Unlike the retirees of my childhood, who lived in 65+ communities or moved to Florida, the current generation is moving into RVs. But unlike the modest retirement communities of yesteryear, the current amenities, toys and accessories being utilized for the leisure of the retired are far more up-scale. Luxury Class A Motor homes. Expensive lots to park the RV in. Tricked out golf carts to ride around the fancy resort. This is the life of many boomer, and soon to be Gen-X, retirees.
I understand why they have money, they’re old. I’m not sure how they have so much money, but that’s not my concern. My question is why this particular lifestyle has become so popular. Why do they want to move around so freely and interact with so many people? From the outside looking in, this luxury migrant RV thing that retired people seem so keen on seems highly predicated on socializing. They want to be included in the fun activities in the hottest spots with the coolest retirees. The cool retirees don’t act “old.” They are active and eat protein bars and have nice tans. But to hang out with them, you also need to be cool, which means you need a really cool RV. It’s a pay-to-play system here.
By replicating the freedom and non-stop action of youth, the community has also replicated the social hierarchy of high school. All that materialism that you must conform to for social acceptance, back again. I think I’m getting less concerned with social status, as a result of starting a family. There really aren’t any social hierarchies I’m participating in, and even the few I am apart of, I really don’t give a fuck. And it feels good! It feels like I’ve opted out of an unfulfilling pastime.
But then I see people retire and turn into 14 year-olds begging their parent to buy an 80$ t-shirt with a little moose on it. They want to be cool again. I thought those people would be too wise to fall for such an obvious marketing trap. Why the hell do you need to spend a million dollars to chill out with your friends?
Maybe this is just a privileged subset of older people that I’ve been exposed to. But I thought I would grow out of status-oriented materialism and stay that way.