Less Young People Camping?

run100 wrote:

Horizon170 wrote:

Aridon wrote:
People are making poorer decisions based on if they can barely afford the payment for something. That is why most are worse off.

I agree, poor money management does have a lot to do with it, but the cost of living has escalated drastically over the past many years. Just housing and health care alone is staggering.

My mother-in-law raised 5 children without health insurance and paid cash for medical bills all along the way. Today, that would be very difficult.

My wife and I both paid our college tuition as we went through school (without loans or credit card debt). It is highly unlikely my kids could do the same if they choose to attend the same university.

Couldn't agree more.

My family is in the younger generation. Wife and I are in our early thirties and 2 kids under 12. We live carefully and don't attempt to keep up with the Joneses. We make decent money.

What it comes down to is this: time and money.

Money: Recreation of any sort is expensive. We know all of the tricks to do it on a shoestring budget, but it is still expensive. Between fuel, food, camp ground fees, etc. $100 a night is easy to hit. Or, I can buy a pass to the local water slide park for $100 that is good for the whole summer. If you're so inclined, throw in a $300 a month trailer payment (we don't have a payment on ours) - $3600 a year. Let's say you get 2 weeks of vacation a year - between the trailer payment and the $100 a night in expenses... $5000 a year. Divided by 14 vacation days... $357.14 a night. $5000 buys a week at Disney Land. Or two weeks in Mexico.

Time: My work revolves around the summer heat. I work in air conditioning. Which means summer vacations are out of the question. On the rare occasion we do go camping in the summer, it's a quick trip to a campground or a close lake. Then we have to haul butt home on Sunday afternoon to be back at work on Monday morning. That isn't fun - it's stressfull. I realize everyone isn't in the same situation that we are, but I think it is common.

And that leads me to another observation on vacation time. Quite a few of our 30-something friends aren't using their vacation time. We live in a highly competitive economy. Some people simply cannot take a vacation anymore. If they do, they will likely be replaced by someone who is willing to give up their time off. Or like my wife's situation: her work will continue to pile up while she is on vacation so she has to work twice as hard when she returns. To her, sometimes the vacation isn't even worth it because of the work load when she returns. Many, many people are in the same boat. Recent studies by payroll companies show more and more vacation hours going unused every year. It is a sad reflection on our current situation and is an unfortunate slice of reality.

We still do go camping when we can (spring and fall), but it is becoming more and more difficult to do so.

Everyone has their own take on things, and this is mine.