Disgruntled Millennials on the Road

[LittleRed586]

I realize that this might seem like an odd post, but how many millennials are into the full time RV lifestyle?

My husband is in the process of being medically retired from the Air Force for a variety of health reasons and we are going to start RVing full time the day after he is formally retired. He is 36 and I am 31.

After a two year stint in South Korea we were sent to a base on the east coast. We bought a suburban house as an investment within a month of being stationed here. Yes, our house is nice but living in the suburbs just isn't for us. We don't know our neighbors, traffic is a mess, people are rude, our utility company is always losing our payment, my husband's PTSD goes crazy here and on and on. Basically, the whole lifestyle sucks!

We figured that the best option for us would be full time RVing. We have always wanted to see the country at our own pace. We were actually drooling over an MWR campground in Arkansas with cheap monthly rates. My mother-in-law keeps reminding us that we are only going to see older people in most campgrounds.

I figure that there has to be at least a few disgruntled millennials on the road. The whole living with less philosophy of my generation actually fits the full time RV lifestyle.

How many of my mid 20's to mid 30's peeps are at least looking to go on the road or are even on the road as I write this?

[DutchmenSport]

FunnyCamper wrote:
Go for it.
You will find all ages out there while you travel 🙂 🙂
It really doesn't matter what age the person you are chatting with etc.
The age of others doesn't not matter here, you go on the road and enjoy your new found freedom and lifestyle! So what if mother in law mentions 'age of others', blah, go explore!

I think FunnyCamper has this 100% correct. In all the years we've been camping and RVing (which is pretty much all our lives, even as kids with our parents), the one common "bond" between "camping folks" is the fact we all "camp". Age, race, gender, and even religion seem to melt away and become non-issues between camp folks. Food, campfire, and beer seem to bind us together as a rather "unique" sub-culture within mainstream society. It's really strange, now that this is brought up and really reflecting back over my lifetime. I think the central focus is enjoying the campground and good food!

[happycamper002]

I say,if that's what you think that would help your husband deal with this malady, go for it.

You can not totally dismiss your m-i-l's wisdom as a bunch of these armchair experts is telling you. Her thoughts are not a bunch of rubbish. Like most of what we see here, comes from older people who had experienced situations like this first hand, there is substance to what she's saying.

It is not uncommon for older people to not function 100 per cent physically and mentally as mother nature catches up on them. Blessed are those who've reached their golden years despite their frailty. So you can expect sights of gloom in CGs with older folks.

Is it not our goal by working so hard to live longer,thus spending a lot of money looking for organic stuff, low sugar and gluten free so we can grow old and stay healthy?

I'm not a doctor, but I came from an extended family who served and still do in the health care professions. That doesn't make me a doctor but I get to know people with health problems like your husband.

My only son suffers from incurable schizophrenia. There is no cure for it and the best way to cope with it is a load of medications that sometimes makes the condition worse. This is no different from your husband's PTSD a psychological/neurological disorder.

After four divorces,switching jobs as often as changing his garment,traffic citations not to mention trouble with authorities in between, he would go into remission in between only to come come back with a vengeance. . .worse than when he left off.

He did finish his college degree. And at this writing he is doing great.
I did take him on long trips (RV) and it did help his condition but sometimes CG conditions serve to trigger some undesirable behavior with other vacationeers...so RVing is not the magic bullet.

One episode got so bad,I had to arrange for him to fly back home by himself.

My anxiety switched to high gear while waiting for some news that a flight had to be diverted because a passenger is causing a disturbance.

I was relieved when he called from home. WHEW.

So, give RVing lifestyle a shot but don't be so reliant that RVing is a cure all. It is not. You are still young and it is best to anticipate what may lie ahead.

Best of luck.

[FunnyCamper]

Go for it.
You will find all ages out there while you travel 🙂 🙂
It really doesn't matter what age the person you are chatting with etc.
The age of others doesn't not matter here, you go on the road and enjoy your new found freedom and lifestyle! So what if mother in law mentions 'age of others', blah, go explore!

[johnhicks]

Well, here in Florida if you live in a Mobile Home (actually Manufactured Housing these days) you are indeed a Mobile Home resident. Doesn't matter if you're on your own piece of land or in a park. You may or may not leave the wheels on, your choice. You are _required_ to secure the Mobile Home to the ground using a specified number (according to length) of steel tie-downs.

A Mobile Home is placed by a licensed installer and then could be moved by a licensed installer. You, the owner, can't just hook up and drive off.

The Mobile Home may be registered as a vehicle or if you own the land or are in a co-op, registered as real property.

Most Florida counties designate lots in MH/RV parks as Mobile Home lots or RV lots, and you cannot put a Mobile Home on an RV lot and vice-versa. Small cabins bridge the gap by being technically an RV by size but they can be put only on an RV lot. Home-built tiny houses are a different matter because they're often not built to building code or RV code. Some counties simply don't allow anything that isn't built to either code.

I don't know how we wandered off in this direction; the point is to check your local, county and state ordinances because what's allowable where you are may be vastly different than where I am and blanket statements can't be made.

[Aridon]

RV's can move. They don't necessarily move. People that FT have a variety of travel habits or none at all. Some use it as a winter home and never move it since buying it from the dealer. Some use it every week and take it out logging thousands of miles a year. Also everything in between. They are all rv'rs.

There are ownership parks on SE FL where people live FT and have never moved the unit while it sits right next to a Prevost that logged 20k miles that year. They aren't all dingy white trash mobile home parks. Some even have entrance fees upwards of 250k just to buy the lot.

Some people live in ownership parks, some rent in camp grounds, some state parks etc. The list goes on and on. There are places like Nettles island that mix CBS homes, mobile homes and RV and places that are total dumps and everything in between.

Bottom line is if the unit is designed to move, it is an RV. I could care less how much someone moved it or what age they are. I could care less if you rent, live FT, PT, Vacation once every 4 years or whatever. I could care less if you paid 5k or 5m for it.

We are all Rv'rs. We are all people and our worth and value is not decided by what we live in or where we live. At least it shouldn't be.

[NYCgrrl]

I picked up on Archie and Edith a while back but decided that maybeeee they were pseudonyms ;).
Still, utility payments always getting lost sounds a bit like something one of my sons told me when he was wasting his time and my money in college....

I see Renaissance Faire and cosplay actors in great numbers at various campgrounds. Some of them are 30 and under.

[2oldman]

LittleRed586 wrote:
..our utility company is always losing our payment,

My mother-in-law keeps reminding us that we are only going to see older people in most campgrounds.

I don't know what that means.

You'll see mostly older people in CG's where retired people go. In other places you'll see poorer working people who must be there because it's what they can afford.

[happycamper002]

2gypsies wrote:
By the way, many trailer park residents still have wheels on their RV. They don't all sit on skids like you suggest. 🙂

http://www.sightline.org/2016/06/27/legalizing-the-tiny-house/


Not so fast. I don't know what part of the country you are at.

If you are in CA particularly in LA County, there are strict regulations about living in RV, Mobile Home or simply living your life in an automobile that is parked in a side street.

In the bay cities like Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach or any adjoining bay city, it is illegal to sleep in an automobile or any movable conveyance while parked in a public roadway.

Visiting relatives and RV owners may get a variance that allows someone to sleep in an RV for a very limited time.

This is to discourage drifters living in cars that are parked in a side street.

Your argument that mobile home owners are leaving their wheels in Trailer Parks will get you in a more complicated situation.

With your wheels on in a Mobile Home Park, disqualifies you as Mobile Home Resident. You will be classified as an RV owner and not Mobile Home dweller.

As such you will have to move your rig occasionally to comply with city ordinance. You will have to find a Mobile Home Park to park your rig...which is impossible to nonexistent in this part of town.

For more info on this and for the benefit of OP, check the above link.

[RandACampin]

down home wrote:
Haven't noticed any, really.
have noticed a bunch of them trying to run us off the road in the Ford for the most part and the the little black car. They don't like Disabled Vet plates or stickers. I'm not kidding.It happened about a dozen times just today between here and Nashville and back. Slow land or middle or right lane running 10 over.
Wife driving. One of these times they will just nick the front end corner and they will spend and a lot of people may die, including us.

Ummm what? :h

[RandACampin]

LittleRed586 wrote:
I realize that this might seem like an odd post, but how many millennials are into the full time RV lifestyle?

My husband is in the process of being medically retired from the Air Force for a variety of health reasons and we are going to start RVing full time the day after he is formally retired. He is 36 and I am 31.

After a two year stint in South Korea we were sent to a base on the east coast. We bought a suburban house as an investment within a month of being stationed here. Yes, our house is nice but living in the suburbs just isn't for us. We don't know our neighbors, traffic is a mess, people are rude, our utility company is always losing our payment, my husband's PTSD goes crazy here and on and on. Basically, the whole lifestyle sucks!

We figured that the best option for us would be full time RVing. We have always wanted to see the country at our own pace. We were actually drooling over an MWR campground in Arkansas with cheap monthly rates. My mother-in-law keeps reminding us that we are only going to see older people in most campgrounds.

I figure that there has to be at least a few disgruntled millennials on the road. The whole living with less philosophy of my generation actually fits the full time RV lifestyle.

How many of my mid 20's to mid 30's peeps are at least looking to go on the road or are even on the road as I write this?

If you think full time RVing will solve your problems you are wrong and need to re-think your plans. An RV will not make you less "gruntled". You need to fix yourselves first.

You will not get to know your neighbors on the road, you may or may not still have utility companies to deal with and the PTSD issue will not go away and may get worse.

Time to deal with the issues you are trying to avoid first. An RV will not magically stop people from pissing you off, and sending the "PTSD" crazy. I would do some weekend trips fist to work things out.


And why do you need a whole bunch of 20's -30's "peeps" out there? You will definitely be surrounded by curmudgeons very set in their ways to deal with might as well start now. There will still be a "suck" aspect to any lifestyle, so once again. make sure you are doing it for the right reason. You will not escape anything...only be faced with the same cross-section of society, same problems, and a whole host of new problems to deal with as well. (RV upkeep, traffic, etc.)

[2gypsies1]

By the way, many trailer park residents still have wheels on their RV. They don't all sit on skids like you suggest. 🙂

[happycamper002]

rockhillmanor wrote:




For someone who has not RV'd let alone Full-time RV you think you know it all, and clearly you don't.

. . . and you just keep debunking/bashing them?

And you know everything??

[rockhillmanor]

2gypsies wrote:
I really don't believe you've met true full-timer RVers because your description is not what they are. Your description is someone living continuously in a trailer park. They don't travel. They are not RVers.

X10

happycamper002 wrote:
I know the difference between trailer park and RV park. I live close to a community where trailer parks are all over the place. A cheaper (trailer park) alternative to owning a "true" real estate investment like a home where you pay real estate tax.
Trailer park residents pay rent on the land the trailer sits on. Since they don't own the pad they are not entitled to its equity. They have a choice of owning the trailer or rent it from someone else.

Trailer housing units sit on skids...not permanently anchored to foundation because they have to be ready to move at a moments notice.
RV units on the other hand sit on wheels and pay registration to DMV.

They have to move at a park owner's whim.

My next door neighbor are full timers and occasionally makes me aware if I happen to be around when they are on long trips but they do come back to check on thingsHe is a retired law enforcement officer.

Keep it upfront, don't whitewash your statement please.

:?

For someone who has not RV'd let alone Full-time RV you think you know it all, and clearly you don't.

Many "seasoned" full time RV'ers here have offered help, and you just keep debunking/bashing them?

Age has nothing to do with what makes a full time RV'er or a fellow camper. :R

The sooner you stop degrading anyone that is older than you and appreciate the help 'everyone' can offer you, the more help you will receive from RV'ers who have been there done that and have far more experienced than yourself, if you choose to take the adventure.

[D_E_Bishop]

My wife and I are in our mid seventies and love the RV lifestyle but not inclined to go full time. We and thousands of other folks old enough to be your parents or even grandparents love visiting with younger campers. We have "Been There and Done That" so to speak. We have the inside stories on a lot of places to visit and POIs, we know good, inexpensive places to eat, we have lots of menus for "Being on the Road" and we love to talk to younger folks.

I am sorry about your husband's PTSD diagnosis and perhaps the system used by our First Nations People would interest and help him. Most Elders seem to sense the need for helping. It is not your husband's fault and travel can take you to places where it seems insignificant. I also have served and it was really a great experience for the most part, he and I might talk about the other part quietly and privately if we were to ever meet, as it can be very cathartic.

So with careful planning and execution you can have an exciting and healing experience. Go, See and Enjoy our land.

[happycamper002]

2gypsies wrote:


I really don't believe you've met true full-timer RVers because your description is not what they are. Your description is someone living continuously in a trailer park. They don't travel. They are not RVers.

I know the difference between trailer park and RV park. I live close to a community where trailer parks are all over the place. A cheaper (trailer park) alternative to owning a "true" real estate investment like a home where you pay real estate tax.
Trailer park residents pay rent on the land the trailer sits on. Since they don't own the pad they are not entitled to its equity. They have a choice of owning the trailer or rent it from someone else.

Trailer housing units sit on skids...not permanently anchored to foundation because they have to be ready to move at a moments notice.
RV units on the other hand sit on wheels and pay registration to DMV.

They have to move at a park owner's whim.

My next door neighbor are full timers and occasionally makes me aware if I happen to be around when they are on long trips but they do come back to check on things

He is a retired law enforcement officer.

Keep it upfront, don't whitewash your statement please.