The Snowbird RV Life - 6 Months In An RV Park Here In Canada Then The Haul Down South To An American RV Park For The Winter…
What lures so many Snowbirds in Canada to choose to RV year round? We polled RV owners in Alberta and BC to ask them why they chose full-time RV living and what they saw as the benefits and the pitfalls. Here are some of the comments we received from Snowbirds who are living the full-time RV lifestyle…
“After we retired…we had more than a few decisions to make…we could sell our house (too big for the 2 people)…then buy a condo (in Edmonton)…or…we could keep more of the money (from the sale of the family home)…become snowbirds…live half the year in a much warmer climate…now we have a camp spot (near family) outside of Edmonton…we drive south to a resort (outside of Phoenix) during the winter. We love it (the full-time RV life).” ~ May and Ross G., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Many popular RV camping areas in the USA have mega, destination-themed RV resorts. Some RV parks contain as many as 5 to 10 thousand RV residents. And many of those are Canada snowbirds.
“We are residents (during the winter) at a mega resort near Flagstaff … there are dozens and dozens of other Canadians there. The resort has all kinds of stuff for us to do…everyday activities…there's a nice restaurant with good food, a nice big pool, pickleball, and a craft centre. We usually leave our regular spot (at Shuswap Lake) the first week of November.” ~ Fred P. and wife Donna, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
Insurance And Medical Coverage For Snowbirds Heading South
Before deciding to launch into the full-time RV Snowbird lifestyle, consider the insurance and medical coverage options and costs - some of which may be prohibitive for some folks with pre-existing health conditions or otherwise. Hospital visits, doctor visits, dental works, hospital stays and medical procedures are most often extremely costly for Canadians lacking full coverage while travelling in the USA. Do your research, ask your insurers for quotes, check out the information at canadasnowbirds.com to see what challenges, if any, you may need to overcome in order to live 6-months of the year as an RV snowbird in the USA.
“We wanted to stay in Canada (and not head south) during the winter. Our insurance (to spend winters in USA) was too high…we have our lot (seasonal campsite) near Victoria (on Vancouver Island). The island can be a bit chilly when it's raining…but it's not minus 25…it doesn't rain (on the Victoria-side of the island) like it does in Vancouver or in Tofino. Our campsite back in Alberta (also a longterm lease) is perfect (for May through October) for what we need.” ~ Collin Y. and Gilda E., Leduc, Alberta, Canada. Lease holders at Wolf Creek RV Resort