I am wanting to live in an RV in order to simplify my lifestyle and downsize my expenses. I've been to several RV shows and I can get a 30 footer for $30,000 with a flat screen tv in it and plenty of room for a single person. Less to maintain, less electric bill. But, since there are no RV parks close to Jacksonville, I want to buy an acre of land and put a power pole and a septic tank on it and still be close enough to Jacksonville that the high gas prices would not be an issue. Any feedback pros or cons would be appreciated as this is all new to me.

-- Edited by wineman at 17:50, 2008-03-28

Wineman, I did that at the lake outside of Dallas and it worked great until the fuel prices went soooo high I could not do it any longer. We ended up moving into Dallas for this last year before I retire. We found a park just north of Big D and it cost us $450.00 a month water and electric included. This saves me big bucks and I am only 12 miles from work. If you can get close enough I would say go for it. This would be a place that you could come back to when and if you FT. I am sure you would have to pay a minimum charge for the Elect and the water but that might not be that much. It is always good to have a home base to Rand R at when you travel. Good luck Joe and Sherri

Which Jacksonville are you talking about?  I am in a campground in Jacksonville, Florida right now. 
I tell people that are going to sit still and not move the RV that they are often better off finding a small mobile or "park model" instead of an RV.  You can insulate it easier, it is made to sit in one place, and it is often cheaper for what you get since it is not designed to be moved all the time.  A park model is a small mobile that is designed to sit on an RV site and I have seen park models under $30,000.

Thanks Speedhitch, I appreciate the good info. Why are fuel costs an issue if I plan on having my own power pole put in? I would not have to run the generator unless the power goes out, am I right?

Thanks for the good info BJoyce, I am in J'ville, Florida and currently work in the Mandarin area. I had not heard of the "park model" but I will surely check that out. Thanks again!

We just visit JAX so we don't know our way around that well but I found that Mandarin was in the SE side across the river from Orange Park.  Our friends are close to Fort Caroline so we stay at Hanna Park, which has a 15 day limit.  The other campgrounds we know are also in the north end, so they are not convenient to Mandarin.

Wineman I was refering to the cost of electric and water at a minimum usage. If you fulltime after you retire this land you have would be a good home base to come back to every once in a while. The high fuel prices I was talking about was the cost of deisel I was using to drive from the lake to Dallas. When that got too high I had to move closer into town to offset that cost. Anyway if you find a place like that I would go for it. Joe

Speedhitch, just for clarification, I do want a parcel of land that is close enough to J'ville so driving to work in my personal vehicle would not be an issue, the RV stays parked. Good info, anything you tell me is more than I know right now.....thanks.