LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - From McMansions to Tiny Houses, the tastes of millennials are changing how younger adults view "home."
More evidence of that trend can be found in the growing number of young adults and families pulling up stakes and rolling across the 50 states in recreational vehicles and campers.
But finding those elusive young people is not easy in the many RV parks in the lakes region of Arkansas.
“I see them on TV,” said Jackie McCroskey, who we found camping in DeGray Lake State Park with husband Travis and their two kids plus grandma. “These people that skip the shackles and chains of brick and mortar and go out on the road. Our jobs and lifestyle don't accommodate that. If we had a million dollars maybe.”
The McCroskey’s fifth-wheel trailer was parked not far from two other campsites with young families. They fit the demographics of millennials but not the definition of “full-timers,” the often retired, empty-nesters with luxury RV’s that serve as their full-time homes. Most families in these congenial campgrounds can see the appeal.
“There are so many places you can see and our country is pretty cool,” said Leon Pike of Cache, Okla., outside his fifth-wheel while on vacation with his wife, son Matthew, daughter-in-law and their kids. “Everybody wants to see stuff all over the world, which is great, but there's some really cool stuff in our own country that we need to see and that's what we want to do.”
Pike recently returned from the Grand Canyon. The week before the July 4th holiday, twenty-something Matthew relished the chance to vacation with his parents at a halfway point from their home in Mississippi.
“It would be cool, but at some point in time, I would get tired of it,” Matthew said while explaining why he’s leaving the driving of the RV to his dad for now.
“That age group is getting out,” said Glen Shaide of Little Rock as he hooked up his Thor Chateau motorhome in the KOA Kampground. “I see a lot of folks kind of staying in the local area such as from Little Rock coming to Hot Springs for the weekend.”
A few sites up the camp road, Cindy Colclasure and Kennie Barkley were watching their husbands park two different sized campers in adjacent spots. The families were traveling together from Louisiana with the Barkley’s on a maiden trip in a rented camper.
They had shared the Colclasures’ RV on previous trips and now they're taking the next step. They are keeping the idea of full-timing at a distance but could understand why younger adults might make the choice.
“We enjoy the comforts of home,” Colclasure said. “We enjoy the RV. It’s a lot of fun. We can go as many places as we want, but we still get to go back home.”
“There’s just not enough closet space for me,” Barkley joked.
But just when it seemed like the elusive young full-timer was a myth, we found Mark Lane in the middle of Cloud Nine RV Park off Highway 70.
“We have our RV which we just purchased,” the 43-year-old Lane said outside his 450 sq.ft. class-A unit. “We moved into it April 22nd and we plan on living in it the rest of our lives.”
Lane, his wife, three kids and two dogs are making the “R” in RV stand for residential.
“I've had friends and ex-colleagues say 'Mark, you're crazy, but I wish I was in your shoes,’” he said.
Those shoes might seem cramped to some, but they have a plan. The kids will stay in school for one more year. He and his wife will home-school and he plans to teach as a substitute when they land in a place for an extended amount of time.
They're getting used to driving the high-profile rig in high winds, all with a daily payoff of high adventure.
“When we’re teaching our kids about Gettysburg, we can take them there,” he said. “Instead of just teaching my children history when their home-schooling, why not let them live it?”
People that embrace the lifestyle tout breathtaking views outside the front door every day with the option to move whenever they want. That fits the millennial cohort who have already shown they're not going to be tied down to long-term jobs at the same place, and are ready to embrace change every couple of years.
“I think they're beginning to see the value of having time with the family and going and just enjoying nature, enjoying things,” Pike said of the younger people he meets on the road.
“I'm married with a wife and three children and everyone is as happy as we can be,” Lane said.
Price-wise, a class-B style RV can cost about 70-thousand dollars. Websites that encourage camping say you end up saving thousands of dollars compared to a home with property taxes. Utilities cost about the same.
Experienced "full-timers" do point out that an RV loses value compared to real estate and should not be seen as a literal investment vehicle. They also advise being familiar with mechanical work because you can't exactly pull into a local garage when you need service.