Expectations at RV Parks - Do you adapt?

Pogoil wrote:

MiRV wrote:

docj wrote:


I pretty much agree with you, but the comment "the park is full of long term tenants" I think is a pejorative remark that is often unfair and out of touch with the realities of life in the US these days.

As full-timers my DW and I like to travel and have found that the percentage of RV parks with "long term tenants" is well over 50% and includes major chains such as KOA that have, in the past, almost exclusively appealed to families on vacation.

For a variety of reasons there are lots of people living on a long term basis in RV parks and I, for one, don't have any problem with that as long as the appearance of the park doesn't suffer because of it. Many of these folks are in towns on temporary jobs and prefer to living in their RVs rather than in hotels or short-term apartments. Even my DW and I could be considered long term tenants at the park where we winter for 4-5 months. Do we make that park less desirable because of our presence?

As an admin of RVParkReviews, I feel that the derogatory use of "long term residents" and similar terms is unwarranted in many of the cases in which it is used. If the park looks "seedy" because of its long term residents, then you have every right to comment on that, but it's not at all clear why the very presence of long term residents, like ourselves, for example makes a park a less desirable place.

Joel

Docj,

Agree completely! It's not the Long Termers who make it undesirable since many of them are a wealth of knowledge for the area. And "wintering" is very different than spending YEARS in one CG! We just left a park (Charleston SC area) where an individual had been at the park for 5+ years!

If you want to live in the area, buy a house or park your "camper" in an mobile home park so that RVers have a place to stay!

Facts are facts, many parks now have long term and seasonal tenants and this will only grow as people downsize and more baby boomers start to full time. Yes their are folks who lost their home for what ever reason and live and work out of their RVs. THESE ARE NOT SECOND CLASS PEOPLE. Just folks trying to survive. Get used to it because it is way over 50% now and in 10 years will probably be 70%

Talk to some of these people and you will find some very nice people.
Yes their are some parks poorly run that are a mess. Many just no longer want a house and the responsibilities involved. It is hard for some to understand.

Their will still be resorts available to folks who do not want to park by folks who some call undesirable. It is a shame that a guy that parks for 5 years in a park is considered a bad guy.

Pogoil.

I am going to disagree. There are different kind of parks for different needs, just like not all restaurants serve the same clientel. If a park tries to be all things to all people, it will almost assuredly fail to meet the needs of nearly everyone. Long term stay parks are clearly a need, but to also try and be a good overnight park will cause conflicts and failure to meet expectations, exactly the same as McDonalds trying to serve fine French cuisine (no, not French fries).
In my travels, parks that have a large number of long term guests generally do not appeal to me. The long term guest sites look like they are long term. There are often storage sheds, poorly constructed skirting, personal belongings scattered about, and yes you tell when something has been on the ground for months instead of hours. Long term guests naturally have developed cliques and have set schedules (most have jobs) and routines that do not mesh with short term stays. Yes, those are all generalizations, and may not apply everywhere, but to me it is more common than the other way around. Hence, if a review says there are many long term guests, or the website appears to cater to seasonal guests, I am looking elsewhere if I am in search of a short term stay. Likewise, when I stay for a longer period of time, I will try and not be in a park where it turns over nightly. Thankfully, there are a lot of parks that understand what they are should and should not be.