Best weather location for most of the year?

[Boyntonstu]

Have you discovered a location that offers the best weather for most of the year?

In addition,does the location have good shopping and other amenities not too far?

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

I'd think San Diego and Orange county, CA , Second would be Alameda and Santa Clara counties, CA. It would practically DEMAND stealth camping................IMHO.

 

[lenny flank]

Depends on what weather one likes. I like it tropical--around 80-85. So Florida would suit me for most of the year.

But in practice, I snowbird, and go north for the summer and south for the winter.

 

[Boyntonstu]

Depends on what weather one likes.    I like it tropical--around 80-85.  So Florida would suit me for most of the year.

But in practice, I snowbird, and go north for the summer and south for the winter.

Where North for summer?

Where in Florida?

This is my weather:  https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/33435:4:US


Do you have air conditioning?  If so, please describe your power, etc.

 

[user 15722]

Saticoy, California is reputed to have closest to a Mediterranean climate than any other place in the continental US.
and I have no link to support that, sry. wheels

 

[Gideon33w]

I wouldn't live in California if you paid me. Literally. You could not pay me to live there.
If you want a nice climate that isn't in a communist country and doesn't care that you vandwell then Arizona is a good choice.
I don't mean the HOT low desert like Phoenix I mean the much more temperate high desert in other parts of the state.

At the end of the day, there's a lot of factors that should play a roll in where you choose to camp for a bit (or permanently).
Different climates and cultures work for different people. Plus, cost of living can vary wildly depending on location.
I've spent the last decade in deserts and I'm used to them but when I was TDY to Ft Richardson Alaska ... Wow, loved it.

Just figure out what your needs and wants are and where you can get those met. Like choosing a mate, lol.

 

[Boyntonstu]

I wouldn't live in California if you paid me. Literally. You could not pay me to live there.
If you want a nice climate that isn't in a communist country and doesn't care that you vandwell then Arizona is a good choice.
I don't mean the HOT low desert like Phoenix I mean the much more temperate high desert in other parts of the state.

At the end of the day, there's a lot of factors that should play a roll in where you choose to camp for a bit (or permanently).
Different climates and cultures work for different people. Plus, cost of living can vary wildly depending on location.
I've spent the last decade in deserts and I'm used to them but when I was TDY to Ft Richardson Alaska ... Wow, loved it.

Just figure out what your needs and wants are and where you can get those met. Like choosing a mate, lol.

I love your first 3 sentences!  

What does the temperate high desert in Arizona feel like?

Any interesting towns there?

 

[lenny flank]

Where North for summer?

Where in Florida?

This is my weather:  https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/33435:4:US


Do you have air conditioning?  If so, please describe your power, etc.

I am mobile and can go anywhere I wanna go. I've been everywhere from California to North Carolina, and from Florida to Wisconsin. I basically make big laps around the country once a year--north in summer and south in winter

I have no heater or air conditioning. Not needed. I never go where it's very cold or very hot. My only power is a 100w panel on the roof.

 

[lenny flank]

If you want a nice climate that isn't in a communist country

OK, i laughed at this. It reminds me of the old John Birch Society cranks who used to bleat that Richard Nixon and Ike Eisenhower were "communists".

 

[Gideon33w]

I love your first 3 sentences!  

What does the temperate high desert in Arizona feel like?

Any interesting towns there?

Then maybe Arizona is a good place for ya, haha.

The high desert is a dry heat like all deserts but the temperature extremes typically only last about a week. We had one week with temps just over 100 (When Phoenix was setting records) and 1 week with temps below freezing. The area down in the southern most part of AZ (where I am) is called a Cold Semi-Arid Climate (BSk). We still experience monsoon season so most months are 30 days of sunshine but for a few months it's all heavy rain. Many people drive their motorcylces nearly year round if that helps give you an idea.

Depends on what you find interesting. Within 30 minutes of me we have Tombstone. As in Wyatt Earp Tombstone. A little touristy nowadays but interesting. There's also Bisbee which is a bit of a hippy town nestled in the mountains but has a million tiny shops and a pretty cool museum. Both have things I'd consider must-see when down here. The general area (Sierra Vista, Ft Huachuca, Hereford, Huachuca City, etc) is all really laid back with a low cost of living. The house we are looking at is $50k if that gives you an idea. They are all on a plateau surrounded by a ring of mountains which makes the climate even better.

 

[lenny flank]

I visited Tombstone and had a good time there.

Other places in AZ I liked: Titan II Missile Museum, Musical Instrument Museum, Pima Air and Space Museum, Sonora Desert Museum, Petrified Forest/Painted Desert.

 

[PattySprinter]

Depends on what you find interesting. Within 30 minutes of me we have Tombstone. As in Wyatt Earp Tombstone. A little touristy nowadays but interesting. There's also Bisbee which is a bit of a hippy town nestled in the mountains but has a million tiny shops and a pretty cool museum. Both have things I'd consider must-see when down here. The general area (Sierra Vista, Ft Huachuca, Hereford, Huachuca City, etc) is all really laid back with a low cost of living. The house we are looking at is $50k if that gives you an idea. They are all on a plateau surrounded by a ring of mountains which makes the climate even better.

I used to live in Sierra Vista - I would get lost everytime I went to the stores off base lol!
It is a basin and I would end up on my way to Tombstone everytime I went out  :s
Bisbee is lovely - I would go there to look for books and antiques.

 

[Ballenxj]

Have you discovered a location that offers the best weather for most of the year?

In addition,does the location have good shopping and other amenities not too far?

Hawaii? But who can afford to live there?

I wouldn't live in California if you paid me. Literally. You could not pay me to live there.

If you want a nice climate that isn't in a communist country and doesn't care that you vandwell then Arizona is a good choice.

Haha! I'm afraid I have to agree with you on this.

 

[Gideon33w]

Lenny - Those other places you list are not super close but plenty close enough for a vandweller. Of course there's countless things to do in Tucson and Phoenix in general. We try to take trips up there pretty regularly for a variety of reasons. But there's plenty of stuff close by too.

Patty - There really is only one main road exiting post and that turns into the main road through Sierra Vista ... At least there's GPS, haha.

I got stationed at Ft Huachuca originally in 2006. Was here when I got out in 2010 too. Being from NY and knowing I didn't want a city life or gobs of snow I stayed. Yes, I've spent a fair bit of time travelling and also lived in Phoenix for a little but I always come back here. I really like it here and get to skip the really brutal AZ heat. The entire dynamic of the area makes it pretty appealing for vandwelling. Nice climate and laid back with low costs. Hard to beat.

 

[Gideon33w]

Oh, the thing on the left of my profile picture is the Scheiffelin Monument in Tombstone by the way.
Wiki on the guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Schieffelin

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks for that link Gideon. interesting read. highdesertranger

 

[Ballenxj]

Oh, the thing on the left of my profile picture is the Scheiffelin Monument in Tombstone by the way.
Wiki on the guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Schieffelin

The link was a good read.

 

[Gideon33w]

There's actually a lot of cool history for this area. For instance, the San Pedro river was once over a mile wide.
At the time, Tombstone was known for it's ability to grow flowers and most of the area was swamp.
Malaria was actually a huge problem here. There were no cacti anywhere on the plateau.
Then and earthquake in 1895 (iirc) sent the San Pedro underground and the area became a desert.

 

[mert6706]

I haven't seen much of anything in the forums or Bob's blogs about boondocking on the coast, Oregon, Washington or California. Is it pretty much impossible? I'm thinking mostly of beach areas, not cities. I can't-do mountains because of the altitude, and probably can't afford to travel very far for the first year or two. Thanks.

 

[mert6706]

I haven't seen much of anything in the forums or Bob's blogs about boondocking on the coast, Oregon, Washington or California. Is it pretty much impossible? I'm thinking mostly of beach areas, not cities. I can't-do mountains because of the altitude, and probably can't afford to travel very far for the first year or two. Thanks.

Re this post, I meant in the summer months when the deserts get too hot.