"Trailer for sale or rent
Rooms to let...fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but..two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road."

Just adjust for inflation.

My brother is into RVs, though they're definitely for recreation so far. For his family (including kids, a couple of grandkids, and pets), heading out into the desert and racing around the dunes makes a lot of sense--there's a lot of beautiful country, they often link up with friends and race around on quads, etc.

Opting into a trailer long term in lieu of a house would be annoying. His is pretty luxurious for a trailer, but everything's a little small and awkward for everyday life.

I think we've talked about the Amazon camperforce before. That's a really dystopian vision for aging. With the retirement age ever climbing but age discrimination not going away, I'm afraid that the ranks of people traveling for work that way will only keep climbing--which certainly allows the companies that have such inexpensive labor available to resist increasing benefits and compensation to their employees.

I appreciate the OP, which is good and is a depressing note on which to start the day.

King of the road.

On that note -- Mandy Patinkin "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime.

From anyone else, 3.1 would be the dryest of sarcasm.

Since I don't have time to go out in the woods and get eaten by a bear, I read hiking blogs and forums. There is a fair bit of discussion about the various rules national and state parks have to keep people from living in them.

Anyway, I think it's pretty clear the reason we don't have third world-style shantytowns isn't because we blow up homeless camps before they can evolve to that.

Dollar Generals are sprouting up all over these parts.

There is one in a nearby one-horse town, or rather, on the outside of town in a brand new cheap-looking building with a big empty parking lot. It would be nice if they had built in one of the empty buildings at the center of town, which could use some attention and some commerce, but that's not the game Dollar General plays.

There is a Dollar General within six blocks of my office and even closer to several million dollar houses.

It's in a small commercial area, but they built it like suburban assholes with a huge parking lot up front.

8/9: When I lived near there about a decade ago, that was a CVS. The Baum/Centre corridor has always been weirdly car focused, including with dealerships.

There's an independent dollar store that's taken a spot in a slightly decrepit strip mall in a mid-density area near my house. Arab speakers run it, and the register tape reads "Dolor Zone Plus"

I have known the inexorable sadness of pencils, Neat in their boxes, dolor of pad and paper weight, All the misery of manilla folders and mucilage, Desolation in immaculate public places, Lonely reception room, lavatory, switchboard, The unalterable pathos of basin and pitcher, Ritual of multigraph, paper-clip, comma, Endless duplicaton of lives and objects.

lw

That's a great pseud.

I guess CVS is the asshole. But their new building in that area at least doesn't put the parking front and center.

we blow up homeless camps before they can evolve to that.

How Eisenhower got his start, as I understand it.

I think that was MacArthur.

I'm wrong. They were both there, but MacArthur was, of course, well past his "start". Patton was there also.

MacArthur got his start watching his older brother play polo in Manila with my mom's grandfather, before the latter created the precursor to what Eisenhower eventually made the NSA. Patton got his start chasing Pancho Villa in Mexico under the command of his father-in-law Pershing.

General Pershing Auditorium was famous in Lincoln.

I'm not endorsing it for others, but I could imagine doing a summer as a volunteer at Big Hole once I've "retired." Might be better than staying home and yelling at the TV.

DUTIES: The docents' primary responsibilities will be to staff the visitor center, make bookstore sales, and give 30 minute presentations about the battle to the public. The volunteers will also assist with the annual Coyote Camp event for school groups in May, and will be able to participate in the annual Nez Perce commemoration of the battle in August. Docents may be given extra duties or special projects depending on park needs and volunteer interests.

DATES: The anticipated dates for this position are May 1 - September 3. Each docent will volunteer for the park 32 hours per week, which is four days at eight hours each day. If a couple is selected, they will be guaranteed to be scheduled the same 3 days off. Docents can expect to be on duty for weekends and holidays.

HOUSING AND REIMBURSEMENTS:The park will provide volunteer uniforms and nametags, interpretive training, free housing on site, and will reimburse mileage to assist with travel costs. In addition, the park's cooperating bookstore association will provide each volunteer with a weekly meal stipdend. Please be aware that the meal stipend is considered taxable income and will generate a 1099 tax form. Many thanks to Glacier National Park Conservancy for providing this financial assistance to our volunteers.One RV site with full hook-ups and free access to gym equipment, Wi-Fi, and shared washers/dyers is available 1/3 mile from the visitor center at no cost to the volunteers. Applicants without RVs will be proved a free, private private bedroom with a queen-size bed in park housing with access to the same ammenities. Pets and family members are not allowed to live in park housing. Telephone and television service is not provided, though the volunteers can pay to set them up. Be aware that cell phone coverage is spotty in the Big Hole Valley, and not available for some carriers.

SKILLS AND INTERESTS:Docents with the following interests and abilities will enjoy their experience the most. Friendly and outgoing people who enjoy helping the public. History enthusiasts, especially those familiar with the Nez Perce Flight of 1877, or the American Indian Wars in general. Confident operating cash registers and providing excellent customer service. Prior experience or interest in public speaking and/or historical interpretation is a plus.Comfortable living in a remote, rural location.

I'm thinking winter caretaker for an isolated Colorado hotel is the best job of that type for me.

One where you drive through Glacier to get there.

I'd read the OP article a few days ago. It's amazing that some people are reported think selling their houses and buying an RV is going to work out for any period past about 5 years.

Cob house the mountains is much more practical.

22: My sister did it for a year, had a great time, then got a job again. It was a weird interlude for someone as career-driven as she is -- she got fired under dubious circumstances -- but she made it work.

I've got my fuck-off-world retirement volunteerism place all picked out, but its going to be a while before I can convince my wife that I am retired, not simply unemployed.

24: There are all kinds of ways those kittens could have gotten into that sack.

Cats, kittens, sacks and wives, how many are retiring at St. Ives?

Fifteen.

I rule at story problems.

7: "There is one in a nearby one-horse town, or rather, on the outside of town in a brand new cheap-looking building with a big empty parking lot. It would be nice if they had built in one of the empty buildings at the center of town, which could use some attention and some commerce, but that's not the game Dollar General plays."

I'm old enough to remember that's how Wal-Mart got started. Heck, I'm old enough to remember when Wal-Mart coming to the county seat in TN was both a big deal and a huge improvement over the general-ish store on the town square, where it had been since time immemorial (i.e., probably 1952) and at the time Wal-Mart arrived not only kept random hours and stocked random items but was more fully ensconced in dust than many of the older homes in the area.

Not that an el cheapo chain is all that great, but as always one should ask, "Compared to what?" In the fair town of One Horse, it's probably compared to nothing at all, or an hour-plus to a bigger store in Three Horse.

I know a couple who are full-time RVers, but they're rich and just do it because they like the lifestyle.

In this case, Three Horse ain't that far away and has all the big-box stores you might want.

Once Horse has the bones of a very nice place, and would have a decent commercial district if it was all concentrated in one place, instead of splattered across the landscape with little thought to planning.

I fantasize about life on the road but it's as a roadie for Motorhead in 1981, not in an RV park as a retiree.

As if those are exclusive.

re: 33

That sounds OK, but more 'life on the road as a _member_ of ... '.

Here's something to make you feel marginally less depressed for about 5 minutes:

Didn't work.