Congrats to RKassl - Montana Owners Club

JH Sechelt · 12-04-2006, 07:53 PM

I know even if I retire this year, I will not be fulltiming it.
I can see us longtiming it in the near future, But we will still want a stick house for some years to come. So congrats to Bob for getting this forum going.

J&D

slewis · 12-05-2006, 12:11 AM

Longtiming... In my mind at this point in our lives-one month is a long time to be away from
family. Grandkids, you know what I mean? But, we plan to go "long time" for a month and be snowbirds this year. Husband still employed but plans to retire in the summer, but still I can't see us ever selling and fulltiming. We need to know we have a place to come home to. So, doing the snowbird thing is our answer. Winter is such a long season in Ohio. The picture of your house(s) with all the snow, JH Sechelt, makes me shivver. It'll be here in central Ohio before long. I'm interested to know how others are doing it with mail, house safety and bill paying. We use the computer to pay, daughter gets the mail and neighbors and family watch our house and check it periodically.
Sandy

jrgwdenner · 12-05-2006, 12:44 AM

Sandy, once you get out of that cold in Ohio and enjoy the Snowbird lifestyle, you'll wonder why you ever questioned your decision to go south. Glen was hesitant to pay our bills online at first, now even when we're home in the stick house, he keeps mumbling something about how great it is to have everything on the computer. It sounds like you've got a pretty good system already. We live in a small town so we have a P. O. Box that we use year around, even when we're home. Greta loves that ride in the truck every morning to get the mail. She doesn't let Glen forget it either!

richfaa · 12-05-2006, 01:22 AM

Good thread..That's us ..Long timers..We start in about a week with a winter in Arizona.Today on our front stoop in Northern, Ohio it is 16 Degrees, Helen is out clearing the driveway of snow, the sound of a snow blower vibrates through out the house.. Lake effect is producing blinding snow storms just down the road. We had commitments that kept us here till now this year but next year we will leave a lot earlier. This year we have a house sitter who will be moving in next week, actually our next door neighbor. Every bill can be paid on line and I mean every bill, 128 bit encryption is very secure and much more secure that sending a check or a credit card number through the mail. The post office will forward mail..it is no big deal..Go to you local P.O and get the details. Everyone to their own lifestyle, For us 400 square feet and no permanent address is not our lifestyle. We will take trips throughout the year..we have a long list..but we need to come home.We like it here...except for winter.

guru1961 · 12-05-2006, 04:46 AM

Good idea RKass! Wife and I are definitely belong in longtimers...I thought full-timer was it until someone wrote that you can't have a stick house and be called fulltimer...hmmm...I thought 11 months or more a year in RV was full to me. We only "visit" the stick hut once every 2-3 months to make sure it still there and no goodies have been stolen. We have it monitored by one of those burglar/fire alarm companies.
Again..a good idea!

Sunshine · 12-06-2006, 12:35 PM

It's great to have a thread for those of us who don't want to give up the stick house. We enjoy being away for weeks/month or so at a time, but like to have the stick house to come back to. I'm slowly getting the bill paying and banking online and getting more comfortable with it as time goes along. Will tackle mail issues as we get closer to travel time in the spring. Rich, your closing comments said it very well - our feelings exactly. Summer and fall here are great.

jrgwdenner · 12-06-2006, 02:27 PM

Sunshine, Glen was hesitant and insecure about putting all his bills on the computer at first, too, but now when he's checking our online financial status, he just keeps mumbling to himself something about how happy he is that he's set this all up. It really is a great asset.

Native Tex · 12-06-2006, 03:19 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by JH Sechelt

I know even if I retire this year, I will not be fulltiming it.
I can see us longtiming it in the near future, But we will still want a stick house for some years to come. So congrats to Bob for getting this forum going.

J&D

J&D those are some beautiful photos of your stick built home with holiday lights and your Monty covered in snow. We are going to be Long Timers very soon. We think, due to children and grandkids, that we will be keeping some close ties to home. Happy Holidays!

emurray · 12-06-2006, 03:25 PM

Like others using this thread, we also want to have a house to come home to. Right now, we have two, in two different states. We enjoy being away for a month or two (maybe three) but can't imagine not having a permanent base. Where would we keep all of our stuff? We've got a lot of stuff and don't want to get rid of it right now. Since I traveled all over the world for all of my working career, I figured out along time ago how deal with mail, bills, etc., from remote locations. So that isn't a problem.
We will probably get rid of one of our houses, but will definitely keep the other one.

jrgwdenner · 12-06-2006, 06:43 PM

Getting rid of the stuff was the big obstacle to us that kept us from fulltiming. And hubby just wants a stick house to return to. So if he takes me on the road to satisfy my gypsy blood, I'll gladly longtime and return home so he can maintain his home ownership. Works for us!

Sunshine · 12-07-2006, 03:33 AM

Judy, I just recently got the banking on line and am already enjoying the fact that I can check to see exactly when the SS checks are deposited, etc. My big problem is that I am a very visual person and I like to have things laid out in front of me, but, I can always print things out if I need to. Getting rid of stuff is also a big obstacle for us - I'm trying to reduce clutter and it's hard for this pack rat to part with things - even unnecessaries!

jrgwdenner · 12-07-2006, 04:10 AM

Karen, I understand the pack rat illness very well! That's the real reason why I decided, along with Glen's other reasons, that it would be best if we kept our house. I couldn't imagine storing as much as I wanted to keep! I seem to get sentimentally attached to absolutely worthless things....at least worthless in the eyes of others (and Glen!) This way I can keep my sewing stash and Glen can have his workshop, which he has yet to develop because I've kept him on the road so much! Such is life!

Jim and Marcia · 12-07-2006, 03:14 PM

Come this Monday morning, we will officially be snowbirds for the very first time. We will more than likely be "longtimers" instead of "fulltimers". Need a place to come home to! Love the idea of this new forum---there are lots of things to consider when being gone for several months at a time. We too, have started on-line banking with some bill paying online. The rest is electronic funds transfer. Got the mail forwarding in place, medications are ordered on line, put the phone and satellite service on vacation status and hope we haven't forgotten anything. Time will tell!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!!!!!!

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