A place in Florida to live in RV/Fifth Wheel for next few months?

March 25, 2020 6:30 AM

I have a family member who can no longer afford their rent in South Florida. They will be moving into a Fifth-Wheel, towed by their truck. ANYWHERE in Florida near a coast is an option. Due to Covid-19, camping in state/national parks has been cancelled. This person has two large dogs. He is youngish (30-something), physically active and skilled at a variety of landscaping/logging/handyman/boarding/grooming horses type outdoor stuff. (I am including this because some people have open land with RV hookups they may trade for labor tasks on their property). Fifth wheel is about 28 feet if that matters.
posted by caveatz to Travel & Transportation around Florida (4 answers total)

I don't have suggestions for Florida, but I will offer this advice. My girlfriend and I did a cross-country RV trip a few years ago. We were on the road for fifteen months. We wanted to overwinter in Florida, as many folks do. In the end, we chose Savannah, Georgia instead. It was cheaper and more interesting. Your family member might want to consider Savannah (or coastal SC) too. Or maybe not...
posted by jdroth at 7:22 AM on March 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

There's someone on NextDoor up here in St. Augustine that just yesterday posted that they have an open RV parking spot/hookup on their property, and also that they're looking for someone to do yard work for them as well. Here's a link to the RV parking post (the yard work post was made separately), although if I understand NextDoor (which I super don't, sorry) you might only be able to see it if you have a NextDoor account AND you live relatively close by?
posted by saladin at 7:39 AM on March 25, 2020 [5 favorites]

Look for Work-Camper postings and checkon CheapRVLiving. Even email the dept. of Parks to see if they need a person at state camps as security guard.
posted by theora55 at 8:48 AM on March 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't have any specific information but I can tell you that the RV/vanlife community is using the term "moochdocking" for this current situation in which people are staying on land/driveways in informal arrangements, and that might be a useful search term. It's not really a pejorative though it sounds like it, it just implies a non-traditional arrangement - barter for labor, cash under the table, mutual aid, a hose and maybe an extension cord rather than hookups. I think it's also understood to imply a quarantine community, as in if you stay there with contact with the hosts/other residents you are going to remain there and self-isolate with them.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:10 AM on March 25, 2020 [2 favorites]