People young and old are beginning to set pretty low bars of success. I’m amazed at how many youtube videos glamorize living in a vehicle. It is one thing to have had success and decide at middle age or retirement to live in a class C motor home or something, I’d like to do that myself, but many of these folks are much younger.
Give that there have been eight years of a very poor job market in most of the country, I’d imagine a lot of people have had to adjust their expectations to fit within their means, and sometimes those means are short lived to the point that being mobile is a very good thing. I’d imagine a lot of younger people can’t really afford to buy a house due to this in any market, let alone in those areas that have reentered bubble territory. Could be gun-shy due to the last real estate bust, too. Depreciation on a used motorhome or camper is very manageable since they’re relatively cheap to start with. Taking a 20% bath on a $200,000 house turns into a boat anchor while you pay it down, assuming your job(s) hold out.