55+ RV PARKS

We are new to the RV world and will be trying our hand at it in the next couple of months. Would like
to stay at mostly 55+ parks. Any links, books, etc. that anyone could recommend to us would be helpful.
Thank you,
Robin

 

I know we have parks that show they are 55+, but I cannot get the system to search on 55+ to find them. I'll do a little more testing here. Also I know that we are planning to have a way (drop down box or something) that will show a park's designation/status such as 55+, or COE, or military only, or even closed. This is not ready yet, but it will be handy when it is.

 

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In a few years I'll be eligible to stay at such parks. Most of the ones I have seen are in snowbird areas like AZ and FL and mainly rented sites on a monthly basis.

In theory I suppose it might be a more peaceful crowd but I'd like to get some comments from the 55+ crowd. Do I have anything in particular to look forward to? Are the nightly rates normally a lot more, to the point that if I was on a tight budget I might look for 'regular' parks?

 

I don't think higher rates are something to worry about with 55+ parks. They often lack a lot of the family-oriented stuff that contribute to higher rates at Jellystone parks and even at many KOAs.

As for the parks themselves, our experience has been that they vary from "normal" to those that are dominated by "grumpy old men (and women)". We usually don't mind having kids around and, in fact, enjoy a multi-generational crowd more than we do one that is only seniors. The park where we spend our winters is mostly snowbirds during the winter months, but families start showing up for weekends in early spring.

 

The folks who initiated this thread have never come back. I wonder if they tried an age restricted park? It is not for me.
I enjoy young people around. I like to listen to them, hear their plans and hopes. It always picks me up to hear positive youngsters who do not believe that life under 30 is one big party.
They believe, I believe in them.
Families that camp together are very special with an aura of love and caring that is truly palpable.
Our winter park has tent sites and this fall a family of five kids were all in one big tent with Mom and Dad just a short walk from our MH. I was invited for peach cobbler desert right off the camp fire. I sat on a log between a three year old and a five year old both of whom would have gladly helped me eat my peach cobbler. We talked till dark. I was invited for flashlight tag, but thought better of it.
When we winter in Texas, we do the winter: November till May. We don't see our kids for Thanksgiving or Christmas which we are willing to trade for no snow, no ice, no temps under 20degrees. But that doesn't make it easy, just comfortable. I look forward to seeing young families and their children when they pass through the park.
I can always find old guys to bs with, but young families are a treat. I hope they don't see me as another "old guy" . I'm sure I'm not.

 

Now that's living life large @Jack B !!!!

I think my 3 would annoy the living crap out of you though........

 

I agree with you both. My three boys ( late teens through early 20's and still at home) can be very annoying to me but others find them quite pleasant. Just the nature of the parent-child relationships I guess. I also enjoy younger families at parks and like the sounds and commotion of kids playing outside and having fun.
Sometimes I even get a wistful wishing mine were still 10 years old, sweet and playful!

 

I would not frequent either a 55+ or one similar to a Jellystone. I have found that something like a COE or CG with an abundance of space between rigs has a nice mix of age groups. I can have fun climbing a tree with a ten year old (well maybe just watch), or sitting around the rigs with other grumpy old men like me, is the best of both worlds.

 

We don't seek out any particular age group oriented parks in our travels, rather we take what comes with finding a nice park in the area we want to be in. Children don't bother us for the most part, and neither do our fellow oldsters if either one is in the majority in a given park. Every park has a different population mix, and we enjoy meeting and talking with them all.

 

So basically guys what you are saying is that American Parks are divided between over 5o's parks. We call them Grey Nomads here in Australia or STKI (Spending the Kids Inheritance). and parks for all family groups etc. Hopefully my new mates @NYDutch and @BankShot can provide more info.

 

There are some 55+ only parks in the US, but they are in the minority by far. Mostly they tend to be in areas popular with retirees that might want a more peaceful environment than they get in a more family oriented park that attracts younger families.

 

Well, there are 55+ parks and then there are 55+ parks. We've stayed in a few and they ranged from a geriatric concentration camp with most of the crowd in mobile coffins (I swear on the Bible, it felt like that) to really active and fun places. 55+ parks tend to have a high percentage of permanents and seasonals and occasionally they are not particularly friendly to transients. We spent four months in one last summer (and had so much fun we're going back this summer for four months) that had all kinds of activities and people of all sorts, who welcomed us into the "fold". It was really nice to have a pool to laze in without hours of "Marco! Polo!" and cannonballs and babies in leaky swim-diapers (I tend to stay away from pools that have a large population of babies in swim diapers).

I like children (as a mother, grandmother and soon-to-be great-grandmother, I've had my share of them in my life), but I like well-behaved children best of all. In most 55+ parks, you can usually have your grandkids come visit for a few days and it's nice meeting the kids and watching them have fun. These kids seems to be on their best behavior all the time, usually because they must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

 

I'm considering full time rv living so I can enjoy an early retirement at age 57 while I'm still young. Yes, 57 is still young Any information anyone wants to share with me would be most appreciated.

 

Decide what kind of full-timer you will be. How much traveling do you want to do. My wife and I are in our fourth year as full-timers and have turned down our travel expectations drastically.
We put on a lot of miles our first year, but it was just that...miles. Driving became a chore, I saw 57 fifteen years ago. Travel became another job. We made some adjustments: four hours on the road max (my wife cannot drive), while traveling we stay over two nights, and when we reach a destination we stay a week to ten days. We don't go to tourist destinations, but do see important sights. This year we saw Devils Tower and Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park in ND.
We Winter over in Texas from Nov 1st to May 1st. We don't join the herds traveling in the Winter.
We stay at one Texas park because we like the town. We are very much citizens of that town, members of a Church parish, and so on.
With a new Spring we say goodbye and start moving again on May 1st., but always at our pace. We always make reservations; we don't do Walmart. With no home to return to, we see our kids and also old friends and neighbors then a bucket-list item, or two, as we steer toward Texas.

Pick your pace, but adjust it if all you can remember is hooking and un-hooking the utilities.
Start early, get off the road early. You don't want to setup in the dark.
Good luck and don't forget to tell us how this new adventure goes for you.