Snowbirds' impact on the local economy.

[John_Joey]

This is written for deep south Texas, but I suspect it is true for many areas. Interesting article, at the end they also makes a case for the slow declining snowbird numbers which many members seem to be noticing and posting on. Note article is 2 years old.

CLICKY

[John_Joey]

I think you got trapped some bad rattlesnake there Supercharge. :B

[Supercharged]

Shot-N-Az wrote:
Yuma’s population triples in winter. A bit of an impact there.

Population triples in the winter. Also spending jumps by 10 % also. They can't get there fingers that far down in the pocket. They go 6 people for each pickup, to save the fuel on three pickup. They pass the plate around at the fast food before they buy the last plate as not to waist a dime.
They look for used food for the ref. at home, when one leaves for the season they sell the extra food left over for 1/2 price to the guy next door and he will sell the rest two week later to the couple next to him.
Many check the air in there tires every 3 hrs. to make sure they get the best mileage. When Wal Mart cuts them off from free parking they may form a army to take over a few stores along I-40 I-8 I-10 and a few more. Remember free everything is what Snow Birds are about.

[2gypsies1]

C Schomer wrote:
I wish there was an award for boosting the Az. economy ... This is our first month and the first year of snow birding and we've already contributed $36K to the Az economy! Craig and Kim

$36,000 in a month!! What did you buy? 🙂

[C_Schomer]

I wish there was an award for boosting the Az. economy ... This is our first month and the first year of snow birding and we've already contributed $36K to the Az economy! Craig and Kim

[was_butnotnow]

bighatnohorse wrote:

Snowman9000 wrote:
. . .
I wonder. After reading the replies to my thread about looking for a younger snowbird park, I concluded that park model parks are approaching a decline in demand. If a park is 70% full of park models, I will bet big that it will NOT sell out. IMO those days are gone and the demand will be a problem going forward. Which probably means the parks will go downhill, or transition to something else.

The leading edge of baby boomers are just now hitting their 70's - meaning that this is a rising tide of aged RV'ers.

My feeling is that the over 70+ age group will have "been there, done that" in their travels. Next, they will tend toward buying the park models.


A financial planner once quoted that in retirement there are three phases of retirement. The "go-go years, the slow-go years and the no-go years."

Nice thread...
I just turned 70 and after full timing it for 13 years we have slowed down a bit. Last year we camp hosted at a BLM campground. (First time doing that) FHU and it was like a lakefront summer vacation place. No cleaning Johns. and going back this next summer. Not for the stipend but because we want to.
But back to the topic, we have a winter vacation place in AZ.
Not in an RV resort park but our own property with a large 2200 SQ ft manufactured Palm Harber home with detached 1200 ft garage/shop on 4 acres all fenced in on a dead-end road in for about the same cost of a park model in an RV Park.
But this is so much more. Yearly costs $1400 taxes, $100 for water (private well for 9 users), $200 HOA (for road maintenance) that's it.
When we leave in the summer (remember we are full-timers we close the gate, turn everything off and just go. AZ loves snowbirds to winter in this state. Don't limit yourself to just looking at park models in an RV park.

Great prices for winter properties are also in your price range. Don't limit your options for just a park model in an RV park. You can buy anything as a winter place it doesn't have to be in an RV park.

[TomG2]

John&Joey wrote:

My math would be:

$710,000,000 / 99,500 snowbirds = $7,135 average spent per winter stay. Can't say if that's per person or per rig.

Leave it to me to bring up the elephant in the room. Do those figures include drugs? Legal ones of course. How much of the RGV is "Off the books"?

[John_Joey]

TomG2 wrote:

Charlie D. wrote:
I question the $9640.00 average monthly spending and then add the additional "large expenditure" Seems contradictory. $9640 routine monthly and then it appears they are saying $13,400 total.
......snip....

I must be living in another world. Nobody that I know, and I know a lot of Winter Texans, spends $9,000/month. Probably not that much in the whole season while they are in the RGV. These folks really squealed when coffee went from a dime to a quarter in the park hall. (and that is for all day)

in the RGV in 2013-2014 contributed $710 million to the economy of the Rio Grande Valley during their stay. There were an estimated 99,500 Winter Texans in the Valley during the season.

My math would be:

$710,000,000 / 99,500 snowbirds = $7,135 average spent per winter stay. Can't say if that's per person or per rig.

[BarbaraOK]

Snowman9000 wrote:
A big part being overlooked by everyone except OP is the decline in numbers, and the increasing age. Maybe this is unique to the Valley?

I wonder. After reading the replies to my thread about looking for a younger snowbird park, I concluded that park model parks are approaching a decline in demand. If a park is 70% full of park models, I will bet big that it will NOT sell out. IMO those days are gone and the demand will be a problem going forward. Which probably means the parks will go downhill, or transition to something else.

You will never see a park at 100% park models because they would lose their unique zoning classification (at least here in AZ). All sorts of tax implication. So there is ALWAYS a minimum number of RV sites available. As to know demand, ALL of the park models for sale in our park last year, SOLD. In fact, they sent inquiries out if any one else was thinking about selling. In addition, several really old models were bought up by the park and removed to make way for. RV sites to keep park balanced.

[bighatnohorse]

Snowman9000 wrote:
. . .
I wonder. After reading the replies to my thread about looking for a younger snowbird park, I concluded that park model parks are approaching a decline in demand. If a park is 70% full of park models, I will bet big that it will NOT sell out. IMO those days are gone and the demand will be a problem going forward. Which probably means the parks will go downhill, or transition to something else.

The leading edge of baby boomers are just now hitting their 70's - meaning that this is a rising tide of aged RV'ers.

My feeling is that the over 70+ age group will have "been there, done that" in their travels. Next, they will tend toward buying the park models.

A financial planner once quoted that in retirement there are three phases of retirement. The "go-go years, the slow-go years and the no-go years."

[TomG2]

I will add that there are lines to get into the popular RGV restaurants in the summer months almost as long as those in January. They still welcome the Winter Texans, but there are a lot of people in the RGV all year long.

[Snowman9000]

A big part being overlooked by everyone except OP is the decline in numbers, and the increasing age. Maybe this is unique to the Valley?

I wonder. After reading the replies to my thread about looking for a younger snowbird park, I concluded that park model parks are approaching a decline in demand. If a park is 70% full of park models, I will bet big that it will NOT sell out. IMO those days are gone and the demand will be a problem going forward. Which probably means the parks will go downhill, or transition to something else.

[Snowman9000]

Monthly expenses was a poor choice of wording.
They meant normal routine expenses, for the duration.

[bighatnohorse]

The article wrote:
From a high in 2009 when the Winter Texan impact was $803 million, there has been a decline to 2014’s $710 million.

Look at the time frame they are using. 2009 to 2014. . .
Didn't we have an economic event called a "recession" that impacted folks around 2008 / 2009 ?
Retirement accounts were hammered. Recovery now, but the article is, as pointed out, two years old.

[TomG2]

Charlie D. wrote:
I question the $9640.00 average monthly spending and then add the additional "large expenditure" Seems contradictory. $9640 routine monthly and then it appears they are saying $13,400 total.
......snip....

I must be living in another world. Nobody that I know, and I know a lot of Winter Texans, spends $9,000/month. Probably not that much in the whole season while they are in the RGV. These folks really squealed when coffee went from a dime to a quarter in the park hall. (and that is for all day)