The winter blahhs


G

gtforme

GT Owner
Apr 12, 2009
348
This has to be the worst time of year for any car guy , I was in my garage this morrning looking at my FORD GT and my SPF cobra and was depressed at the thought of probably not getting either of these cars on the road until at least May 1st , 4 months away at least , keeping in mind that I havent driven them in 2 months making it 6 months of non-driving time in total

I find myself continually thinking of moving to Southern california ( San Diego particularly ) has anyone here on the forum made the move from the Canadian great white north to So cal or even phoenix or Palm springs for that matter and what are the advantages and disadvantages form a true car guy aspect

Any pics of the areas as noted above would be appreciated
 
If you are looking into San Diego, I would highly recommend Poway, Del Mar and Rainbow. Palm Springs and Phoenix way too hot. Lake Las Vegas has some awesome real-estate deals.Also recommend Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo. Check out Cambria a great sleepy town.
 
http://cambriachamber.org/

Looks nice! Is that considered southern or Northern California?
 
winter blahs

Yes, it is a tough time for us here in the Great White North. My solution to the problem is : I bought a home in Phoenix 3 yrs ago (at par plus dollars!) and stuck a Cadd XLR in the garage along with an Expedition. The XLR is an excellent touring car for trips to the mountains for my wife and I and the Expy is a superb people mover for when we have (party)g uests down which is most of the time. I thoroughly enjoy the southern AB summers and would not want to be anywhere else at that time of year especially since my family all live close by. However I find the winters more and more distastefull as the years go by so we pack up one of the cars and trailor it down south for a month or two at a time. I can generally get my fix this way and still have the best of both worlds imo. Having to spend the time trailoring the car down is a bit of a pain when the weather is bad but it's justified because the weather is bad!!!!!! Just my two cents !
 
2112 said:
http://cambriachamber.org/

Looks nice! Is that considered southern or Northern California?
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Central Cal. I am really considering it as a retirement destination.
 
Cobraguy said:
Yes, it is a tough time for us here in the Great White North. My solution to the problem is : I bought a home in Phoenix 3 yrs ago (at par plus dollars!) and stuck a Cadd XLR in the garage along with an Expedition. The XLR is an excellent touring car for trips to the mountains for my wife and I and the Expy is a superb people mover for when we have (party)g uests down which is most of the time. I thoroughly enjoy the southern AB summers and would not want to be anywhere else at that time of year especially since my family all live close by. However I find the winters more and more distastefull as the years go by so we pack up one of the cars and trailor it down south for a month or two at a time. I can generally get my fix this way and still have the best of both worlds imo. Having to spend the time trailoring the car down is a bit of a pain when the weather is bad but it's justified because the weather is bad!!!!!! Just my two cents !
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I thought it was just me getting old and tired of winter! can't stand the snow anymore! went to Florida last Feb. to get away from it to find 32 degree mornings and 48 degree afternoons. had 1 nice day out of 2 weeks. I was as bummed as if I stayed in Michigan. souther cal or vegas is looking real good about now!
 
winter blahs

NorthwoodGT said:
I thought it was just me getting old and tired of winter! can't stand the snow anymore! went to Florida last Feb. to get away from it to find 32 degree mornings and 48 degree afternoons. had 1 nice day out of 2 weeks. I was as bummed as if I stayed in Michigan. souther cal or vegas is looking real good about now!
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That would be a disappointment! It has been noted that Phoenix is too hot and I would agree with that if you lived there year around although having been there in the hot months I can say it is only unbearable for a couple months in the middle of summer...the rest of the time it is perfect. Because we are from the North, the cool nights in Az at this time of year are not a disappointment because the day time temps are high teens or low twenties....perfect gearhead weather:driving:! As far as Phoenix vs Vegas, similar weather issues exist...we selected Phoenix because we have a number of friends from Ab who have places there but I def would pick the Lake Las Vegas area if that were not the case. I guess for me it is easier to select a location because I would only like to spend the winters down south.(so far anyway)
 
HHGT said:
Central Cal. I am really considering it as a retirement destination.
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I drove thru once 23 or 24 years ago on my way to see the Hearst Castle, It was milder then in the summer than the buddies house I was staying at in Palmdale which was a freaking inferno.

Perfect for us would be summers up here, winters down there.

Would you keep your SC showplace you just built?
 
HHGT said:
Central Cal. I am really considering it as a retirement destination.
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Why? Taxes are no better than So Cal. get away from the traffic and crowds, but just as hot ot hotter in the summer, not much by cows and farms. I think Coalinga is cheap if you have the nose for it. :lol

I like 2112's idea better WA and So. Cal where you would spend "most" of your time in WA!


http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/12/21/coalinga/
 
2112 said:
I drove thru once 23 or 24 years ago on my way to see the Hearst Castle, It was milder then in the summer than the buddies house I was staying at in Palmdale which was a freaking inferno.

Perfect for us would be summers up here, winters down there.

Would you keep your SC showplace you just built?
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I have about 8 years before a final decision is made. I will end up buying land at a couple of different places (Hawaii included) with the intention of building the final nest.
 
I am in agreence with all of you as I am planning to sell the current property and build the final house here in BC , I will also be buying a place somewhere south of the border to do the winters in , probably a few years away still ....... unfortuantely !!!!!!!

BC has a great climate in the summer and spring for us car guys , it just plain sucks the big one in the winter ( November to March )

And dont even get me going when it comes to a cost of living , hard to imagine anywhere on earth more expensive than Vancouver , BC
 
gtforme said:
And dont even get me going when it comes to a cost of living , hard to imagine anywhere on earth more expensive than Vancouver , BC
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Hong Kong? :biggrin
 
BlackICE said:
I like 2112's idea better WA and So. Cal where you would spend "most" of your time in WA!
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6 months and 1 day up here to qualify as a resident and save the income tax!

Our other taxes are steep though.
 
2112 said:
6 months and 1 day up here to qualify as a resident and save the income tax!

Our other taxes are steep though.
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It is more complex than days spent at a location. Food for thought, if you never filled a tax return for CA and never do business in CA, how do they know you exist?


http://www.buschfirm.com/articles/tpcArt_avoiding_ca.html
 
 
gtforme said:
This has to be the worst time of year for any car guy...
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Last week we had our annual dusting of snow. Today it was 65 degrees and dry. The GT came out of the garage, and all was right with the world for a while.
 
I've pretty much solved this problem for myself. I have a beautiful small house on a small lake in Michigan with a 3-car heated garage - it's just wonderful in Spring, Summer, and Fall. In the Winter, it sucks, big time. The last three years, we have rented a condo on the water from a Cobra buddy near Daytona, FL. I load one of my old cars up in the trailer, haul it down here, and drive to car shows and cruise ins all over Florida for the Winter. Even got to drop in on StormCat last year. Beats paying taxes & upkeep on two places.

......it was 75 today, and we're looking for near 80 tomorrow...

Jeff
 
Just got back from a drive down Pacific Coast Hwy from Seal Beach thru Huntington Beach. Perfect weather, surf on my right and the pier with Ruby's at the end in the distance. Spectacular! I feel for you guys in the cold weather.
 
Last night the roads were nice and dry. I drove my GT to meet friends early last night. Today it is wet and dreary. So I drove the Raptor. All is good with that combination.
 
BM Socal

I love the Choclate Shakes at Ruby's. Have a friend that lives just up the street and one block south. 5 min walk to all the bars and then breakfast on the pier. If I was younger I would love to move to that area. 1/2 mill. for a 1250 sq ft 2 bedroom condo sounds expensive when he says he stole it. haha


Played golf today in Houston at Kingwood Country Club. Not to bad here.

Larry Boatner
 
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