When we decided to modify our beginning of the year plans due to the impending birth of our daughter’s baby girl in North Carolina, it gave us time to pause and reflect. While I sat for a few months alone with the RV in Rockport Texas and Sharon was in North Carolina helping our daughter with the new baby, I had some time to begin seriously thinking about what’s next for us after we stop RV’ing.
We know we won’t be RV’ing fulltime forever so we need to iron out what the next chapter of our lives will look like. Thoughts about this process led to us deciding to cut short our planned stays in the pacific northwest this past summer and instead focus on the southwest.
We decided to take advantage of Cal-Am’s fall special where we could stay at several of their parks for an inexpensive price. We did this to answer a few questions we had about Arizona. One was could we live in Arizona during the cusp seasons of early fall ad late spring? Another was could we settle down in cities such as Phoenix or Tucson? And lastly, would we like to live in a Cal-Am Park? Or as the top photo suggested… Does X mark our spot?
We booked a month in September at Sun Life RV Resort in Mesa AZ. This would be the first of three Cal-Am parks we would visit. What we learned while staying there was we really like Sun Life and what Cal-Am offers it’s residents. Our next month in Mesa Regal was equally enjoyable.
The difference between the two parks is mostly size. Sun Life is a much smaller version of Mesa Regal. Both offer way above average facilities and both are fun places to stay (during season) and are conveniently near just about anything one would need or want.
What is it about our stay we didn’t like? Well there were two huge negatives to us. First was there is no way we want to live in an area where the daytime temperatures rise well past 110 degrees Fahrenheit! Overnight lows during this time (September) seldom dropped below 90 F. We found this to be way too hot for active people like us!
The other big negative to the Cal-Am parks is that they are very expensive in their monthly fees. It is $8500 or more annually for site rent/HOA fees. Monthly charges for sewer/electric/trash are quite high as well. We understand they have great amenities but we could experience the same amenities in apartment complexes at a much less fee.
Have we completely eliminated living in Arizona? No, not yet… but we have decided if we do so it would have to be seasonal… We are now in Tucson staying at our third Cal-Am park and wonder what we will think after this stay is over…
NOTE: We are currently in Tucson AZ until December…….
We love Arizona for all the reasons most people do but also don't think we can live here during summer's hot months. I think we've hit the perfect balance now - Arizona late fall, winter and spring....pacific northwest (where our son and dil live) for the summer. Good luck on your search!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Sounds like you have it figured out.
DeleteWe love AZ from Sept (boating and swimming) til late May/early June.
ReplyDeleteMan it got hot in Phoenix this past September!
DeleteFinding that spot is tough. No place is perfect. We wanted to think about the future when we might not be able or want to leave for part of the year in our MH. When Covid hit, we realized that we could live comfortably in southern NV. However, our pool was the main reason it works so nicely with the summer heat. We walked in the morning, getting out around 8:00. We knew the pool was waiting as soon as we arrived home. Living in any of these southwest areas year round wouldn't be pleasant without a pool. Good luck with your search and decision.
ReplyDeleteYes even at the RV parks the pool is a main attractor on the hotter days.
DeleteYou've visited so many places and will visit some again and others in your travels. It has to be difficult to decide where to hang up those full-time keys and find a base camp.
ReplyDeleteWe were fortunate to be settled in 'America's Finest City' before we started our RV life. Good luck with your search in finding 'Hinton's Finest City".
Yes, we love your city but alas we certainly can't afford to live there. Lucky you for being there as long as you have been!
DeleteWe stayed a Sun Life a couple times and really liked it. I agree about the high summer temps. At least here in Florida we can go to the beach when it is hot and humid. Stay safe and healthy.
ReplyDeleteYes, most of the states we like will all have hotter than tolerable summers...
DeleteIt's tough to decide where to settle down. Unlike so many of our friends who have chosen the desert, we've chosen Florida (or it kind of chose us). We love the water and the lush greenery of the East Coast, with no worries about the wildfires, smoke, or drought in our former hometown in Southern Oregon. Summers are hell in Florida, but the mountains aren't far away. And like so many of our friends, we're still planning to travel several months of the year—until we get too old. :-)
ReplyDeleteFlorida hasn't been scratched off of our list as of now.
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