Hot Rods What do you snow birds do in the winter months?

Hi Fellow Hamb people

I am to the age where the winter months are taking their toll on me physically so I am looking to winter in an area where the weather is more tolerable...so no snow and warmer temps...

I would love to find a shop to tinker in but those properties are very very very few and far between...

So I may have to take 5 months off a year from tinkering in the garage...

What do you folks do in the winter months with no garage?

My happy place is the garage.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

MikeC

 

I put up a humble 4 x 8 foot storage shed that I use for a shop. In it I put hand tools, a belt sander, a drill press, power saws, air compressor, battery charger, vice, and other tools.
People seek me out to repair bikes, cars, motorcycles, golf carts - anything with wheels. While I do often accept tips, more often than not I just ask patrons to make a donation to local ogranizations that feed the poor, help the homeless, or just make a donation in their church collection.
win / win
Little gets done on my several hot rod projects while I am there.
But I return home feeling renewed with a new sense of motivation to continue my hoodlum hot rodder ways.

The older I get, the less I like the cold...

 

We went to Apache Junction Az.(Phoenix area) for 6 winters, their winter weather is great. We purchased a Park model home in a RV park, reasonable $$$ money involved, sold home for small gain, but out the 6 year lot rent. We got tired of the drive, 2000 miles, 30 hour drive time as we have dogs, my wife will not fly AND I missed my car hobby shop/garage. In Az. tons of car activity, shows, met a lot of nice car guys, cruises, and Any other interests you might have, the Phoenix area is huge, we enjoyed it, glad we did it but We're glad to be back home, see the family at the holidays. Suggest you research this to see where your Budget fits as the $$$ for a home with a garage is pretty pricey IMO. The Phoenix area is booming, 100 % housing inflation over the last 5 years. Another woulda/Coulda/shoulda story, I thought about buying a house, 2 bed, 2 bath, attached garage for 175 K, that same property now worth 350/375 K. AS always, Hindsight/Perfect, Foresight/ Not so much. LOL Have a great day !

 

Space is short in the Keys as it is, so I take a break from the car hobby when I'm down here. Instead, I have an "N" scale model railroad layout the slides under the couch when not in use. I have a "shop" that fits into a spare drawer in the second nightstand. As above, I return to Minnesota, I am rejuvenated.

 

We bought a small, but not too small house almost six years outside of Tucson in a gated community. Lots of snowbirds here.

The house was outside of our budget, or so we thought, but stretched so I could have a garage. Originally we were looking at condos, but I couldn’t take that leap emotionally.

It’s worked out well for us. The house has appreciated in value significantly, so, all things considered, we’ve lived here for not much cost. The garage is small, at 20’x20’, but I have a rust free off topic project car that fits in there, and have accumulated enough tools, including a tig welder to get by.

There’s a HOA, but the quarterly assessment is only $80, and they handle gate maintenance and common area costs. No hassles with them yet. My “hot rod” is pretty loud, but I try to be considerate of the neighbors. I really just use it to tinker, and as garage art. Just having it makes me happy.

There’s a regular Thursday nite cruise about seven miles away, and we make a weekend of going to the GNRS in Pomona.

We’re getting ready to make the 2200 mile drive back to Michigan, but it’s 35 degrees and raining there, and my security cameras show there’s still several inches to a foot of snow in the shop driveway, and a three foot deep pile in front of the house garage door which slid off the garage roof over the winter.

I don’t miss the 326” of snow we got at home this winter.

 

I get the hell out of Michigan. We have a place in Sarasota Florida. It's much nicer here November through May Lots of car related activity, although much of it here on the West coast is exotics, but my neighbor has a '33 5 window, another buddy has a '34 5 window, we do a lot of things together and our wives are good friends too. Sebring and Daytona have a little more of a "hot rod" community, but our home is here. Our primary residence is here, as the property tax would break the budget as a second home. Best of both worlds.

 

Well, shucks, I just moved to TEXAS. Problem solved. I sure do miss the bad weather . Gladly!!

Ben

 

Not a snowbird, spent over half the 20th century around Philly Pa area.
Shoveled tons and tons of snow. Literaly
Found hard ice with my butt enough times to be okay about it.
This century,,, 90 miles South, I needed the shovel to 'tidy up' a few times.
The garage is stuffed so any maintenance on the DD is done in the open, whenever.
So better life without the extremes ( heat - insects - AC addiction ) of deep South.
Worked for Me.

 

Go south

 

yankees stay home

 

We have been going to the Corpus Christi area for the past five years. It was hard at first but I have learned to not do JACK SHIT. At first I tried to find some shows or events to attend but not much luck. When we return to Indiana I've had a lot of time to figure out steps on the shop projects and make fewer mistakes. (I said fewer not none). It has the advantage of keeping my wife happy and giving me a new perspective on shop work. Plus, I'm 83 and can feel my interest starting to lag.

 

I'm a Floridian. Residence here Drivers license here. Vote here. I hope you're kidding. If not, I don't know what to tell you.

 

I Read Post Like This And Ponder Alternatives..

 

Not traditional, we go where we want.

 

I shoveled a lot of snow this winter, got a second dog and spent a lot of time on training. Last winter I learned how to sew on an industrial machine and did my interior. Before that I don't remember!

 

Come on down, I'll only charge you a small fee to come by and work on my car in my garage!

 

About a year and a half ago we bought a 2 BR house in Aruba. We've been going about every 3 months for a week to 10 days and do short term vacation rentals when we're not there. I love it there since it's about 80 degrees all year round but don't think we'd ever spend three or four months at a time in the Winter. My wife and I are involved with too many volunteer things here, we'd miss our friends and I'd miss my shop and our property in Aruba would be marginal at best to have a shop of any size. In short, I don't think I'd be cut out to ever do the snowbird thing, but I definitely do enjoy missing some of the cold weather when we go to Aruba.

Lynn

 

I have a heated garage and a snowblower. Although I didn’t use the garage much this winter, life got in the way. It should be better next winter, the garage has been rearranged and I can now put both daily drivers in, as well as the whatever project.
View attachment 6379113 The whatever can just be seen behind the Blazer.

There’s still a few things to find homes for. And the benches need decluttering. But the hardest part is done. You can just see the little electric heater behind the shop light. The garage has the same thickness insulation as the house, so that heater can get the garage up to t-shirt temperature in about an hour. And besides, I don’t dislike the snow, just the town plow truck…

 

Being a carpenter and just got diagnosed with RA in both hands I'm down to 3 days a week at 63, so I play with the lathe and make and sell rolling pins, it's my happy place hopefully we'll find a smaller house with a 2 car so I can get a new toy !

 

Buy my place in East TN. We’re thinking of moving closer to family in middle TN. My wife’s idea!!
1800 sq ft log home on a hill
1500 sq ft shop, insulated, 100A 220V, heat & AC,
17 acres, wooded, slightly hilly, private but great neighbors, close to historic, (1776), well maintained town and county seat.
Low property taxes, NO income tax, plenty of car activity, half way between Knoxville and Bristol.
Mild winters with only an occasional snow.
Really hate to leave, been here 15 years.

 

A good friend in Georgia told me one time...The difference between a Yankee & a Damn Yankee is that the Yankee went home, the Damn Yankee stayed! LOL

@tubman I also have some N scale train stuff & someday hope to set it all up again! Mostly stuff from about 1976 including the Bi-Centennial train cars.

To the O.P. ...My shop never gets below 55 degrees & above 50% humidity, but for me it is more of a mental thing! I hate winter & would rather be in the house with the wood burner blazing during the winter months. As I get older, I am trying to cure this issue & get out in the shop during the winter months to get stuff ready for spring.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

I moved to Florida 5 years ago, but spend the hot 5 months back at my shop in MN. Down there, I work on boats in my carport, it's a nice diversion. Have rebuilt transoms, fixed holes in hulls, repowered /rewired skiffs, all kinds of stuff. Best of both worlds.

 

The PNW sucks in many regards suck as taxes, fuel prices, cost of living, cost of dying, etc, but to our advantage we have very mild (albeit soggy) winters. We had 2 days of snow this year, didn't even have to shovel the driveway. Crank up the heaters in the garage and get some work done on the cars to get 'em ready for summer.

 

It's pretty but I got too much sand between my toes I've lived on Cape Cod all my life and got 3 new great nieces and nephews.lol

 

I have a pad outside with my lift on it, plan to put up a carport to get it under cover but my basement is a shop also and it is heated and cooled with my house.
I work outside when the weather is nice.

 

Damn My Friend,

I made the mistake of telling Laura about your place knowing her Daughter, Son in Law & new grandson are in Kodak & now she wants me to sell my place & her place, move us & my Parents down there to your place! LOL

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

HOA' s can be crazy a friend of my wife's just bought a condo to downsize and her HOA is just over 800 bucks a month it's insane ! Good thing she did her house and was able to buy the condo outright but the HOA is a small mortgage wtf My friend just moved to NH from Tucson he could see a cool mountain from his condo .I forget the name .

 

If I was to move I would love to go west . I have vacationed plenty , western states . Beautiful , but I hate snakes , only one I’d like to be near is a Cobra . We had relatives in Houston , went near Christmas one year . It’s was in high 80s , high humidity . Strange for a Hillbilly , that has lived where it drops to below 0 in winter

 

Probably Mt Lemon, although there are mountains on all four sides of Tucson. Mt Lemon is to our east, the Tortalinas to our North.

 

Your deal is a dream of ours! We're in an Atlanta suburb, and I've had my fill of Atlanta traffic and madness. I'm 3 years from retiring. We like the north Georgia mountains, and I'm always looking for places like yours. A house with a real shop is a rare commodity, should not be hard to sell.