my Gas bill in New England if I used it to heat would be $1200 a month ukman...then the cost of Electric on top about another #200 in winter..we moved back to wood fires..cheaper but hard work and very cold first thing in the morning..it reminds me of my childhood and coalfires..my Nan would get up at 5 to put them on all through our house..never thought I would end up going back to the good old days in the USA ...lol...but everyone here now burns woods..its very foggy sometimes with the smoke and the smell of burnt wood hangs over the Cape..its only been like that the last few years but $150 worth of wood will see you through winter..

If I were retired and had around six months in the US..I would start off in FL and work my way up the East coast by May which is lovely here..that time of year motels are cheap it would work out better than owning...you could rent a town house or something in FL for a few months then move on..flying is so cheap to a lot of places you could really go anywhere..its only $70 for me to travel to FL from MA...the biggest cost is always car rental..
I know many people come to the US for the weather..but it is very extreme here sometimes..I miss the UK weather...being free to travel within the US is a lot better for early retirement ...most of my retired neighbours are in their late 80s and they drive all over the US to get away from the weather..