Posted on 06/05/2020 5:08:37 AM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free
I need help from the Freeper family for cross country travel advice during the Covid re-opening, to drive from California to the southeast and scout out locations for a new place to live.
I am asking Freepers for information regarding travel restrictions and accomodations in various states, at and to my destinations.
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Questions
1. Are hotels open for business in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennesee?
2. Are masks and face coverings mandatory in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee?
3. Are apartment managers allowing visitors to physically see units in their apartment complexes, or is everything still being done remotely in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee?
4. Can I drive through Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana on my way to and from those 4 states or do I have to 14-day quarantine every time I drive into a new state?
5. Are rest stops opened in the above states of Arizona to Arkansas, or do I have to bring a jar to pee in on the way? Are Truck Stops opened?
Here are all the places I would like to visit. I would be leaving July 1, 2020 at the latest and will probably take 6-8 weeks to see all these locations.
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Destinations
Alabama -- Orange Beach, Madison (Huntsville suburb), Fairhope
Florida -- Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Pensacola
South Carolina -- Mount Pleasant (Charleston suburb), Hilton Head, North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Socastee
Tennessee -- Farragut, Powell, Maryville (Knoxville suburbs), Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain (Chattanooga suburbs), Brentwood, Franklin (suburbs of Nashville)
I apologize for the Vanity, but I am kind of at my wits end seeking accurate and timely informaion about travel restrictions to and through the various states and hoping Freepers can help me out. Most state web sites are out of date. Leave California or Bust.
Awesome. Great to know I can travel through Texas without problem. It is a BIG state so I will definitely need a hotel stay. Good to know I won’t have to turn around or waste 2 weeks before moving on.
Thanks for the scoop. I really appreciate the help.
No real issues in Arizona.
You may run into mask drama in Navajo Nation area on I40 but that is about it.
You’d be about 1 mile from my house if you come come East through Mobile to get to Orange Beach. No mandatory anything. About the only restriction you’ll find is a check point at the Florida boarder. They’ll ask you if you have been in Lousyanna. Just say you drove through without stopping. You might have to pull over and fill out a form, but that’s it. I drive through it every weekday morning. Expect a long line.
Don’t know about rentals.
Make DARNED sure you go to Buccee’s!!!!!
I am thrilled to hear Arizona won’t be a problem.
I havne’t decided taking I-10 vs I-40. My first decision is go or don’t go. With all the help in this thread saying that I can burn through the southwest without issues, and with the states I want to research mostly being open, I am already leaning heavily toward going. The help I have gotten on this thread is doing wonders toward aleviating my anxiety at cross country travel at this time. So, “whew!”
As soon as I commit to this, then I will plan my trip. I have been cross country on both routes and I would probably be inclined to take I-10.
Thanks especially for the advice to avoid Phoenix and Tucson. Much appreciated.
You have to go to the county tax assessor’s office to get it arranged, but it is a nice benefit.
There are lots of good, Bible-believing, non-liberal churches in Alabama. And, if you like sports ...
Alabama is completely open. Hotels are open. Restaurants at 50% capacity. Birmingham has a mask ordinance, but rest of state is free.
Beaches are open. I recommend Fairhope for your search - Gulf Coast charm but not as tourist crammed as Gulf Shores/Orange Beach.
I’m right outside of Nashville. We’re in Phase 2 or 3 of reopening. Most restaurants are open with tables distanced. Most wait staff wear masks but you don’t have to. Stores are opening..some ask for masks, some don’t. Hotels are open. As far as quality of life, Middle TN is pretty awesome. Avoid Nashville (Davidson County) because of high taxes (mayor of Nashville just proposed a 32% property tax hike) but any of the surrounding counties are better on taxes. I’m in your age group and I love it here where I am (Cheatham County). Absolutely beautiful countryside, Cumberland and Harpeth Rivers flow through this area. Quiet and charming here but only 25 miles away from Music City and all Nashville has to offer entertainment-wise. Come for a visit! We’ll leave the light on for ya!
Be sure to move to a Constitutional Carry State.
We moved from CA to MS. Mr. 9mm is always by my side.
Welcome to Florida. You should have no issues in general... If you have any liberal belief if you do...
Leave your BS liberal in your home state..
NIce to hear I am good to go through Texas. It sounds like smooth sailing to Alabama or Tennessee for me from all the replies I have received so far. I am getting anxious to go!
It is wonderful to hear that Tennessee is open by and large. That is a big relief. I will see how easy it is to get hotel reservations. Otherwise, it sounds like I am good to go. Just maybe I can do this trip now and not have to wait until next summer to leave California.
I mean, the sooner the better.
So sad to hear South Carolina cities are going purple. Not that I plan to live in a city but I will be going in regularly for fun and frolic. I want to be near a city.
I hope there is no change of the entire state going purple in the next 20 years. Virginia flipped so quickly it is scary, but then they were buried by thousands and thousands of new liberal employees working in Washington DC. South Carolina doesn’t have that problem.
All cities are liberal, so that is to be expected. I just want to make sure South Carolina stays conservative. I don’t want to move again once I buy a home. Of course, this upcoming move, I will just be renting as that is what everybody recommends. Don’t buy until you rent a year.
I am so glad ot hear that South Carolina is open. That is a big relief. From all the positive responses here, I am gaining confidence that I can head out in July and do my search this summer. And maybe even move in the fall. What a blessing that would be. Bye California! And good riddance.
I have seen much of New England but would NEVER live there.
I want to live in a conservative southron state but have never spent much time there. I have blown through some of the states on my way to other places, but aside from Charleston and Disney World, I haven’t spent much time in the South.
Now I want to move there, so it is about time I put boots on the ground and saw for myself.
I only retired the first of the year. Naturally, I got the flu all January (not Covid) and by the time I got around to deciding to see the south, Covid hid and everything shut down.
Timing is everything. From all the helpful posts on this thread, I am finding at this time I can drive cross country and have hotels to stay in and stores to eat at while I look for my new home about as far from California as my wheels can take me. The 2 things I can’t take are liberals states and snow. So that really leaves the south for me.
Thanks.
That is a good idea to avoid counties with big cities. I should use that philosophy to plan my entire route. All I need are hotels and truck stops and I’m good. I love truck stops — the food and service is good.
Good advice. Thank you.
I’m doing a long trip before long. Weapons and CCL on board. Only thing I am doing special is hand sanitizer, masks for where needed, and I am taking my own pillows and pillow cases to use in a motel and toss when arrving at my cabin.
I figure the rest of a motel room is probably fairly virus free.
I do live on a major north-south highway and I can tell the traffic has picked up the last few weeks. Going both directions.
We don't eat out or travel so what goes on outside the farm is news to us. I do know the beaches are open because my grandkids are here from Arizona for the summer and my wife checked on beach accommodations for a week for them. Everybody gives a green light.
Like I said, I don't follow much about what's going on outside of the farm because there's no need to. Local grocery store in the little town a few miles away requires masks because the country commissioners' require them, but most people don't wear them. I haven't worn a mask at all since this virus thing started. The big city might be different but smaller towns are less concerned about these things. And less likely to follow rules that attempt to control their lives. That's why they live in the rural area, so they don't have to conform.
I haven't seen any evidence of rioting myself but my wife and oldest granddaughter said Wally World in the big city had cleared out all of their guns and jewelry when they went food shopping there last week. Preemptive measures probably.
Most of these things you are concerned about occur in the big cities. Stay away from them and you'll have a better chance of avoiding liberals from up north and problems with this phony virus scam and rioting for some black guy across the country in Minnesota. Out here where I live, unless I read about it on FreeRepublic, I wouldn't know any of this was going on. No TV, no newspaper, no radio. Life is much more peaceful that way.
I will definitely check out Gulf Breeze, Navarre, and Niceville. When you are doing research, you usually just get the big names like Pensacola. Nobody tells you about the hidden gems. Which you just did, so thank you for that. I sincerely appreciate it. One of those could become my home some day.
It is great to hear Florida is open. That is a huge help.
That is a great resource. Super helpful. Some of the info is pretty old, but it is still a LOT more information than I had before you posted that for me.
Thank you.
You are fine traveling through big cities, but I encourage not getting hotels there.
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