Is it the People or the the Places?

[Water-Bug]

When we first started RVing in the mid 70's, we were drawn to the lifestyle by the places we could see. Forty years and 45 states later, it has become more and more about the people we meet and not the places we see. It could be that we've seen so many places or the fact that there are so many people we have never met. Or it could be a maturing perspective on life. Why do you RV.

[Tvov]

Now that the kids don't camp with us much (sort of "grown out of it"), wife and I are going more and more into the woods exploring, hiking, site seeing. Prefer no hookup state and federal parks now. We'll see what happens down the road!

[NanciL]

Places for us
Which in turn includes the people we have met at those places.
We are hard core kayakers/canoers and seek out good places to paddle.
Over many years in returning to those places we have made good friends with lots of others who enjoy paddling too.

jack L

[geotex1]

Wait, there's people?!? I might have to reconsider this camping thing after almost four and a half decades because I'm an engineer. By nature, engineers don't like people! :B

For my wife and I, it's about the time together and away from our careers. We are both professionals with very demanding jobs that require long hours and high stress in a major metropolitan area. Camping is our time to leave it behind, decompress, refresh, and regain perspective. We take our "vacation home" away for 30-45 nights a year and our destinations are focused on the places because time camping is "our time."

We certainly have met many great folks, made new friends, and got friends into the camping lifestyle over the many years, and we even rally once a season. However, I do not believe we personally change the "why" we camp.

[rexlion]

People change over time. Some, like you, start to place greater value on people and relationships. Some folks may even go the opposite way and become less social.

[2gypsies1]

Our main objection has always been to see the nooks and crannies of this beautiful country of ours. The added perk is acquiring new friendships as we travel.

For traveling full-timers it's amazing how we all seem to go in the same orbits. We've always met someone in another state or place that we've met previously somewhere else . We see them in museums, groceries and even at rest stops and these were unplanned meetings. We've even met folks in Alaska whom we didn't know were traveling there.

We also make plans to meet up with folks we've met while traveling. It's great!

Now that we've settled down once again we have 20+ former RVing friends living in our same area so we have a ready-made wonderful group of friendships.

[hershey]

After 10 years of Full timing, we don't stray much off the same route every year. WY to NM to CA and back. About 4,000 miles a year. We've been to 47 states and enjoyed that but its got to be the people we have and still meet and keep in contact with. How else can a person have so many friends from every part of the US? Hoping for another 10 years.

[ncrowley]

I still RV for the places. That does not mean that I do not enjoy the people I meet. But when I select the next place to travel to, I am looking for the things we can see and do there.

[toedtoes]

I don't think it's a matter of maturing as much as it is a matter of where you are in your life.

Odds are, if you are currently working, you are spending most of your days dealing with people. Having a young family is that much more demanding on your "socialness". People are everywhere you turn, all the time. Finding a moment to yourself is difficult, if not impossible. Going out to meet and socialize with even more people is not likely to be at the top of your list.

However, if you are currently retired, you don't have those days filled with people wanting/needing things. Kids are grown and gone, and so are the social requirements that go along with having kids. So your socialness has been reduced to a great extent. Going out and meeting new people is a more enjoyable thing.

[noplace2]

For us, 14 years fulltiming from Central America to Alaska and back, and MANY more years dealing with people before that, we've hit our limit. The me, me, me generation has eclipsed anything civil. We now seek out the least populated places that we can find. Working so far. And no, not even giving a clue.

[Sandia_Man]

With over 20 years of RVing it was always the places as we traveled with our 4 kids in tow. Now that we are enjoying this endeavor without the kid as they have jobs and college to deal with, we are having a great time getting to know new folks along our travels.

Our emphasis has changed dramatically when RVing without our children, we are finally getting to partake in trips geared to our mature interests and we are having a great time doing so. Thought we might lose interest in RVing now that the kids are grown but we have a new found desire to get on the road. Even have plans to get another rig that is more of a couple's unit, no more sleeping six to eight people.

[MitchF150]

Wrong thread.. 🙂

[C-Bears]

It is both for us, but we have only been full time for a couple of years. We have met some really good friends and we have visited some great places all over this great country of ours.

[azrving]

The warmth. It's too cold in Northern Michigan. As we travel we do find more and more places that we like and the people have been great too.

[Just_Wandering_]

For me it's the people. Over the last eight years, I've met people that keep in contact every couple of weeks. Some of our best friends now are people we have met from all over this great United States.

[mockturtle]

I've been RVing for 20 years and travel to see and experience places, where I have, as a consequence, met a lot of congenial people. We who are drawn to the same places also share many other things in common.