I miss having a local community. Advice?

[Naio]

So,for the past 2 years I have been spending summer at my S&B, winter at my snowbird town, and spring and fall camping and visiting people.

I have close friends who I talk to on the phone long distance, and internet friends, and I know a few peope in my snowbird town.... but I miss feeling rooted in a community. I still have that at my S&B, but that's a small part of the year.

I have made an effort to make friends this winter, but I am not skilled at it! Partly it's the locstion -- suburban driveway camping, not an RV park, and people are busy with their families, etc.

I think about switching to an actual snowbird community, just so there would be more people in the same boat. But I fear they will mostly be couples, and older than me.

Also, it is VERY important to me to have a winter garden, and that works much better in the ground than in containers; I don't know if I could find a cheap snowbird park that allows that.

I am leaving now for my spring camping, and feeling like it will be lonely. I have invited friends to camp with me, and some will for short visits, but everyone has their own busy lives, you know?

How do you folks manage this stuff? Especially single people under 50 without kids, if you exist ;).

[Naio]

Thank you, Rhoda. And everyone else in this thread!

[rolling_rhoda]

I'm a solo Winter Texan, under age 50. I've stayed in RV parks for the last several months, usually for 2 weeks or more. The parks where snowbirds stay for a few months at a time have been the most friendly by far in my experience. It helps that the weather is usually nice, so people are out on their patios or at the pool. I visit with my neighbors daily, and the parks have several activities during the week. Heck, I even went stag to the Valentine's Day dinner and had a really nice time.
If you spend time around other RVers you'll be with others who are traveling and temporary like you. Driveway camping, you're with people who are tied down and have their own agenda, family, job, interests, and you're a little more like a house guest. Find a park in nice weather with activities like happy hour, fishing trips, golf scrambles, Daytona 500 party, open mic night, etc. They're not all potlucks and bingo 😃

[Naio]

Thanks, Gary, that was very helpful!

[garyhaupt]

Naio wrote:
Regarding workcamping:

I would love to do this but had kind of ruled it out because I thought I would not be allowed to plant a vegetable garden. Is that wrong?

Likley enough you couldn't plant IN the ground...but I would think that you can use pots. Having said that, if you were to be working for the BLM in some very remote desert spot, they might have worries about the introduction of a non-indigenous species. But as long as you were planting stuff that is common to the area? I bet they'd welcome that.

About work-kamping...every municiple, city, state, and federal campground has a Host. That is the Volunteer work-kamper. Some sites have more expectations than others. If you were to pursue this, you will want to have written notes about what your responsibilities are and what your bennies are. The conversation one has on the phone can often lead to mis-understandings. For instance..if you are squeamish about cleaning toilet areas? If you aren't told about that..but are given the bucket on your arrival? Some folks just refuse to do that kind of work and that can really limit their opportunities. The more stuff you say YES to, the better your chances of getting a good spot.

There is a huge opportunity here and many love it..others not so much. They do it once and not again. PLus, the operators have lots of experience with folks that show up..work for a week or so, then just slip away into the night. So...operators can be a bit stand-offish, until you have shown your willingness and sense of commitment. Once you have a history, you can get great spots.


Gary Haupt

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Regarding meeting other people: Meetup.com is a website filled with groups dedicated to various activities. I happen to belong to 2 Meetup kayaking clubs in Michigan; but last year, I contacted a Meetup kayaking club in Florida, where I was invited to join in their paddles when I was in town.

Last week, we visited our Michigan neighbors at their Bonita Springs RV Park, and I was blown away by all the activities that park offered!! They had leagues for all sorts of sports (softball/tennis/shuffleboard, etc) and there were social events almost every week!

If you start poking around, you'll probably find volunteer opportunities in the communities you live in - there's another place to meet folks!

[westend]

You might want to check the local Farm Extension Service in the areas that you camp. In my area there is a Master Gardner Program administered through the University by the Extension service. If there is similar in your camping areas, there will be many volunteer opportunities for gardening/landscaping. If none of the Program opportunities fit your needs, at least you'll be able to touch base with other growers.

[2gypsies1]

There are several RVing singles groups out there. They are definitely not dating groups. They are meant for singles to camp together in various places of the country. They do activities together such as hiking, biking, 4x4 trips, kayaking, pot lucks, etc. We've met quite a few in our travels and they are constantly busy doing things.

Here are a couple popular groups:

WINs - RV Singles

LOWs RV Singles

As far as having a garden where you camp....I've not seen anything like that. You might have to wait until you get back home. However, you can always do pots of tomatoes, etc.

If you stay in driveways you won't meet people. You need to get in a snowbird park setting.

[Trackrig]

Naio wrote:
Regarding workcamping:

I would love to do this but had kind of ruled it out because I thought I would not be allowed to plant a vegetable garden. Is that wrong?

You should post this question in the work camping section. I don't know, but a lot of RV parks have plenty of room for it. As for regular gardening, most of them have gardening of some sort that usually need work.

Bill

[tenbear]

You might consider joining your local chapter of the Good Sam Club (GSC). The chapters are formed by local RVers as a part of the GSC. To join one you would have to join the GSC and then join the local chapter.

The chapter I belong to organizes monthly outings to local campgrounds in the summer and holds meetings in the winter. We have about 40 member rigs. Most are married couples.

The GSC charges dues, not sure how much, and the chapter also does, I think $20 per rig.

You can find out specifics on the GS web site.

[Naio]

Regarding workcamping:

I would love to do this but had kind of ruled it out because I thought I would not be allowed to plant a vegetable garden. Is that wrong?

[Matt_Colie]

Naio,

Have you looked at rvillage.com??
That could be an answer.
It is a virtual village for RVers with similar interests and/or locations.

Matt

[garyhaupt]

Naio...been there, felt that. My suggestion to you, to deal with the feelong of being 'alone' has aleady been suggested and it has much merit. Finding a work-kamper type position gives one a sense of permanancy without being permanant. Usually a 3 month committment is required and that time flies by. The bennies are that you do see the same people each day, one can develop a sense of relationship with some and thus a sense of belonging. Then..in 3 months, you can do it all over again somewhere else. And those that do this, often return to the same campground each year. They develop a bit of a circuit.

It might be worth checking into..?


Gary Haupt

[Naio]

Thank you folks, for the ideas and for the commiseration! It's kind of good to know we are all in the same boat.

I think you are right, John&Joey, that it's a seasonal thing. Spring in the southland makes me feel like I should be going 'home' and then it's a bummer to realise I have 4 months before I can! I felt this way last February, too. But I DID continue on to have a fun spring.

The idea of joining a national group of some sort sounds good to me.

I think with time I will find 2 or 3 locations besides my hometown that I return to for extended stays each year, and that will help. I have already found that coming to a park just for the second time, people remember me and are friendly. This is one reason I LIKE parks with permies in them :).

[kohai]

If you're visiting the same places each year, you could tap into local churches and get to know people there that will be there the next time you roll through.