02:26 PM CST on Saturday, March 27, 2004
LIVING LITENEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Interstate 35, the highway that
stretches from Denton to Laredo, serves as the spinal cord for the urban
complex I call "Dalantonio." Exit at Ruekle Road here, and you're only a
few hundred yards from the Hill Country RV Resort. The park has 350
spaces for trailers, fifth wheels, motor homes and park-model RVs. It
also has two pools, two large bath and shower rooms, a recreation room,
an exercise room, and a crafts and wood shop. Like a number of the RV
parks I visited in Florida, it also has wireless Internet access.
Residents can easily stay in touch with friends and family.
I've come here to visit with John and Lorraine Hay, a retired couple who
have spent most of the last 10 years as "full-timers" – living the RV
lifestyle year-round. Their Pace Arrow Class A RV, their third motor
home since John retired in 1989, contains a bedroom, a bathroom, a
kitchen, a dinette, and a sofa just behind the two big driving chairs.
As Lorraine pointed out later, housekeeping isn't a big deal.
John, who's 72, retired from a 32-year career with the Santa Fe
railroad. Bypass surgery notwithstanding, he looks younger than his
years. So does Lorraine.
"We've met more new people here than you can shake a stick at. What you
did before has no bearing," John said. "You can stay in your RV, or you
can get out and mingle. Often there will be four to six couples outside
and we'll cook dinner, play games and play poker. We also play golf."
Lorraine said she was the one who first wanted an RV, which is not the
usual pattern.
"My theory was that you shouldn't own, because they depreciate," said
John, explaining his initial reluctance. "But we can live in an RV much,
much cheaper than we can live in a home. This park costs $225 [a month]
plus electricity, which averages around $30."
In fact, winter Texans can live here for six months for a total of
$1,235 plus electricity. A 12-month contract is $2,415 plus electricity.
The basic rate also includes cable TV. How much you pay for your RV is
up to you.
The location is midway between Austin and San Antonio, close to
shopping, medical care, a number of lakes and the relaxed living of the
Texas Hill Country.
John explained that he took early retirement because he had come to
dread Monday.
"When I started, it was a family-oriented company. A man who had worked
his way up ran it. He had done every job. But as people retired,
attorneys who knew nothing replaced them. The environment changed."
He said this matter-of-factly, without a trace of rancor.
He took an early retirement buyout.
"You can live on less money than what you were making. Figure the cost
of clothes, lunch, payroll taxes and whatnot. We found we were probably
better off after retirement."
I asked whether he ever missed work.
"I often wondered what it would be like, but it was no problem. I never
looked back. You know, a lot of people die before they retire. I didn't
want to be one of them."
One very clear message from the Hays' 15 years of retirement and nearly
10 years of full-time RV-ing: Life continues to have dilemmas and
decisions. John said that in their early years, they had kept a house as
a kind of base camp.
But it became too difficult to manage. In recent years, they had been
spending winters in Texas and then dividing the hot months between long
visits to their aging mothers. Both needed care and attention.
But they were facing a transition. Both mothers, the anchors of their
travels, had died. They would continue to visit children, but they
weren't sure exactly where they would go or how much time they would
spend on the road.
"We always come back to this spot because all our friends are here,"
Lorraine said.
Asked whether he had any concerns about the future, John smiled.
"If we stop recognizing each other, then we'll know it's time to stop."
Tuesday: A man with a vision in Burnet
Scott Burns answers questions of general interest in his Thursday
columns. Write Scott
E-mail sburns@dallasnews.com
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