Thinking Of Moving South, Where It's Warm

REV353 · August 12, 2009

My wife and I live in Central MN and run a Motorcycle & ATV shop. We are starting to look old man winter in the face and wondering if we want to put up and deal with another winter. In our industry up here you bust your A** all summer long and try and not loose your A** during the winter. With the slow economy most of us haven't been able to put our little nest egg away like we use to, to prepare and deal with a slow winter. So I came up with this brain storm and it's taken my wife a week to think about it and start seeing it through my eyes and understanding. Basically I told here, I we take a proactive approach and end things on our terms, there will be no bankruptcy and we "should" walk away with our debt paid off and cash in our pocket. If we stick it out and theres hardly any snow, we could go $15k plus in more debt and maybe never recover, then you file bankruptcy,loose everything we worked for and think F**k, why didn't we just walk away when we had a chance. My idea came from another local dealership that did this. I have been doing this stuff (dealership wise) for over 15 years, ran my own place for nearly 5. My thought is to pack up what we don't sell off and relocate to a warmer climate where motorcycles run year round. I/we do not like the big city life, we live in a town with around 8k and are with in 70 miles of the twin cities. I like hunting,fishing, racing dirt-bikes, normal guy stuff.

Any help would be great, and a brief explanation why your idea would be good. We would be looking for an Oct-Nov move.

Off the top of our heads we are thinking TX or AZ

prioritypest · August 12, 2009

The winters in az are when most peolpe ride, the dunes are 2-1/2 hours away. Heres a few links to checkout.

http://www.ridingarizona.com/

http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index.php

longhorn_giant · August 12, 2009

Some people think TX is too hot in the summers to ride, and it's hot here a lot. But I see quite a bit of bikes on the roads year round. On any given day at work the motorcycle parking is completely full. Houston itself is huge, but we live in a smaller suburb, and there's plenty of places around houston to look at that have lots of land if you want to spread out. And you're close to the coast for people who like to ride down there.

bossier62guy · August 12, 2009

My wife and I live in Central MN and run a Motorcycle & ATV shop. We are starting to look old man winter in the face and wondering if we want to put up and deal with another winter. In our industry up here you bust your A** all summer long and try and not loose your A** during the winter. With the slow economy most of us haven't been able to put our little nest egg away like we use to, to prepare and deal with a slow winter. So I came up with this brain storm and it's taken my wife a week to think about it and start seeing it through my eyes and understanding. Basically I told here, I we take a proactive approach and end things on our terms, there will be no bankruptcy and we "should" walk away with our debt paid off and cash in our pocket. If we stick it out and theres hardly any snow, we could go $15k plus in more debt and maybe never recover, then you file bankruptcy,loose everything we worked for and think F**k, why didn't we just walk away when we had a chance. My idea came from another local dealership that did this. I have been doing this stuff (dealership wise) for over 15 years, ran my own place for nearly 5. My thought is to pack up what we don't sell off and relocate to a warmer climate where motorcycles run year round. I/we do not like the big city life, we live in a town with around 8k and are with in 70 miles of the twin cities. I like hunting,fishing, racing dirt-bikes, normal guy stuff.
Any help would be great, and a brief explanation why your idea would be good. We would be looking for an Oct-Nov move.

Off the top of our heads we are thinking TX or AZ

Have you ever been to Arizona or West Texas? The dry air in those places will wreak havoc on your skin. I'd stay in the central to east Texas area if that matters to you. There are a lot of nice small towns located in east Texas. BTW, I think you'll find real estate cheaper in Texas plus they actually have grass and trees in the eastern part of the state.

AgDoctor · August 12, 2009

i live in south west GA and wish we had a decent atv mechanic, move here. my grizzly is in the shop getting top and bottom end rebuilt, but i had to drive 1.5 hrs to take it to the closest decent shop.

Hydrasports205 · August 12, 2009

Louisiana - great food, cheap cost of living, year round riding, hunting, and fishing (just don't buy a house south of I-10). East Texas is nice too, but cost of living is a lot higher around the major cities. Lots of people from your neck of the woods have been moving here lately. Job market and economy are still pretty good in La and E. Tx, but if the cap and trade junk passes it'll ruin it.

Sidebar - also heard there's a guy with an established atv/motorcycle business north of Baton Rouge looking to retire.

takevin · August 12, 2009

i live in south west GA and wish we had a decent atv mechanic, move here. my grizzly is in the shop getting top and bottom end rebuilt, but i had to drive 1.5 hrs to take it to the closest decent shop.

I dont know how it is by you, by i lived in Alpharetta, GA for a year, summer humidity sucked major donkey nuts and worlds dumbest drivers were all around. Almost every day saw at least one to two car accidents or hearing about it on the radio. Get a 1/2 snow and and everyone stays home . If it was'nt for that, it'd be a cool place to be.

Roofer · August 13, 2009

Probably great down south, but you guys can have it. I hate the heat and the critters that come along with living down there. I would go North or West if it were me. Although even those places have bigger bears and some lethal snakes.

rev353, what area you from? PM me. I may have a few interested if you sell out.

WaterGuy · August 13, 2009

People have bikes and such in Atlanta but ride North to the Blue Ridge Mountains like to the town of Suches. About 11 months of reasonable weather.

I like it here (Holly Springs).

Not real bad summers.

Not real bad winters.

Go further North and then you start getting real swings in the weather.

toast · August 13, 2009

Well, OP, i can tell you that I'm from NY, and lived in El Paso, TX for 5 years and don't miss the heat at all. The only place hotter out there is AZ! The flip side is there are people, including myself, who ride all year round. El Paso is notorious for people who will do anything to get the cheapest price and low ballers make it difficult to get established as I was starting a vehicle modification shop there. Long story short, I left for the north. Hope you find a better place without losing your shirt.

REV353 · August 13, 2009

Louisiana - great food, cheap cost of living, year round riding, hunting, and fishing (just don't buy a house south of I-10). East Texas is nice too, but cost of living is a lot higher around the major cities. Lots of people from your neck of the woods have been moving here lately. Job market and economy are still pretty good in La and E. Tx, but if the cap and trade junk passes it'll ruin it.

Sidebar - also heard there's a guy with an established atv/motorcycle business north of Baton Rouge looking to retire.

If you have a name or more info email it to [email protected]

REV353 · August 13, 2009

I am meeting with the Lawyer in 30 Min's to view our opinions. I could refinance here and have more debt and longer payments and take a bigger chance. I am about 90% we will be moving on. I have been looking in the Fort Worth area, but GA sounds good too.

I hope to see more ideas and whys, this so far has helped a bunch. I most likely will reopen a repair shop where ever we go.

Thanks So Far,.

ColoradoSkiCountry · August 13, 2009

St. George or Lake Powell, Utah.

tramz · August 19, 2009

Coastal Florida (Gulf coast). Ride 12 months a year, sea breeze keeps the summer heat and humidity lower than nominal, don't have to worry about many summer critters within few miles of the shoreline. Gulf water keeps the temp in winter a little higher than nominal. If you don't feel like riding, go fishing offshore in the morning, flats in the evening. And no state income tax.

ATMINF · August 21, 2009

I am a military guy and my father was military so I have lived in alot of different places, and I plan to retire and transition to civilian life here in GA. I live about 25 miles outside of Atlanta, and the great thing is that the housing costs are not bad, taxes are okay, and schools are good. Also most people are hard working down to earth, and are good people. You also have alot of people that enjoy the outdoors, so you should have a good demographic of people that can support your business. With Atlanta being close you have a larger population that can support your business, but being in the burbs allows you to stay away from all the people if you choose to. I have lived here just over a year and my family and I rarely go into the city (except for my work), because everything we need is close. We have the standard Wally world, Sams Club, Target, and also a very large a good mall only 5 mins away. My brother in law and his family liked it so much when they visited us when we move in, they left southern California and move next to us. They just bought a house that is about 3000sq ft with a little over a acre for about $175,000. Just my two cents but I really like it here and my family is happy. Also as long as you stay outta of Atlanta you don't have any issues with the whiny people, that are such dorks about guns, hunting, and tree hugging!