We are just about exactly three months, or half way, in to our first workamp position. What are our thoughts? What are the positives and negatives to this specific position? We'll let you know!
We decided not to do a video this time, but we have plenty of content all across social media:
We share lots of shorter clips about our day, scenery, etc. on TikTok. Most of our longer videos can be found on YouTube. A little bit of everything goes on our Facebook page.
Sometimes there is overlapping content. Occasionally one platform (usually TikTok) will get the content first, if we're cross posting. I think there is enough different content across all our platforms to follow us everywhere, but you can judge for yourself, and pick the platform(s) that you prefer.
You know we like to end on positivity, so we'll start with the negative.
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| Workin' |
Negatives:
1) Not many days off together.
Chris does tasks and maintenance on weekdays, when I'm mostly free. Then he's off on weekends, while I'm busy in the camp store/office.
2) No laundry on site.
It'd be really be helpful for the monthly and seasonal campers especially. The nearest laundromat is okay at best, and they close at 6p! There isn't another for 20 miles or so. Laundry is such a time suck, and laundromats are boring.
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Fresh mulch!
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3) Location.
There isn't a whole lot close by. A few truck stops, a few dollar stores, a few little eateries, and that's about all.
4) Amenities in the campground.
There aren't a ton- bath house, pond for fishing/swimming, playground, communal space near the rec hall, and a few trails in the back.
5) Feels like two separate, and not always equal, campgrounds. (Not really relevant to our work camp experience, other than I could help with marketing, but I wanted to mention it.)
From a business standpoint I understand catering to the seasonal campers a bit, they are loyal returning customers.
However, in my opinion the money is really in filling up the "weekender" section.
If the 30ish sites in the section were filled twice a week for the month, that's 240 nights times an average of X dollars for the 6 month season- that'd be roughly half of what the seasonal sites bring in for the full year. Double that to 4 nights per week and it's making just as much, if not more than those seasonal sites do per year. To further this point, if someone got the monthly rate and stayed just two months they'd have filled a "weekender" spot for that time and paid almost the same as a seasonal does for the year.
I should note seasonals are responsible for the maintenance of their sites, and they pay for their electric, where monthly/weekly/nightly do not.
I still feel like a bit of marketing could go a long way. We have had several delivery people from various companies (the bulk of whom are local) not even know the campground existed- it's been here since the mid 70's and has been owned by the same family for the duration.
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| Sunset! |
Full disclosure there were a few bumpy moments early on regarding communication, and hours, but we've worked those out pretty easily.
Now onto the
Positives:
1) Location.
Now, wait a minute.... Didn't I just list this as a negative?
I did, but as with most things it can be both.
The lack of "stuff" nearby makes for a very quiet park with tons of scenery- in the campground, and nearby.
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| Birds at the pond. |
2) Very kind, and easy going owners.
They are easy to work with, and for. Any issue is resolved immediately, and there's always available to assist when needed. They've been fantastic when it comes to my appointments, as well as our long, long, long delay in May. They're very hands on, and you can always find one, or both, working in the park somewhere. They really love the campground & camping.
3) The jobs are pretty easy.
That's not saying Chris' job isn't physical most days, but it's not mentally taxing, and therefore gives him time to come up with his next stories while working.
Amanda thrives in an admin roll, and customer service, so she picked up the software and processes pretty quickly. She enjoys busy days in the office almost as much as reading electric meters.
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| Blue Jay, upon arrival and setup. |
4) Time off.
While not always together, we both have a lot of free time each week. This has let us focus on other pursuits, while working for the spot!
We've grown all our social media here- two platforms are earning money, albeit very little. We've received our first, second, and third collab/sponsors here. We have the time to post to Facebook daily, TikTok at least 3x a week, and try to get at least once video up on YouTube. (There is no Wi-Fi here, and the phone hotspot is a bit slow, so sometimes an upload takes over a day.)
Chris edited, finished, and published his
first book in his time off. He's currently working on his second.
We've also explored nearby attractions, and towns.
We've spent lazy afternoons at the pond, floating around and watching the dragonflies. We've also sat out in our camp chairs looking over the field adjacent to the campground and watched a storm roll in.
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| Part of our spot. |
5) Absolutely beautiful spot.
We've shared it on social media before, and there are pictures/videos on all our platforms. The sunsets here are amazing!
We see woodpeckers, squirrels, robins, blue jay, and cardinals daily. We've also seen bunnies, hawks, deer, turkey, and so many more species of bird and animal.
This spot, and 99.9% of the others, is (are) huge! We have a few bushes, and three shade trees on our spot, as well as a yard that could easily accommodate much more outside furniture than we have, and plenty of space to toss the frisbee. (It's also pretty level!)
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| Amanda, ready for an office shift. |
6) Quiet.
Even when the campground is near full- like 4th of July weekend, it's quiet.
Part of that is that a lot of the campers are return customers, and appreciate the solitude. Another is that even when you have "neighbors" they aren't right on top of you. This is nice as workampers, once we're off we can relax and unwind with ease.
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| Sunset! |
7) Ease of deliveries.
We've had Amazon, UPS, FedEx, Instacart, local pizza place, and U.S.P.S. to name a few.
None of them have given us any issue, and using these services has been a game changers since the bus gets such fantastic gas mileage {sarcasm}.
We've ordered pizza a few times, and they call when they leave the store and we meet them at the gate.
Instacart lets us know through the app when our shopper is near and we meet them at the office.
Other packages are left at the office table designated for such things. (We also deliver packages from the office to campers if/when needed.)
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| Tending the burn pile! |
8) Nature/Beauty.
We've kinda mentioned it already, but here we're always emersed in nature- while working and when we're off. Today for example Chris is working digging water lines in the sandy earth under a canopy of a variety of trees. Even when Amanda is in the office, she's nestled in the pines at the front of the campground, surrounded by birds and squirrels.
We already mentioned the sunsets. They really are some of the best we've seen!
On a clear night the sky is full of stars and constellations, and you can gaze upon them for as long as your hearts content.
So... what are we looking for in our next gig?
1) Paid work, with a similar schedule for both of us.
2) Laundry on site.
3) Closer to a small town. (Not a big city, we are not city people.)
4) A trail system, or walking path.
5) Heated/Cooled Bath House.
6) A decent amount of nearby attractions/parks/etc.
What are your must haves in a workamp position? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks,
The Outlands
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