You don’t have to be a full-time RVer to enjoy the benefits of winter workamping. If the coldest days of the season are getting to you, here are three reasons why it’s smart to consider taking a seasonal workamping job.
Why Winter Workamping is Worth a Try
If you are allergic to winter, workamping offers a chance to head south to more pleasing weather. The sunbelt states often come with a high cost of living, but they also provide the greatest range of places to try workamping. When you decide to take a seasonal winter workamping job in a place like Florida, Texas or California, it’s a win-win. You’ll save on rent and often earn a few bucks to offset your expenses. But that’s not the only reason why it’s such a fun thing to do. Other reasons to try this unique opportunity include:
RV in Florida. Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Rene Agredano
1. Even non-retired People Can Fly South for Winter
Most people assume that only retired RVers get to fly south for winter. But that’s just not the case anymore. Technology allows more people than ever to work in flexible jobs from any location. Winter workamping can be ideal for everyone, from entrepreneurs like me to stay-at-home moms to remote employees who can spare a few hours in a workamping role. Sure, being a full-time RVer makes it easier to fly south and commit to a workamping job, but even if you’re in a traditional housing situation, with enough planning, you can probably find a way to do it. For example, a homeowner could list their place on Airbnb for the season. Renters might be able to sublet their apartment if their landlord allows it. If you have school-age kids, consider road schooling them during winter? You don’t always need to sell your possessions and hit the road for good. Whatever your situation, there is likely some way that you can fly south for winter workamping.
2. Winter Workamping Pays for Itself
Employers in warm-weather states actively recruit year-round workampers everywhere from RV resorts to public campgrounds to entertainment venues. Now that RVing is more popular than ever, qualified team players are in high demand, even as snowbird season kicks off. And opportunities are getting better all the time. For example, in previous years, most workamping jobs didn’t pay any kind of wage but instead offered a free campsite in exchange for a few hours of labor each week. Today, things are different. Just peruse current Workamper News job listings. You’ll see many employers offering competitive wages and sweet benefits to their seasonal workers. Sure, you’ll still find traditional workamping arrangements that only offer a free campsite instead of wages, but these positions are becoming more of an exception than the norm.
Getty Images
3. The Variety of Workamping Jobs is Growing
My husband and I have been chasing the sun since 2007 while working for ourselves. We work online from our RV, but when we find a winter workamping job that’s just too good to resist, the savings on rent can be so significant that we find a way to squeeze it into our life. Finding these kinds of low commitment and often unusual workamping jobs is relatively easy, because most opportunities offer part-time hours or even less. One unusual winter workamping job only required us to work three hours a week! Many jobs are for hospitality workers at resorts and campgrounds, but not all of them. Some of the more interesting workamping job opportunities include:
- Assisting and teaching at a nature reserve and yoga retreat center
- RV resort chaplain opportunities
- Ranch caretaker
- Bed & breakfast hosts at a former missile silo complex
- Llama ranch caretaker
- Organic farm caretaker
Photo: Rene Agredano
When is the Best Time to Apply for Winter Workamping Jobs?
Winter is almost here, but you haven’t necessarily missed your chance to give workamping a try. Although most employers start looking for winter workampers much earlier in the year, that doesn’t mean they found the right ones. Many seasonal jobs go unfulfilled—there just aren’t enough workampers out there to staff them. And even a position gets filled, cancellations occur and vacancies happen. So if you are in a place where winter workamping this season sounds appealing, it’s not impossible to find one in outlets like Workamper News and various workamping job boards around the internet.
The days are shorter and temperatures are colder, but that doesn’t mean you need to stay put and hunker down. If you have a road-worthy RV, there’s no need to suffer through a long, dark season. Winter workamping is one of the smartest ways to warm up, see new places, and have fun in some of the best snowbird destinations in the U.S.