We Did It - Bought an RV Site

Yes we did - and it was an easy sell for the guy.  We pretty much had made up our minds as we've been knocking the idea around for a month or two, had scouted the sites available (listing on their website), and knew which section we wanted.  When Eric (salesman and owner and developer) told us he had just sold two sites on the outer road we panicked.  The one we wanted had been sold a week or so ago but the guy backed out. So, we told him we didn't need to look at any others.  That's the site we wanted.  He was taken by surprise - he didn't have to go through his whole spiel.  I got the impression he thought we were just listening to him because it was part of the "special" we got when we booked.  We gave him a deposit so he wouldn't sell "our" site to the person he was showing around next.  We close tomorrow at noon. 

Here's our thought process for actually doing this:

 - We aren't getting any younger and we don't know how long we will be RVing and having fun instead of it being work.  
 - We like Santee Lakes very much, but they have priced us out, as well as the other annoyances mentioned earlier in the blog.    - There is nothing equivalent to this set up in Southern California that we could afford.
 - We still want to "winter" in a warm climate.
 - We haven't seen any 55+ community that wasn't crowded with park models on small sites.  
  - We have a place to go every year now.
  - When we stop taking the RV in winter we will probably put a park model on the site. 
   - It's a real estate investment - we hope.
   - We've always liked this area and after boycotting Arizona for five years, we are back.
    - The park is rural.  It backs up to natural lands and the sites are quite large.
    -  It's a co-op so it can't be sold to new management.  We are the management (theoretically). 

So, we have taken the plunge.  Now we have a piece of sand and gravel that backs up to natural settings (the view from the back window).  It's a very large site - 60x70 feet.  We can landscape (with approval) and make it ours.  

I took these pictures tonight on our walk.  The empty lot is ours.  You can see where the electric boxes are at the back of the site - those are the site boundaries.  Right now the sites on both sides of us are sold but unoccupied.  I've also taken pictures of other sites that have been improved and will give an idea of what can be done with it.  We will wait until next November and will start the improvements - a shed, patio, landscaping, etc.  By this time next year we hope it will be beautiful.   We can put a washer and dryer in the shed after we get it plumbed and electricity run to it.  They have a nice laundry room and it's cheap, but I'd rather have my own.  

Our site looking from the road facing ENE.
The shadow is from a saguaro across the street. 

A little different angle.  That palo verde tree is on our site.

Taken from the berm at the back of site towards road.

Maggie on the berm behind the site checking out the "back 40".
There's a 2.5 mile walking trail back here that circles the park. 

Some people have really made their sites very nice, but like in every subdivision there are some with no improvements.  The lighting this evening and my photos don't do some of them justice, I'm afraid.  Maggie wouldn't walk far enough with me tonight to the area with some really nice paved, rather than concrete, patios.  She does not like walking on the gravel.  With the way our site is situated she won't have to  - we will take our walks without having to go on the road.  

Anyway, it's a done deal and we now can think about a landscaping design.  We will probably move to our site tomorrow after "closing."  We will likely stay until the last week of March and then be home by the first of April.  We will leave the RV here and pick it up again the first of May as we head for Pensacola.  

The sunset is incredible again tonight.  The moon is bright and it so quiet.