"Loser's Paradise"

We saw an article on an RV Park in Austin, TX, in The Huntsville Times today. I also found another similar article on the internet.

AUSTIN — Ease into the Pecan Grove R.V. Park and you'll quickly discover why residents like Betsy Kemper — a.k.a. Doodle Bug the Clown — love the place so much.

Sheltered by towering pecan trees, the trailer park is near the famous Barton Springs Pool, Town Lake hike-and-bike trail and trendy restaurants and coffee cafes. Best of all, residents say, it's a close-knit community.

"I've lived in all the choicest neighborhoods in Austin, and this is the best one in town," said Kemper, 56, who performs at birthday parties and corporate events and lives in a Salem Park luxury trailer with a fireplace and "real toilet."

The Pecan Grove dwellers are part of a fading phenomenon — the urban trailer park. They enjoy affordable housing in a high-priced part of the city, where condominium and business development surges all around them. Some fear the new construction that's closing in, but they revel in their little oasis of old-style Austin.

"It's more than just location. It's a village. Pecan Grove is a village," said Milton Sullivan, 38, who has lived here 15 years and writes trailer park short stories. "I tend to call it a loser's paradise."

Many residents seem to lead richly rewarding lives.

Artists, couples counselors, an attorney, a software developer and even a movie star are among the eclectic set who live here year-round or seasonally in everything from 40-foot motor homes to little Airstreams.

(Actor Matthew McConaughey has a spot in the park, though he's not around often. Neighbors protect its location and are wary of strangers who appear to be paparazzi.)

It's not easy to join this enclave; there's a waiting list for the 80 monthly sites. They rent for $320 to $370 a month — that includes water, sewer and electricity — though some prices are about to go up past $400.

That's still a bargain in Austin.

Tony condos across the street sell for more than $600,000. The median home price in Austin this year has hovered around $170,000, surpassing most Texas cities, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Trailer parks are becoming scarce in urban areas because of the cost of upkeep and because they often are on valuable land sought by developers, said Brian Schaeffer, executive director of the Texas Association of Campground Owners.

"That's happening a lot in Florida, and we're starting to see it now in Texas," Schaeffer said. "Many parks that were close to the city but weren't right in the city, well, now they're right in the city."

Some Pecan Grove residents worry about a new condo development planned on neighboring property, which would displace another smaller trailer park.

Longtime Pecan Grove manager Robert McCartney said he hopes the trailer park he runs keeps operating for a long time to come.

"This is home to a lot of people. There's not a lot of R.V. parks in Austin for the size of Austin," he said. "We've got some people who have moved out of some pretty big houses, and they say they don't regret it one minute."

Terry Cottrell, a 55-year-old retired state worker, lived in Pecan Grove in the early 1980s. He moved away and got married, had children and eventually divorced. Now he's back, living in what he calls the quiet, simple world of the "bourgeoisie bohemians."

"It's a lifestyle more than anything. You have to be beyond the ego point in your life, where having a new house is your status. You have to let that go," he said.

Cottrell likes to go flying with friends, and he spent the summer becoming a life guard at Barton Springs Pool.

As in any neighborhood, holiday decorations adorn the trailers. There are wreaths and lights and tiny dangling holiday Airstreams. Artist Faith Wickey put up a large real Christmas tree inside her Yellowstone trailer.

A few feet away is Wickey's studio, a converted bedroom where she works on colorful glass art. She likes to wear bright clothes and delights in her freestyle life.

"I like living in a house on wheels," said Wickey, who travels to art shows around the country and has a summer cottage in Michigan.

Traveling the West, "exploring the path of intimacy," brought Jeff London, 50, and Jesse Heron, 59, to Pecan Grove. They said they wanted to leave the rat race behind and live in close quarters to learn about their relationship.

They are meditators and relationship advisers. They love the movie "The Wizard of Oz," and use their 5 1/2-foot corn snake, Dorothy, in sessions. They call Pecan Grove the "emerald forest."

"It's like the Hotel California — you can check out but you can never leave," London said.

Some residents come and go because they work in multiple cities. Some would rather pursue pastimes like traveling or rock climbing than spend time and money on a house.

Robbie Chandler, 81, a former funeral singer and variety show performer, said she enjoys her acquaintances and feels safe at Pecan Grove. After visiting the place for years, she and her late husband moved in full time about 10 years ago.

In her cozy kitchen is a box of sweet potatoes. In her living room is a china cabinet and a television set for watching her favorite soap operas. On a stool sits an old Hank Williams song book reminding her of the music she adores.

"I love trailering," she said. "I tell people all the time, I have what you have in your house, it's only smaller."

It peaked my curiosity so I did a search on the internet and found one family's site that also discussed this RV park.

It seems that RV life is one of the best kept secrets. More and more people are discovering that it really is a comfortable way of life. I'm thrilled for the people who live in Pecan Grove.

And, if the park has rental sites, we may visit their "bourgeoisis bohemian" paradise some day in the future when we visit family members in Texas. I don't know that I agree with the term "loser's paradise" though. I'd say these people are winning at the game of life.