About half of the bloggers that follow my ramblings are living full time in their Rv's, or as in the case of Karen and Al, Rving but still have a property.
I have many questions for you. Here are two:
Is the experience what you expected when you were in the planning stages?
How is it different?
Craig and Merikay at Avenue of the Giants, California
Yes, generally. It's pretty much what we expected.
ReplyDeleteWhat's different is:
1. We're busier that we thought we'd be. (I think I've read only two books in a year-and-a-half!)
2. Campground wifi is iffy, at best. (We were really spoiled in Northern California.)
3. It's a lot more like real life than vacation every day.
4. We have more friends than we ever could have imagined.
Good questions! We look forward to reading the responses.
It's everything I expected, and more. I felt I had to supplement my fulltiming by volunteering (no rent), and almost all of that has been a marvelous experience.
ReplyDeleteI've made many more friends on the road than expected. Blogging the last two years has really added to the expansion of my virtual family.
What's different? Those that you leave behind, truly are left behind! They don't get it!
Also, after almost five years, I'm leaning more towards just being retired rather than having to work (volunteer). Maybe I'm getting a little tired?? This summer should teach me a lot. :)
For me the biggest thing is realizing that life goes on...we still have to do the mundane. Dishes, laundry, cleaning, taxes, doctor visits, pay bills, cook. LOL!
ReplyDeleteIt's not a vacation, it's just a more relaxed way of life that lets you travel this beautiful country as much or as little as you want.
You still do the mundane but I find that I'm much more laid back about it. Procrastination comes easily. I no longer feel guilty if I want to sit outside and read instead of washing the floor.
Also, everyone is different and has different socialization levels. I tend to get on people overload easily and like my quiet time. Boondocking is a great way to help that.
We're not fulltimers, but of course I always have something to say...lol
ReplyDeleteWhen we are in the RV, we get along better. We finally determined it was because we don't have any expectations of each other. Those at home had built up over the years I guess. Since we finally came to that realization about the RV, it has helped at home too! ;o)
It's definitely what we expected as far as the freedom goes, and to me that is priceless!
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure out what types of places I like to stay at. I think it's going to be a combination. I like peace and quiet for a a while, and then a resort with activities for a while. About a month at one place is enough, and then I'm ready to move on.
We're also finding ways to earn some income, and that's an ongoing experience.
Overall, I'm so glad we took the risk and started this new life. I can't imagine going back.
By the way, I don't miss winter one bit!
Good question :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a full timer but I've owned a one type or another RV for the past 40 years. My wife and I have never had the desire to become full timers. After a couple of weeks we are always glad to get home :-)
Take care and have a blessed week :-)
~Ron
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For me, the biggest thing that comes to mind is how easy is was to transition to such a small space. "Small house, big backyard" is quite accurate, but I really enjoy the "small house" part of things - even sharing it with a partner. It's also been great to get my hands a bit dirty, doing a lot of minor repair work myself.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't really know what to expect when moving to the RV, but I do know that our six month "let's see how it goes" period is up and that we've got at least another year coming up in the RV.