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Priced out of traditional housing, more Americans are living in RVs (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 1 week ago by sobchak@programming.dev to c/economics@lemmy.ml
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[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

And I'm tired of the stigma that people who live in RVs have failed in life, depicted as impoverished & sad. NO!! We are thriving!I go to work every day and all the money I earn goes into MY pocket. Not into the bottomless pockets of landlords & mortgage bankers. I pay no rent, no mortgage, no utilities, and I can live anywhere I want!

[-] Bo7a@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

My wife and I lived in our RV for 5 years while I was working for clients in different provinces and states. I was making what can only be called ludicrous amounts of money. But people assumed we were broke - which was just fine by me :p

Our NA culture does seem to find a way to add stigma to just about anything out of the ordinary doesn't it?

[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Do you stay at Rv Parks or do you have a drivable RV? Because most are living in fifth wheels and live in places that you can't just do off grid living.

[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It's a Mercedes high roof van and I can park anywhere I want. It's totally off grid with solar panels and plumbing. And I never pay for parking anywhere.

[-] Highlow@piefed.social 2 points 6 days ago

All it takes is one cop being a complete dick and everything you own will be gone. I mean you can sue afterwards but your house will be ransacked and stuff broken and missing. Cops will blame it on the tow yard that will conveniently store your van in a blind spot.

[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Do you go through life considering every highly unlikely unreasonable worst case scenario of every little thing you do? Have fun with that.

[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Okay so you're doing the vanlife. That's cool and way easier to do then rv living. You do YouTube? I follow several vanlifers on YouTube.

[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Yes, van life is way easier than RV life. RV people need to be wealthy to pay for parking at campgrounds every night, and those who can't do it are the ones living in desperation constantly getting in trouble with the law because it's illegal to park those anywhere. Or they hop from one BLM site to another every two weeks.

As for VanLife YouTubers? Those people love being on camera, and the camera loves them. Good for them. I have a real job.

[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Some of them do too. Only one I follow who job is vanlife is Trent the Traveler and freaking awesome! The rest are just normal people working regular jobs like yourself. If I didn't have my kids and home I definitely try vanlife. Might still do it, but it will be like Trent I will use ir to travel around the country.

[-] viewports@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

"here he worked as a professional diver doing maintenance at SeaWorld and paying $750 a month in rent. He was hoping to find comparable rent in Chattanooga, where he took a new job doing underwater maintenance for the cooling towers at nuclear power plants."

Everything about RV life aside, that sounds pretty badass, kind of lame that sort of work dosen't pay more

[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

My dad has gotten rich off of the fact that people are having to live like this.

In my youth it wasn't a bad thing. My brother lived in one from 16 until he was 22 and then he bought a house. My son plan on doing this, but not sure he can save to buy the house. Things have changed. It's especially bad in places like Dallas/Fortworth Texas. And I am sure it's the same in other cities and states as well.

[-] Captainvaqina@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago

How did your dad get rich from it?

[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

He owns a 120 spot Rv Resort in the DFW area. 90% of his customers are people who work in the city but can't afford to live in it. He charges 800 a month plus electric.

[-] sobchak@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago

Kinda weird it's RVs and not mobile homes (which are a bit better built and larger). I guess there aren't many places zoned for trailer parks now because of NIMBY, new trailers are expensive, and it's expensive to move a used trailer if it's movable at all. I also guess you have the freedom to move more easily with RVs if you have a truck to pull an RV trailer or have a motorhome.

[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Hell most places are outlawing RV parks, so less places for people to park them. But yes they less expensive and easier to move around. Also technically you also can be self contained. You can't with a trailer house.

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

Americans have always driven Lexuses home to a trailer park.

this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2025
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