Trailer Parks...

[mac2]

Seem to be particularly popular in your country, although they can be found in many others. Appear to have a bad reputation, but from the pictures I've seen, they look alright.

Thoughts? Anybody live/lived in one?

 

[Pop's2]

We winter here in Arizona in a gated, walled, senior (over 50) "trailer park) We have a large club house, 2 swimming pools, outdoor hot tub, tennis courts, etc etc and many activities. We like it just fine, although there are draw backs and issues like any community or neighborhood; wiki has some answers

Trailer park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Geno44]

Any observation on them is obviously a generalization. I spent several years in a trailer park in my college years and for about a year after graduation. Then I bought some land and moved the trailer out on it. After three years, I built a house on the land and sold the trailer. I used them temporarily to build equity for buying land and a house. I would think the majority of folks living in them, certainly not all, would be from the lower income brackets. I would think very few upper income people live in one. You are usually renting the land and have no basement in case of high wind. This certainly is not to say that there aren't some very nice people in them but you are also going to get some folks who haven't attained middle class income and/or have had financial problems or for some reason haven't been able to accumulate enough money to buy a house. I'm sure some folks there also just like it.

 

[Comrad]

Just like any other neighborhood, there are ones you wouldn't mind living in and some you wouldn't set foot in.

 

[Hillbilly77]

It's the people, not the place.

 

[pownal55]

There are two in the town I live in. One is a nice place with good people, the other, a war zone. Each tends to draw in others like themselves.

 

[ChuckS1]

Seems to be a direct connection between the number of trailer parks and tornados. I think the aluminum in the trailers attracts the tornados...

 

[Llando88]

Seem to be particularly popular in your country, although they can be found in many others. Appear to have a bad reputation, but from the pictures I've seen, they look alright.

Thoughts? Anybody live/lived in one?

They are the US equivalent of a Council Housing Estate - there can be some sketchy people there, to be sure.

Got off the Motorway to one accidentally once outside of Manchester. Not a lot of fun.

 

[the ringo kid]

There are several around my area. Ive never lived in one-but not against it either.
Some are fairly nice to very nice:

Many are not so well maintained like the below--look at own risk:
This one features a "Trailer Park Mansion":

This trailer park even has a swimming pool:

Eh?

Some even have a "rustic" view too:

High Rise:

Eh?

Decorated for Christmas:

Typical trailer park look here:

 

[W.E.G.]

Just remember to close the windows in the trailer before shooting skunk eating dog poop in yard of trailer.

AMHIK.

 

[Faulkner]

Here in Arkansas we are right in the middle of tornado alley. One of the running jokes around here is;

Question: In Arkansas, do you know what a tornado and divorce have in common?

Answer: Somebody is fixing to loose a mobile home.

 

[therevjay]

Some trailer parks are a lot like low rent studio apts. They can be fun when you're young. Later? Well not so much.

Seriously the problem is, unlike a apt. You own, and are responsible for the upkeep of the trailer. But yet you have to keep paying rent because you never own the spot it sits on. And unlike a house the trailer never gets more valuable just less.

And I think maybe "ChuckS1" is right. All that aluminum attracts tornados.

 

[adams484]

Seem to be particularly popular in your country, although they can be found in many others. Appear to have a bad reputation, but from the pictures I've seen, they look alright.

Thoughts? Anybody live/lived in one?

Having owned in one Boulder, Colorado before even moving to Alabama the mobile home capital of the world. I have this to say about them. They are disposable homes. They are comfortable, convenient, and a good solution if you don't expect to get more than 20 years of service from them. I know you can get more but 10 years is a the point of down hill slide.

They will never be as permanent as a woodframed or brick home but heck think about this, every 10 years trade in your home for a new one.

It is hilarious that I am living in my 41 ft 5th wheel while I remodel my 3 bedroom full basement home. It is sort of like I could have had the house towed off and been in a brand new mobile home in a week or two. I am 6 months into the remodel and fear I have run out of steam. So while I trudge along dumping as much as a new mobile home into my woodframed home and still not in it maybe there is something to this disposable home idea.

 

[adams484]

Some trailer parks are a lot like low rent studio apts. They can be fun when you're young. Later? Well not so much.

Seriously the problem is, unlike a apt. You own, and are responsible for the upkeep of the trailer. But yet you have to keep paying rent because you never own the spot it sits on. And unlike a house the trailer never gets more valuable just less.

And I think maybe "ChuckS1" is right. All that aluminum attracts tornados.

Yeah trailor park life is kind of bad. Even the nice ones. It is like living with the lady in the golf cart (covennant nazi) at the country club homes complaining your mail box is not the right color.

But you don't have to put it in a trailor park. You can by a chunk of land and put it on your land. But even in a trailor park it still beats a condo as you don't have the jerk above, below, and on both sides whining about your music or even TV being too loud. And if you want to be on the river or lake you can lease some land right on the water (often not for sale but leasable). When the lease is up move it. Try that with a house. Some can not afford the expensive land but can lease it for a while. My sister had a woodframed home on leased property on the river. That was a risk in my opinion but a mobile home would have been perfect there.

 

[RonJ]

I've seen some regular housing neighborhoods that are much worse than the average mobile home park.

There's a thread a bit further down that reminds me of Trailer Park Chic.

 

[sheepdawg]

Yeah they attract tornadoes and you don't want to be in one when tornadoes are around. It's quite a ride, I know.

 

[Onomea]

Apparently they can be a pretty good investment. The park itself, I mean: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/magazine/the-cold-hard-lessons-of-mobile-home-u.html?_r=0

 

[feralmerril]

I lived a time or two in em in my "salad years". I had a buddy used to say, "God hates trailer parks". That was after watching the evening news after every storm. Back in the early 60s I owned a 17 foot travel trailer and lived in it a couple years. My job took me all over the country several month here and there. I seldom paid to set up. You couldnt get away with that now.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

There are two in the town I live in. One is a nice place with good people, the other, a war zone. Each tends to draw in others like themselves.

We used to have a war zone here. It's now called the International Zone.
That's because lots of the folks who live there aren't actually citizens.
And most of the illegal drugs there are imported.

 

[mike from st pete]

I'd rather live in a mobile home park over an apartment complex.