Winter Texan numbers dropping in the Valley

John&Joey wrote:

...snip... I agree that food and campgrounds would have a greater effect than fuel....at this point anyway.

That still is small potatoes in my mind. Even if parks go up by $200/month and food goes up $200/month that's less then $2,500 for six months of snow birding. If $2,500/year breaks the bank then...

You need to look at the heavy hitters to understand why people choose not to retire early and RV. For me that would be health care costs, initial startup cost for an RV, ongoing depreciation of an RV, and monthly/yearly upkeep of an RV that is used only part of the year. If you FT then your view point on RV costs would be skewed since these are your only major costs to cover vs a land based home.

For many it's cheaper to stay employed for covered health care, and spend the extra money on a (or few) yearly destination vacation. Not my idea of a full life in ones later years, but it suites many and does make sense for them, and isn't a bad long term plan given the economy.