Quick answer: For anyone who already owns an RV, a full-hookup site on an annual lease costs roughly half of a Central Florida apartment. A one-bedroom in Orlando averages $1,443 a month as of September 2026. An annual site at Homebound Bushnell is $525 a month plus electric, which works out to about $625 to $685 with a typical electric bill, and McAlpin is a flat $595 with electric included. That is a saving of about $750 to $850 a month, or $9,000 to $10,000 a year, before the amenities that come with the site.
Key takeaways:
- Orlando one-bedroom rent: $1,443 a month (Zumper, September 2026). Tampa is in the same range.
- Homebound Bushnell annual lease: $525 a month plus electric. Homebound McAlpin: $595 a month, electric included.
- Realistic total at Bushnell with electric: about $625 to $685 a month. Saving versus the Orlando apartment: roughly $750 to $850 a month.
- The site includes what an apartment charges extra for or does not have: pool, clubhouse, laundry, dog run, Wi-Fi.
- The math assumes you own the RV. If you are financing one, add the payment before you compare.
Florida rent has not come down much from its post-2021 highs, and for a lot of people the question is no longer "house or apartment" but "what else is there." Long-term RV living is one honest answer, and it is worth doing the arithmetic with real numbers rather than slogans. Here are five reasons the math works, and one reason it might not for you.
1. Is an RV site really cheaper than an apartment in Florida?
Yes, by roughly half, if you own the RV. The average one-bedroom apartment in Orlando rents for $1,443 a month, and a two-bedroom for $1,700, according to Zumper's Orlando rent data updated 2 September 2026. Tampa runs close to the same.
Against that, an annual lease at Homebound Bushnell is $525 a month plus electric. Bushnell quotes electric at $0.16 per kilowatt-hour on its summer monthly rate, and Florida's average residential price was 15.10 cents per kilowatt-hour in June 2026 per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. At 600 to 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month, which covers air conditioning through a Florida summer, that is roughly $100 to $160 on top, so call it $625 to $685 all in. Homebound McAlpin is simpler still: $595 a month with electric included, no lease required.
The gap is about $750 to $850 a month, or $9,000 to $10,000 a year. Over five years that is $45,000 to $50,000, which is a used truck, a paid-down RV loan, or a very different retirement.
2. What do you get for the money that an apartment does not give you?
More, not less. A $1,443 apartment buys four walls, a parking space and, if you are lucky, a shared pool. The $525 site at Bushnell comes with the park's indoor heated pool, clubhouse and game room, activity center, fenced dog run, laundry and showers, a convenience store and propane service, a tire inflation station, RV weighing, and complimentary Wi-Fi. Every one of those is an extra line on an apartment budget or simply not on offer.
McAlpin is the quieter park and says so plainly: oversized full-hookup sites, complimentary Wi-Fi, a fenced dog park and a community gathering area, and no pool, clubhouse or on-site laundry. Its rate reflects that, and its residents chose it for the springs and the quiet, not the amenities list.
3. Does the rate go up every year?
Not during the lease. An annual lease at Bushnell fixes the site rate for the 12 months of the agreement. What happens at renewal is a question to ask the office before you sign, the same as you would ask a landlord, but for the term you signed the number is the number. Apartment renters in Florida know the other pattern well: a renewal notice with a new figure on it.
4. Is there any community in an RV park?
More than in most apartment buildings. Long-term parks are full of people who stay: annual residents at Bushnell, snowbirds who come back to the same site every winter, and workers on multi-month projects. People know their neighbours' names because the neighbours do not change every 12 months. The park's rules keep quiet hours and the grounds in order, which is what lets that community work.
5. Where does long-term RV living in Florida put you?
Central or north Florida, your choice. Homebound Bushnell is five minutes off I-75 exit 309 in Sumter County: 35 to 50 minutes from The Villages depending on the town square, about an hour from Tampa, about an hour and 25 minutes from Orlando, and 55 minutes from Ocala. Homebound McAlpin is in Suwannee County springs country: 15 minutes from the Suwannee River at Branford, 30 from Troy and Peacock Springs, 40 from Ichetucknee, and 20 minutes from Live Oak for groceries and medical care. Both parks are on the I-75 corridor.
What the math does not cover
The comparison above assumes you already own the RV outright. If you are financing one, add the payment, and add insurance, registration, propane and the taxes and fees that apply at any park. A $1,443 apartment includes the roof; the RV is the roof, and it depreciates. For people who own their rig, or who bought it for far less than a year of rent, the arithmetic still lands firmly on the side of the site. For people shopping for an RV in order to save on rent, run the full number first. The annual lease guide lists the questions to ask a park before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How much cheaper is RV living than renting in Florida? Using September 2026 figures, roughly $750 to $850 a month: an Orlando one-bedroom at $1,443 against a Homebound Bushnell annual site at $525 plus about $100 to $160 of electric, or McAlpin at $595 with electric included.
Can you live in an RV park full-time in Florida? Yes. Florida licenses RV parks under chapter 513 of the state statutes, and a guest registered for more than six months is presumed to be a resident rather than a transient. Homebound Bushnell has residents on annual leases and McAlpin takes long-term monthly stays.
What is included in a Homebound monthly rate? At Bushnell, the full-hookup site and every park amenity, with electric metered on top. At McAlpin, the site, complimentary Wi-Fi and the electric, with taxes and fees applying at both parks. The full tables are on each park's page.
Do I need to sign a lease? Only for Bushnell's annual rate. Both parks take month-to-month stays at their published monthly rates, and Bushnell's winter special needs a five-month stay rather than a year.
Ready to compare properly? The affordable RV living page sets a month at Bushnell against a month in an apartment line by line, and the annual lease guide covers the contract.
Sources: Zumper, Average Rent in Orlando, FL (one-bedroom $1,443, updated 2 September 2026) · U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (Florida residential 15.10 cents per kWh, June 2026) · Florida Statutes 513.01 · Homebound Bushnell and McAlpin published rate tables.