Snowbirds and fulltimers head south in the winter to get away from cold temperatures and snow. It is nice to wear shorts and tee shirts in the middle of winter while watching storms up north on television news. At times we feel guilty, but that feeling goes away in a few minutes as we enjoy warm weather and sunshine.

There are many places to spend the winter, but we find most people go straight south. New England to Michigan and eastern Canadian RVers usually go to Florida. RVers from the central part of the states head to the Valley in Texas and RVers from the northwest and western Canada usually go to Arizona and southern California.

Each place has good points and bad points. Florida, south of Orlando, has good weather when its not raining, but campgrounds in Florida have gotten very expensive. Many people get reservations in advance and stay several months, but still pay over $800 a month. The RGV (Rio Grand Valley) in Texas has nice weather, but it can get cool at times. They have some of the lowest cost campgrounds for extended stays, but many complain about the constant wind. The weather in Arizona and southern California is some of the best in the country in the winter and the campground prices are between the costs of Florida and Texas.

Another area we have stayed during the winter is southern Alabama. While the temperature is not as warm as the places mentioned above - it is usually pleasant during the day and seldom drops to freezing at night. We spent the winter in Alabama last year and most days were in the low 60's with sunshine and it never dropped below 34 degrees and there was no snow.

Most RVers love where they winter and usually go back to the same area year after year. One woman from Michigan spent the winter in Texas and she was asked how she coped with the wind. Her reply was "you don't have to shovel wind."