What to with time when avoiding winter?

The time is  approaching when I wont be going out the door to a job every day.

As I get older, I like Ontario winters less and less. The only activity I have is to go out in the shop and work on the project d' jeur.

The Wife Unit is much the same in not having any love of freezing weather.

We have looked at many winter havens around the world where we could hole up for 3 months and avoid the bulk of winter. As a Spanish speaker, South America has a lot of appeal.

But what the hell do I do after the second week? No car and no project leaves me with a lot of time on my hands.

I'm in the same boat as you. I was supposed to retire this year but I can't walk away from this gig.

We're thinking Caribbean, possibly Panama, and more likely somewhere different every year, and that's my question. What do I do after the first few weeks, especially if we have no roots (and no stuff) there?

This is popular in south and central America, and I love to do it but you can only do that so much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fKOwF41MdE

^what he said.  Or mountain biking.  Or, on a less potentially destructive note, music?  You can fly with most reasonably sized instruments, or even build some with pretty minimal tools.

I love, LOVE the desert in the winter. Driving around. Light hiking. Heavy hiking. Just sitting among the weird plants and listening to the sound of nothing. Wandering into small towns and buying groceries. Good on the U.S. side of the border, better on the Mexican side, or it used to be 20 years ago. I have high hopes that somehow it will get back to being the friendly safe place that it was when I'm ready to flee the north in winter. I don't want to live in the desert, but I do want to visit for a couple months each winter. 

There are tropical places with good motorsports scenes, but winter is still between seasons, even if the gap isn't as big. Maybe some place with good offroading since wheeling a full-size 4x4 on public land is illegal in Ontario?

Maybe buy motorhome and use it to travel south america.You will get to see lot's of cool places, wrench on it on the side of the road and visit many tracks

You could leave it stored somewhere when you are ready to go back home and continue the next year from where you finished. You could do this but over a few years

This post may be influenced by my desire to do this myself

I live in argentina, if you have any questions i can answer, feel free to ask

GameboyRMH said:

 Maybe some place with good offroading since wheeling a full-size 4x4 on public land is illegal in Ontario?

It's not, but some places are restricted

His-n-hers Kyosho Blizzards:

Drop them on the front stoop, drive them from the living room window where it is toasty warm. Flip a coin for whoever has to go retrieve one when the battery dies or it gets stuck.

Suprf1y said:

GameboyRMH said:

 Maybe some place with good offroading since wheeling a full-size 4x4 on public land is illegal in Ontario?

It's not, but some places are restricted

From my understanding it's more like "a few places are allowed" for a full-size 4x4 (like a Wrangler for example). Much more is allowed for SxS/UTVs and smaller vehicles.

I live here

EDIT: I will say, though,  that we do have a lot of rules. Too many for me although some people seem to like that kind of thing. And I think, as a result, the people of Ontario seem to think that everything is illegal. Sad but true.

Well I'm from there and I've researched it quite a bit, from a few years back when I was looking at a 4x4 there..I know there are a few dozen places over the province where it's legal to wheel a full-size 4x4 on public land, but after extensive research I'm still not 100% sure of what paperwork would be needed to do this. Just usual street paperwork & plate? ORV Green plate? Both? Can you do that? Lots of info for stuff that legally classifies as an ORV, but nothing on stuff that doesn't, although I'm sure if you joined a 4x4 club someone would know where to point you.

This is why I see a group of men at our local  McDonald's at 6:00am on a Saturday morning hanging out - they have nothing to do.

Move to Santa Barbara, CA.  

1. Walk to the local coffee shop for a scone and coffee every day.  Walk home and watch the news at noon.  

2. Walk to the local fish restaurant for fish tacos every day for an early dinner.  Walk home and watch the 9:00pm WGN News.   Hopefully your route took you near a beach or boardwalk.  

Repeat daily.

Think I am going to need a job. When I was down in Culebra a couple of years back, I was already sizing up the cart rental place for a part time job and negotiating with the property owner to re-wire his new guest room.

Wife unit for sure could score something with ICU nurse background, but not sure if she is up for that. I spent most of my life traveling, she has hardly left the hood she was born into. NOT a Motorsports person in any way shape or form.

The Mobile home gypsy thing might work if I can convince her it is safe. She wont even try the Sailboat that I thought was a natural for this.

I see a pile of Canadian expats during the winter in Florida. 

Datsun310Guy said:

This is why I see a group of men at our local  McDonald's at 6:00am on a Saturday morning hanging out - they have nothing to do.

Move to Santa Barbara, CA.  

1. Walk to the local coffee shop for a scone and coffee every day.  Walk home and watch the news at noon.  

2. Walk to the local fish restaurant for fish tacos every day for an early dinner.  Walk home and watch the 9:00pm WGN News.   Hopefully your route took you near a beach or boardwalk.  

Repeat daily.

 

This sounds like a very cruel and dull version of hell

Second house in S.Florida?  

You can continue your car restoration projects for $. The wife could work p/t at an urgent care center.

When you're driving down, you can stop at my house and pick up my ES to work on. 

If you get bored, you can hang out at the GRM offices and pester them. 

fanfoy said:

Datsun310Guy said:

This is why I see a group of men at our local  McDonald's at 6:00am on a Saturday morning hanging out - they have nothing to do.

Move to Santa Barbara, CA.  

1. Walk to the local coffee shop for a scone and coffee every day.  Walk home and watch the news at noon.  

2. Walk to the local fish restaurant for fish tacos every day for an early dinner.  Walk home and watch the 9:00pm WGN News.   Hopefully your route took you near a beach or boardwalk.  

Repeat daily.

 

This sounds like a very cruel and dull version of hell

Actually not all that rare........life as a fair amount know it....

Ian F said:

Second house in S.Florida?  

You can continue your car restoration projects for $. The wife could work p/t at an urgent care center.

When you're driving down, you can stop at my house and pick up my ES to work on. 

If you get bored, you can hang out at the GRM offices and pester them. 

This and perhaps Tim could use you around the shop....

Winter in SC and work on the truck for me while I am working.

Ian F said:

Second house in S.Florida?  

You can continue your car restoration projects for $. The wife could work p/t at an urgent care center.

When you're driving down, you can stop at my house and pick up my ES to work on. 

If you get bored, you can hang out at the GRM offices and pester them. 

I know for a fact that urgent care facilities in Daytona Beach and South Daytona are always looking for qualified people. Plus you'd already be there for the Rolex.

Well, since we're all trying to get you to come visit now, let me recommend Houston. We'll start with the world class medical facilities, move on to the vibrant winter motorsports scene (I can autocross twice a month all winter), and finish by offering you a pace to stay in the Grosh while you get settled. I can free up the work bay so you have access to the lift and my meager assortment of tools. With four kids, a dog, and a whole binder of ongoing projects, I dare you to get bored. 

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Mazdeuce fishing for free labor. It's basically an awesome car vacation right?

Ian F said:

Second house in S.Florida?  

You can continue your car restoration projects for $. The wife could work p/t at an urgent care center.

When you're driving down, you can stop at my house and pick up my ES to work on. 

If you get bored, you can hang out at the GRM offices and pester them. 

I am still OK with crossing the border, but with the international press you guys are getting, and the E36 M3 going down, not sure I would get the wife to go over the border anymore. She was happier with me going to Nigeria to work than she is when I go visit my parents in FL now!  And no FL is not the answer for me. I don't get that place at least not the Tampa bay area where my parents and brothers live.

But for sure if I were in the Southern states I would find a way to get my hands on some tin to bash even if it was free labour.

Maybe I should just build a corridor between the house and the shop, and replace all the windows in the house with giant TV screens showing tropical views, and not go outside between December and April!

If I buy beer imported from some tropical country, the illusion would be complete!

New Zealand. Their car culture comes from Japan quite a bit as well as Europe. Think of the neat cars available. Oh, and of course Aussie cars!

Aruba has quite the car culture and not enough mechanics to do all the work...