My husband & I are both retired so we've headed for Texas the past few winters. There are lots of quilters and nice shops in the Texas hill country and the Rio Grande Valley. I went to a quilt shop in Harlingen and before I left I had met some wonderful quilters and been invited to join their guild when we're in the area. Another nice area is Georgetown - about 30 miles from Austin. Great quilt shop and lovely people. The first few years we rented a house or condo for a month at a time. A few years ago we purchased a travel trailer - love it and there are some nice RV parks in Texas.