In 2009 we sold our house, boat, and most of our belongings, with the intent to “see the country” in our 5th wheel. We thought we’d travel for a year or two and see how we like it, while looking for the perfect place to retire (since then we have realized that there is no such place). 
Unlike many fulltimers, we did not sell all of our worldly goods- we put them in storage, where they (including a 22 ft jet boat) have sat for almost 6 years.
We’ve had a great time for the last 6 years and if you had asked us last year if we were ready to settle down, we would have said “Hell no”. Then this winter we started having conversations. Paul misses his tools and projects and wants a home base where he can put his creativity and engineering brain to work. We really like Arizona in the winter- not Florida.
We spend a large chunk of the winter just roaming around waiting for the weather to warm up- so we started talking a few months ago about finding a winter home somewhere in Arizona. Someplace we can store all our stuff. We really like the Tucson and Mesa areas, but…….
….. we are boaters at heart- we met boating and have both owned boats most of our adult lives. We bought our first boat together soon after we were married. In fact, at one point, we owned 6 boats!If you want to boat in southwest, Lake Havasu is pretty much the only game in town if you are looking for consistent water levels.
Why is the water level in this lake so consistent? Lake Havasu is one of the major sources of water for southern California.
There are straws that dip into the lake here and suck the water out, where it begins its 250 mile journey to Los Angeles. It wouldn't work if the water level fell below the straws.Anyway, with all that in mind, we booked an extended stay in the Lake Havasu City area. In theory, we were seeing if we enjoyed the lake ( that took about an hour) and if we would enjoy “sitting still” for months at a time. In reality, we started looking at houses as soon as we got to town.
There are certain requirements that our winter home must have- one is a garage big enough to fit our toys. There are lots of homes with RV garages here, but not as many with “mega” RV garages, big enough to fit the trailer and the camper- not to mention our jet boat. Another requirement is parking, with hookup, for at least one, if not two, of our friends’ rigs. The third requirement is a pool- or a yard big enough for one.
After weeks of searching, and not finding exactly what we wanted, our thoughts turned towards building new- so we started looking for appropriate lots. Land is much sought after here in town. With steep hills, not every lot is RV friendly, and being surrounded by Federal land means that future expansion will be limited. After looking at many properties with a realtor, I decided to take a look on Craigslist. And there I found the perfect lot.
Of course it’s hard to see in the pictures, but with almost a half acre, we should have plenty of room to do everything we want, and we even have a peek of the lake from the rear of the property.
Finding a builder was easier. The idea to build was cemented in our brains when we walked into a model home for Seville Builders and really liked it. So, here are some pictures of the basic house we will be building:
If it looks like the garage is bigger than the house- well, almost. Ours will hopefully be even a little bigger, which will give us about 1800 ft of garage space with 1800 ft of living space.
We’ve been to the model a half dozen times already, taking notes for changes we want to make.
The house is a “split” floor plan with master bedroom on one side and two guestrooms on the other.
We really like the openness of the kitchen but will be tweaking where the appliances will go.
The main living area is very open and has a sliding door into the back yard.
Master bedroom opens to the back yard.
Master Bath with a walk in closet and a walk in shower.
We have no intentions of staying in Havasu year round. In fact, with average summer temperatures of 110* and above, we really don’t want to be here. Except this summer. We should be breaking ground in June and we want to be here to watch the house go up.
In general though, we plan on leaving once it warms up, using both the camper and trailer (not at the same time!) to continue our explorations of North America. We’ll also travel a fair amount in the winter, but more than likely it will be shorter trips, in the camper.
