
The answer to the question posed in the headline above is a qualified and rapidly eroding ‘maybe’ heading towards the spectre of a probably soon-to-become universal ‘no.’
Up until a few years ago, governments were turning a blind eye to RVs parked for considerable periods of time in technically unsuitable places such as vacant lots, unregulated roadsides and even urban neighbourhood street parking. Governments, local, regional and even national (lots of nationally-owned land out there!) had bigger fish to fry.
And for those with at least a few dollars to spare, trailer parks are still an option now, though shrinking in numbers and escalating in price.
But for those without money to pay rent at a trailer park, the benefits of mobility (like getting to and from a job) combined with cramped but bearable lifestyles to make RVs a unique, relocatable, port in a storm of ever more scarce and unaffordable housing.
So are there sustainable living futures here?
Who might be best equipped to weigh the pros and cons of RV ‘homelessness’ in this changing post-pandemic world? Why an RV magazine, of course. Pertinent in particular to a North American audience, here’s a currently two-part series (with a promise of more to come) from RVtravel: The State of RVing, Part 1: Growth of the RV homeless and The State of RVing, Part 2: City governments playing hardball against homeless RVers
Finally, it may be wise to bear in mind the role that can be played by sheer determination. Has it stretched the ability of mobile home devotees for perhaps as much as months or years? Heck no. In Europe, travelling cultures known by a variety of different names in different languages (these days ‘Travellers’ is one), have maintained a travelling lifestyle for centuries.
As well, some Indigenous populations in Canada travelled extensively before private property arrived. Indigenous communities are persistently pursuing claims to access and use of land ‘discovered’ by Europeans.
The benefits of travelling life may be opaque to settled people, but clearly worth it for those who endure persecution from governments at every level to live it.