Abstract
As the population in the US ages, there is increasing need to study aging and its relationship to quality of life, health, and community. Quality of life is closely correlated with belonging to a community. Unfortunately, as seniors age there is a propensity for them to become increasingly isolated as their mobility decreases and their friends and family members die or move away. As a result, some seniors in the Midwest have begun to migrate to RV parks in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (“LRGV”) in south Texas that function as temporary retirement communities for the winter. While there, they reconnect with friends and family members and engage in a variety of social, civic, and exercise related activities. Further, they participate in a variety of health seeking behaviors such as health screenings, trading medications, and using the Mexican health care system. This article explores these practices and discusses how Winter Texans choose the LRGV, how new members become integrated into RV parks, and how life in the parks impacts health and access to health care services. It also highlights the impact that seasonal migration has on community formation, health seeking behaviors, and the diversity of retirement communities.
Highlights
The United States is in the midst of a demographic transformation as the number of people over the age of 65 has grown to its highest level, accounting for nearly 13 percent of the total population (Werner 2011)
While seasonal migrants can choose a variety of locations, approximately 150,000 Midwesterners tend to winter in the southeastern region of Texas known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV)
Seasonal migration to the LRGV creates unique health care opportunities for retirees such as exercise classes, health screenings, and in some cases access to the Mexican medical system
Summary
The United States is in the midst of a demographic transformation as the number of people over the age of 65 has grown to its highest level, accounting for nearly 13 percent of the total population (Werner 2011). The parks vary in size ranging from a few hundred residents to several thousand and the close proximity coupled with the small living space “requires you to know your neighbor and be social,” one resident explained It encourages a strong sense of community and provides seniors with access to exercise clubs, health screenings, social clubs, and tourism activities, just like year-round retirement communities. While seasonal migrants can choose a variety of locations, approximately 150,000 Midwesterners tend to winter in the southeastern region of Texas known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV).1 They are not referred to as snowbirds, but “Winter Texans,” retirees 55 or older who spend at least one month per year living in Texas. Seasonal migration to the LRGV creates unique health care opportunities for retirees such as exercise classes, health screenings, and in some cases access to the Mexican medical system
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