RV park life, is it affordable for low income?

[user 37446]

Yep, more and more I'm aligning with your opinion.

I recently read a homesteading thread about a couple who bought some land, put a storage container on it filled with belongings, then went back to their house to get it ready for closing.

They came back and someone had used an angle grinder to cut thru the container wall, well, you know the rest.

They figured it had to be locals. So in the end they sold and disappeared.

Maybe most don't suffer that fate yet it only takes you being gone on a trip just once. If everything you have is in your vehicle (van/rv/Yugo/whatever) then you aren't as likely to have to endure that loss.

 

[Malamute]

For Sale
$15,000

• 5.3acre lot

G367 S Martinez Rd, Terlingua, TX 79852​

• Property type
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• Time on Realtor.com
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Property overview​

This surveyed 5.302 acre tract is less than 2 miles off Highway 118 and only a 25 minute drive to Big Bend National Park. The Little Burro Country Store is also right down the road. Easily accessible!! No high clearance or 4WD required. Level building site and amazing views of the surrounding mountains make this the perfect spot to build your off-grid cabin. For more information or to schedule a showing call Lynn .

I believe this is the area Ara Gureghian lived in the winter when he was nomadding around with his dog Spirit with the motorcycle and sidecar rig. I think he had a conex box there, and stayed in a tent part of the time, and maybe a camper or motor home part time, Im not sure. He had health problems and needed to be closer to a town and doctors so sold it and moved to a small town in NM.



https://theoasisofmysoul.com/

 

[shadowmoss]

I met Ara once when he traveled through Olympia, WA several years ago. Interesting guy. Loved his journal and he is/was a commercial chef. His early journals feature some of his travel cooking.

 

[RonDean]

Yep, more and more I'm aligning with your opinion.

I recently read a homesteading thread about a couple who bought some land, put a storage container on it filled with belongings, then went back to their house to get it ready for closing.

They came back and someone had used an angle grinder to cut thru the container wall, well, you know the rest.

They figured it had to be locals. So in the end they sold and disappeared.

Maybe most don't suffer that fate yet it only takes you being gone on a trip just once. If everything you have is in your vehicle (van/rv/Yugo/whatever) then you aren't as likely to have to endure that loss.

I am thinking this fate could be dealt with if there was a community of nomads owning or sharing land and willing to watch out for the property of absent travelers. Heck, I don't need mega acres in the middle of nowhere. Just a small plot near others of the same mindset would be more than adequate. For those times when I might need to settle for a spell. Too much to ask? Maybe.

 

[rruff]

doh....

 

[rruff]

I am thinking this fate could be dealt with if there was a community of nomads owning or sharing land and willing to watch out for the property of absent travelers.

Buy 40 acres in a good location with no zoning restrictions, and basically make it a cheap RV park. Just depends on how many "amenities" you'd like to provide... cost sharing and economies of scale should allow for decent facilities (like a well, road maintenance, maybe electric) without high cost. Except for the ever present issues of having to deal with other people, I like the idea. A single responsible owner (maybe with partners) and the rest leasing, makes the most sense I think.

 

[LargeMarge]

... a community of nomads owning or sharing land and willing to watch out...plot near others of the same mind... For those times... I might need to settle for a spell.

.
Eugene, Oregon area.
.
In the tiny burg of Marcola about twenty miles east of us, the Willamettans operate a forested forty acres.
Lots are available to purchase, or lease is probably optional.
About a hundred RV sites, and those are probably optional, too.
Tiny houses are probably optional.
Campsites are also available... a tent is probably optional.
Hot tub, pool, club house, and probably shuffleboard... although participation is probably optional.
The dreaded name-badges might be optional.
.
Disclaimer:
Hearsay.
We never visited.
Residents keep inviting us, but we just don't have the time.
.
https://willamettans.wildapricot.org

 

[rruff]

In the tiny burg of Marcola about twenty miles east of us, the Willamettans operate a forested forty acres.

That doesn't look like cheap RV living...

RV and Tent Sites
Tent site:----------------- $23.00/night
RV site:-------------$40.00/night full hook up
$35.00/without sewer hook up

.... but it has fringe benefits... being a members only Family Nudist Resort and all....

​

 

[VanFan]

I believe this is the area Ara Gureghian lived in the winter when he was nomadding around with his dog Spirit with the motorcycle and sidecar rig.

Brought tears to my eyes. Reminds me of "AstroBri(an)". RIP.

 

[RonDean]

That doesn't look like cheap RV living...

RV and Tent Sites
Tent site:----------------- $23.00/night
RV site:-------------$40.00/night full hook up
$35.00/without sewer hook up

.... but it has fringe benefits... being a members only Family Nudist Resort and all....

​

LMAO... and couldn't stop. Back in my twenties I didn't hesitate to frequent nude beaches. Now though... it isn't quite my style. Even after losing 50+ pounds over the last year. (self-back patting)

But, as rruff says, it just takes someone(s) to set up a cheap RV park. For myself, I don't mind visiting the desert SW, but can't see myself spending a lot of time there. So, my dream Cheap RV park would have to be NW part of the US. The Oregon part of LargeMarge's suggestion really caught my interest. That was before Ruff went and poured cold water on the idea. But, I would certainly invest $$ and labor into something near there that allowed me to keep my clothes on. I'm just not flush enough or young enough the shoulder the majority of the responsibility required. If anyone else is, hit me up.

 

[Morgana]

nude beaches. Now though... it isn't quite my style. Even after losing 50+ pounds over the last year

As far as I can tell (from insisting on driving to the end of the road at Canaveral National Seashore, until I figured out that both ends have "unofficial" nudist beaches), they're not about flaunting iron bods.
Though of course it still doesn't have to be your style. It makes me scritchy just to think about all that sand ...

Congrats on the 50+! any tips for the rest of us?

 

[RonDean]

As far as I can tell (from insisting on driving to the end of the road at Canaveral National Seashore, until I figured out that both ends have "unofficial" nudist beaches), they're not about flaunting iron bods.
Though of course it still doesn't have to be your style. It makes me scritchy just to think about all that sand ...

Congrats on the 50+! any tips for the rest of us?

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I also want to answer the diet question for anyone interested.

It was lose weight or get a new knee. Maybe 2. And forget about fad diets. I tried them all and none ever stuck long term. Exercise? HAH! It's good for keeping your head in the game long term, but for weight loss? Nope. Certainly not when your weight is already holding you back. Side fact... All those folks on the TV show Biggest Loser have all gained their weight back except for one that got into exercise. So, it can help long term. BTW: I really recommend a book (Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding) that gets into the whole subject. There are also several interviews on You Tube that are easy to find.

Anyway, my own journey was to cut my calories to no more than 800 healthy (mainly plant based) calories a day and I also added all the exercise my poor old bode allowed. In 6 months I have dropped over 3 men's bowling balls. (That's how I calculate it in my head.) And it's a life-long diet I can keep. Maybe I'll up the calories later on - when my metabolism allows.

 

[Frood]

Anyway, my own journey was to cut my calories to no more than 800 healthy (mainly plant based) calories a day and I also added all the exercise my poor old bode allowed. In 6 months I have dropped over 3 men's bowling balls. (That's how I calculate it in my head.) And it's a life-long diet I can keep. Maybe I'll up the calories later on - when my metabolism allows.

Once you get to your target weight you will HAVE to up the calories... At least to the point that you can maintain your weight, otherwise you will keep burning your stock of stored fuel (and keep losing weight). Either that or exercise less to use fewer calories. Sounds like you are on the right path though! I'm still in the early stages of the process myself. Good Luck!

 

[dreamrunnerjt]

Once upon a time I seriously went on a diet. I was in my late 20s so weight loss and exercise was easier then. Nothing special, I ate what I wanted but I took very small bites and chewed each bite about 30 times. I did not put any more food in my mouth until I had swallowed all of the prior bite. Meals took a long time and I frequently got tired of the taste of the food before finishing my portion. Because of that I was eating less. Yes, I was also exercising. I started slow and gradually increased the work out as I got stronger. It took months and the loss was slow but it worked. Now I just need the self control at 60+ to do it again.

 

[rruff]

Now I just need the self control at 60+ to do it again.

Ha! At least for me, it's gotten way tougher. I get lots of exercise and don't think I eat much, but it seems like there has been a metabolic shift that pulls in the other direction. Lifting weights is supposed to be good for old men, and I don't do that.

 

[Carla618]

Anyway, my own journey was to cut my calories to no more than 800 healthy (mainly plant based) calories a day and I also added all the exercise my poor old bode allowed. In 6 months I have dropped over 3 men's bowling balls. (That's how I calculate it in my head.) And it's a life-long diet I can keep. Maybe I'll up the calories later on - when my metabolism allows.

Congrats on losing the weight. I'm in the same boat, only my second knee is starting to fail. I know our metabolism slows with age, but I'm guessing you could increase your calories and still lose weight pretty fast. Even 1200 calories a day would allow you to lose weight rapidly.

Counting calories is how I kept my weight down as an adult. I blew up around 45, though (20 years ago). Now I have diabetes and heart problems. I want to count calories like you do, but I am worried about the diabetes. I feel pretty sick when my sugar gets low. My doctor gave me a book with meal plans. Gotta tackle it.

Grats again!

 

[jacqueg]

Ha! At least for me, it's gotten way tougher. I get lots of exercise and don't think I eat much, but it seems like there has been a metabolic shift that pulls in the other direction. Lifting weights is supposed to be good for old men, and I don't do that.

Yup, everything runs slower these days. Plus - I noticed a while back that my old comfortable padding has started to move around!

 

[LargeMarge]

... I took very small bites and chewed each bite about 30 times...Meals took a long time...

.
I read your post while having some elk stew.
Intrigued, I took my usual small bite, and counted my chews.
Fifty-five (55).
Fifty-five chews before I felt that one bite was soaked and soft enough to pass it to the next stage of digestion.
.
.
An aside:
Eugene Oregon had ['had', hat over heart in memoriam, wipes tears from cheeks] a local branch outlet of HomeTown Buffet.
My second home.
I rarely escaped the joint in less than a couple-three hours... and then only because I was getting 'noddy', the beginning stages of a food-coma setting in.
.
Oddly, I never got tired of the flavors.
Perhaps because I tended to see their offerings as basic ingredients... combining this with that for something unexpected.
.
But back on-track:
* I almost never buffet with a co-conspirator.
They eat quick, finish fast, then need to rush off to check-off some other box of their to-do list.
More power to them.
.
Some of us have a different type of goal:
* a calendar with nothing on it.
Empty boxes, not much standing in the way of trying a new buffet.
.
.
But back on 'track' track:
* can you imagine an RV park for nomads... with a buffet.
[quivers in anticipation]

 

[RonDean]

I read that 1 cheeseburger = 3 hours walking. And I doubt if that includes a lower metabolism and slower walk that most of us senior citizens have. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't have enough hours in my day to exercise away that kind of diet. And not to get too political here, but today the government directs the bulk of its food subsidies toward commodity crops like corn and soybeans that are used to make cheap sugars, starches, and oils that end up in highly-processed junk foods. Just maybe - if we subsidized healthy food instead - our country wouldn't have so many food related health problems.

What is startlingly clear to me NOW is how much easier and enjoyable exercise can be AFTER you have lost a significant amount of weight. I wish I had gotten serious about this a long time ago.

 

[RonDean]

Ever post something and afterward decided it didn't really need to be said? Sorry for derailing the thread.

Back to that, there is a connection here to affordability. I have found that avoiding meat and processed food has made a significant difference in my food budget - and therefore in the dollars I have left for RV parks. To answer the original question, how affordable is living in an RV park? Depends on how much money you have coming in, doesn't it? I keep thinking there must be cheap places to park that affords some measure of convenience. Things like water and electricity, for example. Probably in some very rural location. But, I have yet to find any.