Where to live for two months?
 

I am truly weary of the weather in Michigan.

I have decided that, when I retire definitively from all work in three years, I plan to spend two months (Jan and Feb) some place warm, where I can also do some wrenching, perhaps find a car I like and work on it, then drive it back.

I have started to put together a list of cities based on climate and personal experience and would be interested in your feedback. I'd like feedback based on your personal experience.

Some cities:

San Antonio TX
Houston TX
Huntsville AL
Someplace in northern FL
Toulouse, France
Perpignan, France
Ouarzazate, Morrocco

If I find a Citroen or old MB in Europe or North Africa, I can drive it back after fixing it and ship it from Le Havre to Virginia or FL.

I am not adverse to other cities in AZ or CA but I have not had much experience with either, except
Lake Havasu, AZ
Ft Huachuca, AZ
Pacific Grove, CA
Carmel, CA

Let me know what you think on food, people, cost of living etc.

Come to san antonio. Its hot as a mother here though

Carmel, CA is not a warm place to visit in January / February....cold, overcast, rainy.

I can almost comment on personal experience for Toulouse France - it wasn't quite there it was a bit further North in the Perigord. I realise that in French terms that's quite a bit further North but in American distances I think we can fudge the distance a bit...

...the problem with that part of the South of France is that it is high enough to get surprisingly harsh winters - I think Toulouse is a bit lower than say Perigueux but not by that much. The summers are great but the winters can be pretty similar to certain parts of Northern France or even further North. It can get pretty cold and you're talking about two of the ****tiest months...

...money wise - France is expensive for food; cheap for motor oil; expensive for clothing and fuel. The cost of housing down that way can be seriously expensive.

Travel from the US to Europe is most likely to get more and more expensive - and if you want to ship vehicles from the US to Europe...

To be hopping from the US to Europe you need to be seriously rich these days.

I'd head Down Under...Oz would be nice to visit then.

My late uncle loved Australia in January and February. He spent 2-3 months there each winter (escaping from Maine) for the his last 8 years. As a former Navy pilot he traveled the world compliments of the US Govt and experienced a lot of nice, and not so nice, locations. But Australia was the only country (besides Canada and Mexico) that he went back to more than once.

Texas and Florida.
No state income tax , cheap cost of living and good people.

State income tax for two months out of the year wouldn't cut it for filing Federal income taxes anyway.

Texas is too damm cold in the winter, esp. Dec-February. (Ask me how I know.....)

South Florida would not disappoint. I'd spend my time there if I were you. Lots and lots of single, available women in Florida too. ;) The lock on the weather, cheap living, and a plethora of used cars cheap would be a slam dunk win in Fla.

Yuma, AZ. would fit the bill on weather too, but not on the availability/plethora of used cars locally to access.

France -- the Euro is cheap these days, and it's more interesting than another cookie-cutter US city. I'd vote for France or Morocco -- life's too short to spend all of it in the good 'ol US of A.

If you're staying in the states, the expanded area around Phoenix is hard to beat for weather in January and February (they don't call it the "Valley of the Sun" for nothing, after all). Cost of living is pretty low (unless you're intent on being in certain parts of the Valley) and there are plenty of good cars that haven't seen salty roads or acid rain. Older ones you're going to have to replace all the rubber and it will probably have some interior/upholstery issues, but that dry air really keeps up the chassis.

Side benefits: It's really easy to find good Mexican food. (Many other kinds, too.) Gas prices are often some of the cheapest in the nation. There are plenty of other things to see and do if you get bored wrenching on the car and you probably don't have to go far to see/do them. If you like light hiking, Piestewa Peak and Camelback Mountain are great, with excellent views of the valley. You can hit either one in the morning and be back home and showered well before lunch, good way to work the kinks out after laying under the car to change suspension parts. ;)

Phoenix is a sprawled, pestilential shytehole of a 1st-world shantytown. Tucson is much better.

I love Jacksonville, FL. have traveled extensively in the lower 48 states and its had to beat the quality and affordability of life here. Formerly lived and worked in S FL, Scottsdale and Southern Calif and would not go back to any of them unless there was some serious motivating factors.

around here is pretty decent. short trip to the Ocean/beaches. no snow. Some rain

Daytona Beach is listed as 'on-sale' for homes at a bargain at this time too. I love Fla. weather in the late Fall, Winter, and Spring. You haven't lived, (with heat/humidity) until you've spent the summer in Fla. Ha!

As long as you bug out by early March to avoid the influx of Hardley Ableson riders for Bike Week :)