Community Living

You could say RVing is ideal for those who don't feel the need to be part of an established brick and mortar community. We chose this lifestyle because, with four children between us spread across the globe, we felt we were never going to be in the right place at the right time. Of course, a shared love of travel pretty much clinched the deal for us.

So we joined a community on wheels. Constant travel meant that in some RV parks we made short-term friends, with whom we keep in touch virtually. In others, where there was a quick turnover of visitors, we shared only a few hellos with our fellow travelers.

Paradoxically, over my life, I have often yearned to be part of a static community. I got close a couple of times but regularly moving locations as I grew up, married and remarried, and working full time, pretty much got in the way of putting down absolute roots.

Thus for me, finding a community like the one we are currently staying at, is a gift.

I guess the extreme friendliness of the residents here – both permanent, seasonal and just visiting, is due to the fact that everyone arriving here (whether to put down roots or just spend a few days touring) is initially a stranger. And as a stranger, you have a choice - spend time alone, or reach out and be sociable to make new acquaintances, or both.

Arizona's population swells annually during the winter months as people from Canada and the northern states of the USA leave behind their snowbound homes and head for the warmer, dryer and sunnier climate that exists in this southwestern state.. The snowbirds, as they are called, are a mix of retired (which means aged anywhere from 55 up) and self-employed whose ability to work is limited by inclement weather conditions (eg construction workers and farmers).

Whatever the reason for their first visit to the Indian Skies RV Resort in Coolidge, 50 miles south east of Phoenix, those that spend time here tend to want to come back. Some even buy or rent a park model (like a static caravan), rather than pull a trailer thousands of miles every year. Some move in permanently, and just go back home to visit family during the summer months when the temperatures rise to over 100F/40C.

There is something about this place that makes you feel at home. Smaller than some of the other over 55 resorts in the area (only some 250 rental spaces compared to the more usual 500 - 2000) , it's lifeblood is the Rec Hall and the sociability of its residents. The pool is larger than most (especially for the smallish size of the park), and the activities and recreational facilities are varied – from Pot lucks, (where everyone brings something to eat and shares), to ice cream socials or coffee and donuts, to exercises in the pool, to horseshoes, shuffleboard, cards and dominoes, bingo, jam sessions and weekly dances to live music.

A typical day might start with a swim and a chat with whomever else is at the pool or in the hot-tub, a game of Shanghai rummy, a lunch of Bratwurst and sauerkraut

Wisconsin Brat Feed

prepared by volunteers from Wisconsin (for over 100 people!), a game of dominoes, or a rehearsal for the next Gadget Band performance,

The Gadget Band - uses anything that makes a noise to entertain folks

then happy hour (from 3pm onward) where you take along a beverage of choice to a neighbor and talk about everything and nothing, (which might turn into a social gathering of up to a dozen people depending on the size of the hosts' seating accommodation), then back to the Rec Hall for Bingo or a game of Euchre! Oh yes, this retirement lark is hard work!

Actually, work it is, for some. Larger camps tend to have paid Activity Co-coordinators, but this park's activities are organized solely by a voluntary committee and a small army of other volunteers. Perhaps this has something to do with the convivial atmosphere of the place. So many residents and returning seasonal visitors have a personal stake in the park's running and success – that it is in their interest to be welcoming and encourage mixing. And yet, I feel this camp goes way beyond the normal in extending the hand of friendship.

Now, it is possible my judgment has been clouded somewhat. Richard and I began work-camping here during December. It began with us cleaning rental units, and has now gone down to working two days a week in the office. Also, in early January I gave a talk about my Holocaust surviving mother, and had a very large turnout, largely due to the weekly newsletter

The park's weekly newsletter

which lets everyone know what is coming up (also produced by volunteers). So we have become known very quickly to the residents. I realize that once a person has heard my mother's and my personal story, they are going to view me in a different way. And perhaps this makes me feel especially embraced by this community. But I have also observed how quickly some newcomers make new friends, and how some hardly ever join in with the social activities of the park. I have seen those who work tirelessly within the park for others, and those who are happy to simply enjoy the fruits of others' labor.

I guess, in the end, you get out of a community what you put in, and what you want from it.

In April we shall be moving to a smaller over 55 RV Resort in the White Mountains of Arizona for 6 months. We shall once again be work-camping, and we shall see another community in action. I only hope that we shall enjoy the same comradeship as we have encountered here.