my memory. Cimarron Pebble course is an executive course and costs maybe like $70. We really like this course too.

We also play at private courses there because we have friends who own second homes there, and Toscana (private) has 2 very nice courses.

If you want even more details on where we have played etc, I will need to look at my calendar, and you will need to PM me before I put this forum to sleep. :)
 
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moonstone

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Since our 2nd home was originally going to be a retirement home, we definitely have 2 of everything, but this isn't a problem for us. In fact it's ideal, because we don't have to take anything back and forth.

We are in a similar situation with our Florida condo. My Dad moved into a retirement home a few months before we were going to furnish our condo. We had already emptied out the cottage of everything we wanted and then Dad said to take what we wanted from the house before it was sold. We didnt take furniture as it is too costly to take to Florida but I did get lots of kitchen stuff and linens. That saved us a lot of money with not needing to buy 2nds of everything. DH and I brought down a bunch of our clothes, summer and cooler weather, to leave here and we purchased extra bathing suits, sandals, jackets and other items so we could travel back and forth with just a backpack when we go home at Christmas and in early March for a few days. We drive down in October so we have 2-3 days of clothes from home with us but they are worn again for the drive back home in April.
It is really nice to get on a plane for a few weeks away with just a personal item!

~Diane
 

b2bailey

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We are both avid golfers and spend 2 weeks after Thanksgiving every year rotating between Scottsdale, Palm Desert or Hawaii. Golfing in Hawaii is the most expensive. We then spend another 4 to 5 weeks in Palm Desert in January every year in Marriott's Desert Springs Villas 1. We tried WM Indio in Jan earlier this year. While the resort was alright (it's not a Marriott :)), the WIFI was horrendous, dropping a dozen times every hour. I wrote to WM/Wyndham CEO, COO etc... and got a response promising that they would work on fixing it. We don't see ourselves going back to Indio as long as we can get our dates in Desert Springs Villas 1.

We also spend a month or two of summer in coastal California, typically using Worldmark points, at Oceanside. This year we went to Monterey and it was too cold for my husband. Next year we are splitting our summer between WM Oceanside and Park City (Marriott).

We own at Marriott and Worldmark and find that we have our winter and summer getaway needs met between both systems.

We golf 4 to 5 days a week while home and 3 to 4 days a week when we travel. The costs add up very quickly. :(
I've been to Indio twice. No comparison to staying in Palm Springs or Palm Desert.
 

Elan

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It "depends". With discount sites like golfmoose and underpar, you can get a round under $100 at Mountain Vista (Sun City) course. They have 2 courses, Santa Rosa is the better one but both are decent, although this January they had to close off some holes due to flood/mud. It had never happened in all the years that we played there. A few of the less expensive courses to play would be Mission Hills North (Gary Player) and the newly refurbished Westin Mission Hills (Rancho Mirage - Pete Dye) course. They are about $110 to $120 a round.

We had been getting Troon cards although they changed the program in 2025 and it's no longer a good deal. When we had/have the Troon cards, we played regularly at Indian Wells Golf Resort courses and they used to cost us about $120 a round. They had the 2-for-1 deal in the old program so we played for half the price once at each of the courses on the program. That is all gone in the new program. Normal rate is about $170 a round. I think we won't be playing there in January. Classic Club is a tough course and regular rate is also about $170 or so. There are some good and not so good courses everywhere that you can play for about $110 to $120 a round. JW Marriott has 2 courses and used to cost about $120 a round for owners and resort guests. I checked recently and it looks like the rate has gone up to about $150 We really like the Palm course there.

There are 2 courses at WM Indio and they are cheap, about $80 a round. They are quite playable. Cimarron (Boulder - 18 holes) golf course is also in good condition and costs about $110 or so, based on my memory. Cimarron Pebble course is an executive course and costs maybe like $70. We really like this course too.

We also play at private courses there because we have friends who own second homes there, and Toscana (private) has 2 very nice courses.

If you want even more details on where we have played etc, I will need to look at my calendar, and you will need to PM me before I put this forum to sleep. :)
Thanks for the info. About what I was expecting based on my online searches.
 
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