Hi Scott.... We went to south Florida a couple times and found more things we didn't like than did like. Crowded line ups, expensive to golf and things like that. In 2009 we were coming back to Ontario after our second trip and decided to try Texas. We had used weatherbase.com for temperatures and wanted the warmest we could get. We had been to Cuba twice and loved the weather there and found only Brownsville, TX had the same weather temps as south Florida. We enjoyed the drive from Fort Myers very much. We stopped in Corpus Christi because on the internet it looked like a quiet retirement community but when we got there it was a huge refinery. We had looked at the Rio Grande Valley where Brownsville is and tried there. We loved it from the beginning. While not as pretty as Florida the people were just like the folks where we live, no line ups and a reasonable price to golf ... exactly what we were looking for and have been going there ever since.
We used to drive there but bought our trailer this year to explore things on our journey there. We want to stop in Louisiana this year and who knows about next year. Also the Texas hill country around San Antonio is just beautiful. We would like to spend more time there as well. I am sure that no matter where you look for a winter retreat there will be things you like but Texas is for us.