Do you prefer to "CampOUT" or "Socialize"

[brianosaur]

After reading the forums for a while now I see there are many RV folks who like to "get away from it all" in the woods, and distance themselves from the hustle and bustle of people and all the commotion it brings.

On the other hand, there are RV folks who like commercial campgrounds with the concrete pads and the 'campground' atmosphere and all that it brings.

For years we got away from it all - literally - by backcountry backpacking. We would hike in the mountains or woods for hours (or days) and set up camp along the way. Often not seeing a soul at all.

However, now that our DD is 10 we actually prefer the crazyness of the campground. Kids on bikes, watergun fights, barking dogs, the ice cream man driving through, people walking up and down chatting and sharing an adult beverage or two.

Since DD is an only child it affords her the ability to make campground friends about 3 minutes after getting out of the truck.
That's what we need right now.

What does everyone else prefer and why?

[winnietrey]

toedtoes wrote:
I'm not really sold on the personality types - they come across more like astrology in that you can find some identified traits in any category that fit, but no category fits everything.

I don't remember where I heard it, but there is a definition of intovert that says you are introverted if you recharge by getting away from people and you are extroverted if you recharge by being around people. All the other concepts of introvert and extrovert; like not being the center of attention, being the life of the party, etc.; don't really have anything to do with it. It's simply how you recharge. I think that makes more sense than all the personality types that try to categorize the basic range of human behaviors into finite types.

It's an interesting subject though.

Your post is true, I am an introvert in the people business, and have been in the people biz, for ever and ever. Although, it is part, of what I do to listen to peoples stories, there are times, I would like to set my hair on fire, and run off into the hills.

As I mentioned in a earlier post, for the GD we go to places like KOA's, but I rarely talk to anyone, and never more than I have to.

Some may think I am unfriendly, and an old grump. Truth is sometimes I just can not stand to listen to another story. And just need my alone time.

They say introverts need 2 hours, for every 1 hour they spend in a social situation, to recharge. That is certainly the case with me.

[BizmarksMom]

I vastly prefer quiet, remote camping. If I'm at an established campground, It's up a dirt road and has good screening between sites. Even the big annual Thanksgiving campout / potluck is boondocking in the desert with family and friends who are close enough to be considered family.

I never have understood the appeal of the commercial RV campgrounds I've been in. They're handy for an overnight stop to water up and service the tanks, but I don't see the appeal of parking right next door to the next rig.

[Trekkar]

The reason you're at a certain location sometimes affects how much you interact with fellow campers. Staying at a festival or similar gathering sometimes makes it easy to "hit it off" with folks that share your interests. However, we usually prefer quieter areas for just "getting away".

[toedtoes]

I'm not really sold on the personality types - they come across more like astrology in that you can find some identified traits in any category that fit, but no category fits everything.

I don't remember where I heard it, but there is a definition of intovert that says you are introverted if you recharge by getting away from people and you are extroverted if you recharge by being around people. All the other concepts of introvert and extrovert; like not being the center of attention, being the life of the party, etc.; don't really have anything to do with it. It's simply how you recharge. I think that makes more sense than all the personality types that try to categorize the basic range of human behaviors into finite types.

It's an interesting subject though.

[pnichols]

For what it's worth, here's the four main personality types: http://fourtemperaments.com/4-primary-temperaments/

We're all probably some combination of the four. It's those folks that are predominately the second one down - Sanguine - that like to socialize.

The world needs all four types, but both myself and the DW don't prefer to camp around Sanguines too much. 😉

[toedtoes]

If I want to socialize, I'll camp with friends. Growing up, our camping included friends. Either we brought a friend with us or we met friends/cousins at the campground. I don't think we ever socialized with campers we didn't know and hadn't arranged the trip with. We certainly never joined a stranger's campfire. We might say hello as we passed folks, but that was it.

As an adult, I behave the same way.

I don't think it's as much about being social as it is how you internally charge your energy. I'm not a loner or anti-social, I just need to break up my social time with alone time to recharge. Even if someone is quietly doing their own thing in the same room as me, it drains my energy after a while. I need to be people-free for a while.

Others need to have someone around to recharge. Their energy is drained when they are alone. Doesn't mean they are more social than I am, just that their energy builds off other people being around.

[Fizz]

brianosaur wrote:

Fizz wrote:
People who like to "Socialize" are people who like to talk, yak, yak, yak.
Eventually get around to their second cousins hernia operation.
You can argue this out and you probably will, being a social person.

That's like saying people who don't like to "socialize" are creepy weird hermit loners who's anti-social behavior makes it impossible for them to carry on a normal adult conversation in polite society. Pretty much Uni-bomber types.

Yeah, neither statement is sensible or realistic.

So.
When did your second cousin get his hernia operation?

[bigorange]

We enjoy both...depending on the situation. Not really a fan of really tight campgrounds though...a little space is nice, but don’t have to be all alone to enjoy it.

[westend]

I like to find secluded areas that aren't on other folks radar. I have a fair bit of tent camping in my blood so I'd rather park in the woods rather than a parking lot. The socializing is what you make it. I've had a great time with all sorts of folks around the campfire.

[brianosaur]

.

[brianosaur]

Fizz wrote:
People who like to "Socialize" are people who like to talk, yak, yak, yak.
Eventually get around to their second cousins hernia operation.
You can argue this out and you probably will, being a social person.

That's like saying people who don't like to "socialize" are creepy weird hermit loners who's anti-social behavior makes it impossible for them to carry on a normal adult conversation in polite society. Pretty much Uni-bomber types.

Yeah, neither statement is sensible or realistic.

[D_E_Bishop]

I(we) enjoy different camping locals, COE/BLM areas Forest Service, Community, City, County, State and Federal Parks, we also enjoy the convenience of commercial campgrounds. Having been retired for almost 23 years, we have the advantage of selecting off season or shoulder season times to camp over the normally crowded seasons.

When we were traveling, both by car and motorhome with the DWs cousins, the cousins often said that my DW would talk to a fence post, our grandkids used to answer their Nana asking where I was would say, G Dude's out making friends. Now we for the most part travel solo, cousins don't have an RV and I don't fly and the DGKs just don't have time what with school and having a social life and we have found that it's nice to get away in a crowd and just relax.

We're always cordial and like talking with neighbors and passerby's but we also spend a lot more time in the solitude of the interior of the coach. We are both in our late 70's and the inability to climb and hike restricts us and our outdoor social life but we do like watching dogs and more frequently cats and children are most always fun to see and be with.

We noticed out in the dispersed areas that there is a herding instinct in humans and sometimes with over 18,000 acres in a place like Quartzsite, if you really park out by yourself, someone is going to pull up close enough to reach across from their rig to yours. Usually blocking the view you parked in order to see.

Just depends on why we pick a camping area and the time of the year to camp.

[ppine]

I live next to a million acres of public land. I like the quiet and enjoy boondocking. Sometimes we go to USFS campgrounds, just not in summer.

My service club has an RV event about once a month. They are always at RV parks, with big groups of people and pot luck dinners. We go to maybe one of those a year or less.

[colliehauler]

seagrace wrote:
Some interesting comments here. I wonder if some of it has to do with where you are from - as in, east coast, not a lot of solitary camping opportunities from what I hear. I grew up in the west, where I can drive a few miles out of town, find a road and camp.

I have my friends that I camp with remotely. I also camp solo remotely. Sometimes, when necessary, I will camp in a campground, but I've found they are generally too crowded and noisy, which is not what I am after when camping. I don't mind meeting people when I am in these kinds of campgrounds, and socializing, but when it's over I want my space back.

The description of State Parks in PA reminds of a recent stop at an AZ State Park - Patagonia Lake. It is a very popular park and I camped there as it was a place in the state I've never been. Kids playing noisily all day, not really a problem, full hookups, so many people had string lights out all over the place and just left them on all night long. Don't get that. It's not Christmas, and even then I turn my lights off at midnight.

I thought the same thing about where the people are located, I could see someone from a crowed Eastern area wanting to get away from it all. The Midwest is a lot more sparsely populated.