senior living : how the trailer park could save us all

[JackieOnLine]

this utne reader article is from 2013 but it popped up in my FB feed this morning and I thought it was worth sharing.

the trailer park described reminds me a bit of the one my Mom spent her winters in after my Dad died, going back "home" to Minnesota for less than half the year. there were people there who clearly had a lot of money but most were like her, just comfortable. Maybe some were struggling, I don't know.
But there was a lot of socialization and people really looked out for each other, a real community and not just a place people happen to live.

I was encouraged to see there is an organization for trailer parks where the people living there have bought the park. I hope that the number of Resident Owned Communities are growing.

For people with a lot of money, it's still hard to get old but for those barely getting by, this could really make aging ...less bad, I guess.


ETA: tomorrow I start back work at the nursing home I used to work at when I first moved to Nevada. I'll be there MWF and then do Home Health T/Th. I need to do this to climb out of the hole I've dug myself but I'm dreading it.

so I found the article to be Good News I'm in need of!

 

[DianaCox]

When we were living in our RV in the resort/park south of Gilroy (Betabel RV Park), there were quite a number of permanent residents who were making a community of the place. We became friends with a couple in their late 70s/early 80s who CLEARLY have beaucoup bux - they bought a 45' Tiffin Allegro Bus (about a cool half million - it is a machine for TRAVELING, but is also as nice as any 500 sq ft apartment you've ever seen, including 2 toilets, washer/dryer, full kitchen, fireplace, etc.) and just parked it there. They socialize a bit in the park, at least one of their kids lives not too far away, and they go to doctor's appointments and out to eat and walk their standard poodle. They seem quite content. I enjoyed being their neighbors, and I could see doing what they're doing, so long as I had family nearby - or had really good friends in the park. This park is about 10 miles from my daughter's new home.

 

[southernlady]

RV parks and communities, esp in areas where the cost of living is extraordinarily high is creating a major problem for the rest of the RV group. Most that have permanent residents, end up as the type of trailer park you see in sleazy B movies. There are exceptions, esp those who enforce a 10 year rule (the rig can't be over 10 years old) and those exist in the very popular wintering areas of the country.

The biggest issue, esp on the west coast is the parking of RV's. They find a very cheap RV but can't afford to park it in an RV park. So they park where they can and the municipalities have enacted legislation to stop the houseless from parking on streets, state parks (for longer than 14 days), big box parking lots, etc.

The RV industry is booming esp in the bumper pull (travel trailer) category. The industry has seen phenomenal growth the last three or four years. EVERY single RV manufacturer in the area around Elkhart/Goshen/etc have signs advertising for new hires with significant signing bonuses if they stay 6 months. Even Newmar who does not produce any rig not already sold is pumping out a good 30% more than even last year and those are expensive coaches. The top of the line easily eclipse the Tiffin Zepher (their highest priced rig at less than $700K MSRP). The Newmar King Aire has an MSRP of almost 1 mil MSRP. ($983,198). But the dealer lots are FILLED with rigs under 40K selling like hot cakes).

The problem is for over 5,500 new rigs a day, only 1-2 new rv SPACES (not parks) are added.

Some people in the travel end of the RV industry not the creating new rigs end are trying to find a solution. I hope they do.

 

[JackieOnLine]

That's interesting info, Liz.

The problem is for over 5,500 new rigs a day, only 1-2 new rv SPACES (not parks) are added.

wow.

the fact that so few cities have affordable housing anymore is just going to make everything worse. I know a man who lives in his van (which sounds like the start of a nursery rhyme, doesn't it?) he gave up renting an apartment when he went through cancer and cancer treatment that wiped him out financially, despite having "insurance"*. He planned it out carefully, including making it look like a "work truck" so he can park it in neighborhoods where he works. He calls it stealth camping.

I thought the main point of the article I linked was how badly we do "aging" in this country. and how, if we don't let meth-heads take over them, trailer parks can help. from the link in the OP:

Most places in America make it hard to grow old. Older people in neighborhoods with high crime, lots of traffic, and poor lighting have been found to “lose functioning” (in other words, need nursing homes) earlier than those who live where they can walk. Those who live in the suburbs lose their social networks when they stop driving and become isolated. Loneliness is a killer

Also, I learned how different - worse - it is to own a trailer than a house, although I had heard they aren't really mobile due to the expense of moving them.

Legally and financially, manufactured homes have a second-class existence. They are not treated as real estate



I just remembered a trailer park I heard about from talking to one of it's residents who owned the thrift store where I was shopping in Jacksonville, Oregon. It sounded wonderful. I love that town, they are only 5 minutes from Medford but have a farmer's market that is better.


*my theory is if you can still go bankrupt from medical bills, they shouldn't be allowed to call it health insurance.

 

[DianaCox]

RV parks need a certain amount of upfront infrastructure, just like any housing project - water, electricity and sewer to each site; roads and level parking spots for the RV and room for vehicles; WiFi and cable; community resources like a laundromat, pool, community room, office staff. It's not a small investment, and location matters, especially if some of the spots are reserved for actual travelers. But the whole concept of small communities with "tiny houses" and community facilities is appealing to me, especially as I get older.

The place we like to stay in the Bay area, especially now that my daughter lives in Gilroy, recently expanded their property to the plot next door for RV storage, which they built by paving it and then installing what are basically carports on tall supports over about half of the parking spots, which are covered by solar panels - it is generating electricity for the whole park. I think that is brilliant.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I think that is brilliant.

it really is; love to hear success stories.

There are a lot of both RV parks and "trailer parks" around here, of course, and working in Home Health I've been inside many of the latter. The manufactured homes all seem to be either nice/new/roomy or old/fallingapart/crowded with nothing in between. Lots of the "falling apart" ones sadly match the patients living in them who are just barely keeping themselves out of a nursing home.

 

[southernlady]

It also doesn’t help that many cities don’t want RV parks.

The one we stay in between Thanksgiving and Christmas doesn’t have any community areas, except an office staffed a few hours a day by family. Usually his retired dad.

Another we stayed in while in Montana last August had no community facilities at all.

 

[Munchkin]

What does it cost to stay in a decent park for say, a month?

I lived in one of those cheap trailer parks in the mid 70's. It made going to school cheap. We bought an old really decrepit trailer for 2K. It was already a POS when we bought it. Imagine south Texas with no air conditioning.... We finally got a window unit for our bedroom down the road. My friend Diane came to visit and took a bath. Well, the tub fell through the floor and she ended up naked in a bathtub under the trailer. She probably still repeats the story today!

 

[southernlady]

What does it cost to stay in a decent park for say, a month?

I lived in one of those cheap trailer parks in the mid 70's. It made going to school cheap. We bought an old really decrepit trailer for 2K. It was already a POS when we bought it. Imagine south Texas with no air conditioning.... We finally got a window unit for our bedroom down the road. My friend Diane came to visit and took a bath. Well, the tub fell through the floor and she ended up naked in a bathtub under the trailer. She probably still repeats the story today!

We’ve paid as little as 425, including electric, to 700, not including electric which cost us 150. I’ve seen monthly stays quoted as high as $1200 (not including electric) in basic RV parks (east of the Mississippi).

West coast, esp in CA, OR, and WA, have little to no space in much of their RV parks anywhere near major cities. Fed and state parks only allow 14 to 30 days before moving and a 7 day break between stays. BML lands are much easier but no services.

The park we stay at during the holidays have a good amount of permanent residents and those rigs are so old and unkept they are typically unable to move even if they had to move. One example we saw was a 25 to 30 year old Motorcoach that had dryrotted and flat tires.

 

[JackieOnLine]

Well, the tub fell through the floor and she ended up naked in a bathtub under the trailer.

she didn't get hurt at all? must have been scary, though. once I had a car-seat that was rusted snap when I stepped on the clutch - ended up in the back seat. luckily, this was at low speed and no traffic. but what happened to her sounds a lot scarier.

West coast, esp in CA, OR, and WA, have little to no space in much of their RV parks anywhere near major cities.

I wonder why nobody builds more? because of a stigma? I know you said cities don't want them but just like with trailer parks, you don't have to let them become blighted areas. why not make them nice and keep them nice? win-win!

Another we stayed in while in Montana last August had no community facilities at all.

 

[southernlady]

I wonder why nobody builds more? because of a stigma? I know you said cities don't want them but just like with trailer parks, you don't have to let them become blighted areas. why not make them nice and keep them nice? win-win!

Well, as Diana pointed out, the expense of building one is astronomical. RV parks are like trailer parks in that the value of property around them plummet. That’s why many are built next to highways, railroads, close to airports where property is cheap anyway....no one wants that noise pollution.

 

[DianaCox]

If you look at the satellite view of the RV park south of Gilroy that I mentioned above, you'll see it's right next to the highway (I didn't hear much highway noise when we've stayed there, but that might be because the bigger motorhome spaces are on the far side from the highway), and also RIGHT next to the railroad tracks (on the other side of the park. If you back out of the map, you'll see it's not really next to much of anything else. It's about 8 miles north to Gilroy and "civilization" (shopping malls with Walmart, Costco, Lowe's, restaurants, etc., and then the next exit up a HUGE Outlet mall). If you zoom in on the satellite view, you'll see the RV storage lot with the solar panel covered carports.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/B...0deefa7144853!8m2!3d36.9014983!4d-121.5585516

I'm sure we could come up with a communal downpayment on a property that's somewhere nice ...
http://www.loopnet.com/california_mobile-home-and-rv-parks-for-sale/

 

[k9ophile]

What does it cost to stay in a decent park for say, a month?

I lived in one of those cheap trailer parks in the mid 70's. It made going to school cheap. We bought an old really decrepit trailer for 2K. It was already a POS when we bought it. Imagine south Texas with no air conditioning.... We finally got a window unit for our bedroom down the road. My friend Diane came to visit and took a bath. Well, the tub fell through the floor and she ended up naked in a bathtub under the trailer. She probably still repeats the story today!

That story is good for a lifetime. I actually owned a trailer park with several POS trailers from the 50's and 60's on it. It was in OH, I'm in TN. It should have been condemned, but somehow got grandfathered. I sold it, then a few years later a massive flood destroyed everything on it. Nothing can be rebuilt there due to the risk of it being in a flood zone. I also lived in one as well, in another part of OH. POS in any kind of weather, but in a college town, finding anything affordable was somewhat short of a miracle. It was actually nicer than the apartment I had been renting. Landlords in college towns, ugh!

 

[Munchkin]

No, Diane was not hurt at all, just surprised and naked.

 

[JackieOnLine]

'm sure we could come up with a communal downpayment on a property that's somewhere nice ...

I thought the one in El Sobrante was reasonably priced, but it says number of units is 1 ??

ooh, love the one in Big Bear Lake - let's get it! it's not even 2 million!