I know many people that move with the seasons. I saw the same folks coming to Alaska for years. Five couples came up here every year and had reserved spaces in Santa Land RV park here in North Pole. They built decks that stayed in place on their spaces. Each year they would just back in next to the deck and was set for the summer. Then in the fall they would disconnect all utilities and drive away. But when the price of gasoline started going up about four years ago they quite coming to Alaska. Knew several guys that were single, that had trailers and would come up to Valdez for the summer. Once there they would get a job working on the fishing boats, taking tourist out for the day. They would spend the entire summer up here working. But when gas got to be too expensive they quite coming up.
For many years Santa Land RV Park was full every night, with the over flow parking packed as well. Then the first year when gas went up they did not fill up at night. Oh it would look full from the highway, but there would be open spaces in the back. The next two years the number of RVs kept going down and they would be almost empty long before the end of the tourist season. Two years ago they closed. Now we see a few RVs during the summer. No longer the couples spending the summer on a shoe string enjoying Alaska, but the huge motor homes, built on Kenworth Trucks. The kind that cost more than most peoples homes. Those and the rental Canadian Campers on trucks, are the only RVs we see now for the summers. Those are few and far between. They stay in Sam's Club parking lot, and Pioneer Park in Down Town Fairbanks. They are just passing through for the night on their way to Denali Park, then on to Anchorage.
Back during the 70s, my Uncle Jerold and his wife Mattie, had a big RV trailer he towed with his Oldsmobile. He had a home in Michigan, a lot with hookups in Tennessee, and he stayed at an RV park in Homestead Florida during the winter. Same park same space for almost 20 years. 2 day leasurely drive from the house in Michigan to the place in Tennessee. Spend a month fishing in Tennessee, then move on to Florida. In the Spring reverse it. He and his wife did this for many years, and got to know quite a few folks that was doing the same thing. When I was stationed in Florida I would see them all winter.
Other relatives have done that since then, but they all seem to get tired of it after two or three years. The ones I know who seem to last at moving seasonally are the 0nes that buy a summer place in either Florida or Arizona. Carlos and his wife flew from Eagle River Alaska to Glendale Arizona then back for 20 years then his wife died. Carlos finally quite coming back to Alaska, and settled in Arizona.
My uncle Felton and his wife did the same going from Nashville Tennessee to Clearwater Florida for years. They had bought a small 2 bed room house in Clearwater. My folks went with them a couple of years and stayed for a few weeks, but my Mother could not stay away from all her phone friends for that long and had to go back to Tennessee.
My Dad bought a nice trailer, and had a Ford 1 ton to tow it with. Dad wanted to travel once he retired, but Mom had other plans. Mom refused to go with him while they had the trailer. In four years they used it twice for one weekend each. Before Dad retired Mom sold it so she could not be drug off to stay in that thing. Her words.
