On the road
Snowbird: south or home
Wintering south is not free, but staying home is not either. Heating a house you are not in, and driving two thousand miles, both cost real money. Here is the break-even.
Down south
Seasonal rates beat nightly by a mile.
Activities, eating out, laundry.
The house while you are gone
Set low, not off.
Water, electric you would use anyway.
You are living in it instead.