Moving into an RV may seem like a way to save money, but it can come with unexpected costs and trap families in a cycle of debt.

As housing costs rise beyond what many families can afford, more people are looking for shelter outside the traditional housing market. About 486,000 people live full time in an RV, which appears to be more than twice as many as in 2021, according to survey data from the RV Industry Association. About a third have children, and a vast majority earn less than $75,000 a year. A separate survey by the Census Bureau found a similar trend: In 2023, the most recent data available, it estimated 342,000 people were living in an RV, boat or van, an increase of 41% from 2019.

It would be interesting to know what percentage consider their RV live voluntary vs involuntary (ie, no other option).

I planned my retirement this way, but I don’t think I could afford traditional housing now even if I wanted to.

  • Frater MusOPMEnglish
    2·
    8 天前

    Unfortunately, it’s common for U.S. municipalities to regulate how one lives on one’s own property. Must have city water and electricity, for example. Can only camp on it for so long, etc. My family owns ~35 acres of rural property that I might try to build a tiny house on someday but I assume there will be much hoop-jumping, even outside a tiny town of ~600 people.

    • vacuumflower
      2·
      8 天前

      Ah, yes. It sucks when such bottlenecks are legally enforced.

      I mean, in case of the USA it’s a clear legacy of racism, not just zoning laws, but also laws made to make spontaneous (I don’t mean squatting and undocumented slums by that, just populated areas growing more naturally) development hard. Also how trains are perceived, it seems, there.

      Say, if I can bear 2+hr long commute (would be like 1.2hr on the train, 0.8hr on the subway, and some waiting and walking in between) in case I need something in Moscow, buying a crumbling house in a literal village (with a train station nearby) is the cheapest thing (but not cheap) one can do. It’s just - with such a property you need to think, because if you run out of firewood or diesel or whatever you use, you may literally freeze (or at least crush the pipes). You also need to fix stuff yourself. And you need to get to know your neighbors and be on good terms with them.