Rejecting the 'American Dream'

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Rejecting the 'American Dream'

October 25, 2017, 12:06:52 pm

The takeaway, for me, from this article was that there are an estimated six million Americans - 1.8 percent of the population - live life on the road.

Re: Rejecting the 'American Dream'

Reply #1 – October 25, 2017, 01:29:36 pm

American's have had wanderlust since we first landed here, the natives had it too.
People have been living on the road forever.
To me, this is one of the American dreams, to travel the country with few restrictions.
Most full timers do so for a few years and settle down again, this group probably includes most van dwellers.
In the years before our LDs, we traveled for longer periods in our Chevy camper van. While a being an inexpensive and convenient way to travel, the lack of accommodations got old after a month or two.
Winter van living was challenging, it was hard to stay warm. It also was a lot easier, thirty years ago, to live in the van.

Wonder if Americans will lose their wanderlust as cars become autonomous, will people still go on road trips, just to see what is out there, known to some as the "real", or will the ability to put on a virtual reality helmet take the place of most travel?
With conventional cars, the driver sees the complete view, in an autonomous car, the passengers will probably spend most of their time staring at their devices, mostly ignoring the outside view .
So many of our best finds were spotted off the side of the road or down a small side road, things that probably will be miss with a uninterested robot driving.
It's a brave new world.

Larry

Re: Rejecting the 'American Dream'

Reply #2 – October 25, 2017, 01:30:43 pm

I suspect that the '6 million' number is on the low side. Link to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, one of several like 'confluences'.

Cheap RV Living.com-Gatherings

Re: Rejecting the 'American Dream'

Reply #3 – October 25, 2017, 05:15:23 pm

Quote from: JCT - October 25, 2017, 01:30:43 pm

Cheap RV Living.com-Gatherings

The subject in this link was a great read. I had to read much of it to Margee who enjoyed it too. We wish these and similar gatherings were not so far away. But it is what it is.

Re: Rejecting the 'American Dream'

Reply #4 – November 11, 2017, 08:24:27 pm

I found a related article about older Americans working and living in RVs across the country.

Many older Americans are living a desperate, nomadic life - MarketWatch

Earlier tonight, I read a post about a family who recently lost their home in this area and moved into an older trailer just south of Fort Worth. They asked a friend to move this trailer since they don't own a tow vehicle. The Park owner/manager refused to help this family with a muddy RV parking space which was part of the OP post asking for help. As a retired Social Worker, I'm well aware of poverty and lower income life-styles. But frankly, I wasn't aware of these same conditions for baby boomers who can't retire and have chosen a RV lifestyle which includes some serious challenges. And that's a fact.

Found this article which is a bit dated, but still interesting to me. For what's it worth, I've not seen RVs parking on the streets or parking lots in this area of Fort Worth but I haven't looked real hard. Some of the articles reference West Coast areas as favorite places for long-term street parking.

Portland is Towing Caravans of RVs Off the Streets. Here’s What It’s Like...

I'm guessing this information is not news to the vast majority of the LDO Forum. As I've mentioned, it's news to me.

Re: Rejecting the 'American Dream'

Reply #5 – November 12, 2017, 12:39:39 am

Larry,
I wonder, with all of the folks spending their days with their noses to their phone/tablets, will they even thing of wandering.

Re: Rejecting the 'American Dream'

Reply #6 – November 13, 2017, 01:04:15 am

Quote from: joel wiley - November 12, 2017, 12:39:39 am

I wonder,with all of the folks spending their days with their noses to their phone/tablets, will they even thing of wandering.

In twenty or thirty years, virtual reality may have advanced the point to where it may be difficult to tell the difference,
There is a lot of money to be made in VR, so I would expect big advances.

See you down in the holodeck.

Larry

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