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Letter to the editor

'Lucky so far,' renters like affordable housing

For this couple, low-cost living and proximity to family outweigh any potential safety risks.

By NICOLE BARDO-COLON and NICK JOHNSON
Published July 22, 2007

Frances and Ben Bailes have been renting a mobile home for the last four years for two reasons: It's cheap, and it's easy.

But cheap Florida living may come at a cost to the couple's safety, especially in the midst of hurricane season.

They live in a two-bedroom mobile home in Palace Mobile Home Park. Bailes said it was an affordable option at $425 a month, leaving them with enough to pay their bills.

"We make it all right," she said. "The Lord will help your needs, if you live for Him and go to church and whatnot."

They checked out other mobile home parks around town but were not impressed.

"They weren't fit to live in. They were too nasty and rundown," she said.

The couple moved to St. Petersburg from Shelby, N.C., for the first time in 1956 after marrying at the age of 17. They've moved back and forth several times since raising a family in St. Petersburg.

They recently came back to be closer to their three grown children and because they thought the cost of living would be less.

"They're cheaper than a house," Frances said. "We didn't ever know when we were going to move back to North Carolina."

The couple have a lot of family in the area, including seven grandchildren ranging from 2 months to 30 years old. Frances also has a brother who lives in Pinellas Park.

They moved here in 2003 after Ben retired after years of working in construction. But after a battle with lung cancer, he lost one of his lungs and was unable to work. His disability and Social Security checks are the couple's main source of income. Frances, a homemaker, stayed at home and took care of the children while they were growing up.

"That's what I believe in, but now it takes two to make it," she said.

Frances said she lived in a mobile home in Orlando years ago and likes the simplicity of the lifestyle.

"I like it," Frances said. "Nobody bothers you. It's quiet, and it's not as hard to keep clean as a house."

The Baileses like to keep to themselves. Frances said she knows a few of her neighbors but not many.

"You invite someone over one time for coffee, and the next morning they're knocking on your door wanting another cup," she said.

Occasionally the office has activities for the residents, but for the most part she just rides her bicycle and watches TV. She said her husband rides his bike and takes walks.

Although peaceful at times, mobile home parks can be a dangerous place when a storm hits.

In 2004 and 2005 there were eight storms. Frances said they evacuated two or three times during that time.

"That was the only two times," she said. "We've been lucky so far."

The couple don't own a car, so her brother picked them up and took them to stay with him. They didn't take many belongings, because both were confident the home would survive.

"They don't scare me," she said of the routine storms that hit the area every year. But if a hurricane hit, she said, they would definitely evacuate.

"We have to leave," she said. "Mobile homes can only stand up in 75 mph winds."

Despite the risks, Frances said she and her husband plan to stay where they are unless the park owner asks them to leave.

Nick Johnson contributed to this report. Nicole Bardo-Colon can be reached at 893-8779 or nbardo-colon@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 22, 2007, 00:05:45]