RGV ten year trend

I am in Victoria Palms in Donna, TX which is a mid valley location and one of the highest priced parks of the 400 mentioned in the RGV. I started wintering here as a winter Texan in my RV 13 or so years ago. At that time you needed a reservation months in advance and the entire 1,000 plus sites were rented for most of the winter season.

The park has mobile homes, park models and RV sites along with a 100 three room suites and 20 motel rooms. The RV sites are divided between an older area with small sites and a newer area with large landscaped sites.

A number of years ago the reservation requirement was no longer needed and about three years ago there were many unoccupied sites in the winter season. The last two years has seen a reversal in this trend. Although reservations are still not needed, if you want to be in the new and nicer section you will need a reservation. Last year this section was fully occupied.

Regarding the question "what is there to do"? My friends in NJ ask me this all the time. My first answer is the resort is like a cruise ship that never moves. We have, shows, dances activities, pools, a restaurant, etc. My second answer is that this is not a dirty dusty backwater in the middle of nowhere. Current estimates put the American side of the RGV population at 1.3 million and the Mexican side has over 2 million. There is plenty to do.

Prior to my coming to the RGV I wintered in Florida in the Orlando and Vero Beach areas. I found out that I did not want to go to the Orlando area attractions every day. How many days can you spend at Disney or Universal before you are theme parked out? Vero Beach is an up scale Florida area and very nice.......... but guess what........ there is more to do in the RGV than in the Vero Beach area.

I do not know if the trend in my RV park translates to the rest of the parks in the RGV. What I see is that the people in my park want the best sites and they make use of all that the "criuse ship" has to offer.

Victoria Palms Rv Park also has a very nice clubhouse and pool area.

alfredmay wrote:



Regarding the question "what is there to do"? My friends in NJ ask me this all the time. My first answer is the resort is like a cruise ship that never moves. We have, shows, dances activities, pools, a restaurant, etc. My second answer is that this is not a dirty dusty backwater in the middle of nowhere. Current estimates put the American side of the RGV population at 1.3 million and the Mexican side has over 2 million. There is plenty to do.
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Here lies the answer as to why the trend in the RGV is downward. There are people that take cruises and never leave the ship. However, most people choose cruises based on the itinerary. Right or wrong, the Mexican border and border towns are viewed as impoverished and potentially dangerous. That means you can throw out the attraction of the Mexican side for many potential visitors. You can claim there is more to do in the RGV than the other snowbird hotspots, but to most people that is just not what they believe. There is no professional sports, no major college sports, no casinos or major entertainment venues. It is not noted for having fantastic golf courses, national parks fine dining or vibrant cities within a short drive. There are no major airports for either taking trips or easy access for people visiting. People envision it being exactly what you describe, RV parks that are pretty much both the place you park and where you do your recreation. That is just not appealing to many recent retirees. They have other visions of retirement. That is just the way it is.

After escaping a flash flood at an RV resort in Weeping Water, Nebraska, we were told: "Never camp at a campground that has the words "water," "wind," or "sunshine" in their name. Well, we ignored that and camped in the RGV at "Tropic Winds." One day that wind carried me 1/10 of a mile (the length of the street), and I never pedaled the entire way! It took me twenty minutes of pushing that bike against the wind to get back to my rig. Two days later, we gave up the remaining four weeks of that stay, and made a bee-line for Florida! We have now enjoyed Florida for more than a dozen years! Yes, it's more expensive -- although central Florida can compete pricewise with the RGV, and provide better weather. If relaxing under a palm tree with a mild breeze while holding a book in one hand and your refreshment in the other, is your idea of retirement, then you owe it to yourself to try Florida. Life is too short to fight an area of Texas that sees you as "skinflints who come here with a T-shirt and a dime, and don;t want to change either one." Yep, a store owner told me that one my first week in the RGV. Are you a skinflint? If so, you're in the right place.

When someone asked my father in law what he did when camping, he asked them back, "You have to "Do" something?" That generation worked for everything they got and were ready for a rest. Young people today may not have worked that hard?

One observation is that the more expensive options are filling up quicker, according to alfredmay and pawatt?

We bought our RV lot 13 years ago and there was a lot of building and people were buying 2-3-4 lots with the intent of selling and making a big profit. Most still have them and are trying to sell at half the price. We are going to sell this winter also, but with the current crop of Cops shows, Boarder Wars, and problems just across the boarder in Reynosa, potential buyers think we live in a war zone!

TomG2 wrote:
One observation is that the more expensive options are filling up quicker, according to alfredmay and pawatt?

Yes the most expensive Parks and the least expensive Parks have the greatest occupancy from my observations. The mid range Parks have the most vacancies.

WesternRVParkOwner,

Some of what you say it true but much is not.
There are three airports in the RGV. United, Delta. American and Southwest fly into them. I myself now fly to the RGV from NJ on a one stop flight.

There are professional sports teams in the RGV. They are minor league and play soccer and basketball.

The University of Texas RGV plays Division 1 sports in everything except football. They belong to the WAC.

There is a world class beach.

No one place has the best of everything. The airports in the RGV are smaller, but you can get to every major city in the USA with only one connection. There are entertainment venues but they are not Las Vegas style places......... of course Las Vegas has no beach.

No one place suits everyone.. The RGV of 10 years ago is not the RGV today. A lot has charged.

alfredmay wrote:
WesternRVParkOwner,

Some of what you say it true but much is not.
There are three airports in the RGV. United, Delta. American and Southwest fly into them. I myself now fly to the RGV from NJ on a one stop flight.

There are professional sports teams in the RGV. They are minor league and play soccer and basketball.

The University of Texas RGV plays Division 1 sports in everything except football. They belong to the WAC.

There is a world class beach.

No one place has the best of everything. The airports in the RGV are smaller, but you can get to every major city in the USA with only one connection. There are entertainment venues but they are not Las Vegas style places......... of course Las Vegas has no beach.

No one place suits everyone.. The RGV of 10 years ago is not the RGV today. A lot has charged.

Perception is reality when it comes to choosing places to snowbird. The southern border of Texas is perceived to be unsafe. The Rio Grand Valley is not perceived to be as culturally vibrant as the Phoenix area, southern California or Southern Florida. Minor league soccer is not perceived to be an equal to professional football in LA, Tampa, Jacksonville (and whatever you call what the Dolphins and the Cardinals are rolling out onto the field this year.). Three and a half hours away from San Antonio does not make Donna Texas commuting distance for shopping, dining and entertainment. When you ask most people where in the US do they want to take a winter vacation, Brownsville and McAllen, Texas just isn't on the list.
These observations are not intended to denigrate where you choose to winter, it is intended to answer the observations of the Original Post as to why it appears the number of Winter Texans are declining. The shortest answer comes from Bob Dylan: "Times, they are a changin'".