Nicole de Lorimier, who traveled in Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer and then worked in Santa Barbara as a real estate broker, is now part of the "snow hens," the growing number of single, senior women who flock to sunny spots behind the wheel of a motor home
Single senior women feel pull of the road
By Valerie Alvord, Special for USA TODAY
Caption: Nicole de Lorimier, a single woman and full time RVer travels the country alone in her 21-foot RV. Photo by Bob DeLong
They might be labeled "snow hens," the growing number of single, senior women who flock to sunny spots behind the wheel of a motor home.
Women such as Nicole de Lorimier, who sold her house in Santa Barbara, Calif., last year, went on the road full time in a 21-foot recreational vehicle and hasn't looked back.
"There's a kindred spirit when you meet," de Lorimier, 67, says of her fellow travelers. "You're connected by the road, but it's something more than the road. It's an essence that draws someone to this kind of life. I think there is kind of a common thread of those women who are adventuresome and will take a risk."
Out on their own
The mother of two grown sons, de Lorimier divorced 20 years ago, went back to college, traveled in Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer and then worked in Santa Barbara as a real estate broker.
She always liked to camp. And through camping, she met female RVers, who she says had "information to share on an emotional level-- about freeing themselves up and freedom that accompanies this lifestyle. They encouraged me to do it."
There are few statistics about people like de Lorimier, who live part or full time in motor homes and search for perfect weather. But anecdotal evidence suggests more and more women, many of them widowed or divorced, are striking out on their own.
"More women are adopting this lifestyle, and I don't know exactly why," says Susan Collins, 63, president of the singles chapter of the Family Motor Coach Association. The chapter has 528 members, she says, about equally divided between men and women.
"I think we're retiring early. There are a lot of women who are divorced or have lost their spouses. Women are getting more energetic. They are no longer sitting back and saying, 'Poor me.' Also, it's a fairly inexpensive lifestyle. It's a lot less expensive to keep up a motor home than a house."
Many of the travelers linger during the winter months at RV parks in Florida, Arizona, California and Texas.
The appeal, many say, is that mobile homes offer an inexpensive and independent way to spend extended time with children, grandchildren and friends. And modern RVs are easier to drive and maintain than older models.
Nationwide, the average RVer is 49 years old, married and has an income of about $56,000, according to Ken Sommer, spokesman for the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association.
A study conducted for the association by the University of Michigan in 2001 showed baby boomers are the fastest-growing group buying motor homes. The study concluded that there are about 7 million RV owners, and about 16% of them are single. The study did not break down ownership by gender.
