One of the rewards of blogging is the people you chance to meet. Strangers from your own town as well as people from the other side of the world. Over time, they become good friends; periodically, you are lucky enough to meet up in person. As happened on Friday, when Lloyd of
Wandrin' showed up in Prescott to share a cuppa over at Wild Iris. He is a genuine nomad, American-style, which means his home is his RV ... has been for nearly 10 years of wandering. Time enough to collect 39 Hawaiian shirts, for example.
Did I mention that there is a crowd of RV bloggers, many of them permanent nomads? Quite unlike most Americans, according to
Newsweek, which says that
as recently as the 1970s as many as one in five people moved annually; by 2006, long before the current recession took hold, that number was 14 percent, the lowest rate since the census starting following movement in 1940. Since then tougher times have accelerated these trends, in large part because opportunities to sell houses and find new employment have dried up. In 2008, the total number of people changing residences was less than those who did so in 1962, when the country had 120 million fewer people. The stay-at-home trend appears particularly strong among aging boomers, who are largely eschewing Sunbelt retirement condos to stay tethered to their suburban homes—close to family, friends, clubs, churches, and familiar surroundings.
Wild Iris -- the coffee house for grown-ups -- was the perfect place to meet. The out-of-towner couldn't resist inspecting the giant credenza. We agreed that it must have originally come from an upscale yard goods or perhaps jewelry or notions store -- just look at all those shallow drawers. We also agreed that back alleys and old highway routes can be far more interesting than modern routes from here to there.
In addition to the Hawaiian shirts, my nomad friend also collects electronic toys, especially those that allow him to save space. And so I had my first hands-on experience of Amazon's Kindle ebook. It's pretty cool. Maybe, when the price comes down a couple of notches, I'll buy one. Thanks for the chat, the cuppa and the ebook introduction, Lloyd.
Did I mention that there is a crowd of RV bloggers, many of them permanent nomads? Quite unlike most Americans, according to Newsweek, which says that as recently as the 1970s as many as one in five people moved annually; by 2006, long before the current recession took hold, that number was 14 percent, the lowest rate since the census starting following movement in 1940. Since then tougher times have accelerated these trends, in large part because opportunities to sell houses and find new employment have dried up. In 2008, the total number of people changing residences was less than those who did so in 1962, when the country had 120 million fewer people. The stay-at-home trend appears particularly strong among aging boomers, who are largely eschewing Sunbelt retirement condos to stay tethered to their suburban homes—close to family, friends, clubs, churches, and familiar surroundings.
Wild Iris -- the coffee house for grown-ups -- was the perfect place to meet. The out-of-towner couldn't resist inspecting the giant credenza. We agreed that it must have originally come from an upscale yard goods or perhaps jewelry or notions store -- just look at all those shallow drawers. We also agreed that back alleys and old highway routes can be far more interesting than modern routes from here to there.
In addition to the Hawaiian shirts, my nomad friend also collects electronic toys, especially those that allow him to save space. And so I had my first hands-on experience of Amazon's Kindle ebook. It's pretty cool. Maybe, when the price comes down a couple of notches, I'll buy one. Thanks for the chat, the cuppa and the ebook introduction, Lloyd.
Posts
