Info for RVers...

I figured this would be a good place to share some of the neat comments I've read on other fulltimers' blogs about this unique lifestyle:

From Jim and Chris and Odie's Wonderful Life: (On the road since April, 2004)

"That's what I so love about full-time RVing. You get to keep on goin'. I've had lots of wonderful vacations in my life. But, they always ended. You always had to go back. Like having an invisible leash that would let you go far, but always reels you back in the end. I have this urge to keep on goin'. The total freedom is what appeals to me."

Chris' motto: "Blessed be the Flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape."

From my friend, Firedude: I wasn't about to sit there the rest of my life worrying about what might happen down the road or even when for that matter. I have met so many people who sat and looked out that window at their dreams and never did anything about it because what if. Those folks passed on and never lived their dream. Not for me."

Tony wrote an inspiring article about his feelings like this in Will you Live Your Dream Looking Out the Backyard Window?

From the Escapees Forum: "Is Fulltiming Really Fun?" - the question "Are there any regrets from people that are fulltiming now, and maybe wish they didn't sell their home?" - Some interesting answers excerpted below:

"Not for five seconds have we missed owning a house! Don't really have a clue what we'll do when we can't drive anymore, but don't care either. We'll make that decision when the time comes, a long time from now I hope."

"To say that there are no regrets ever is not totally honest...more accurate would be that we have no regrets that would get us to go back and change to the previous life, even if we were able. I do regret that my present home is dropping in value, while the house I once owned was increasing. I also regret that there are people who I considered to be close friends who I have lost contact with because we change our lifestyle. On rare occsaion I regret that my lifestyle prevents us from participation in some family event that we might have been part of had we sat in one spot for the rest of our lives. But not one of those regrets would begin to offset the fact that we live our days in a constant series of new experiences, new friends, and new places. Those things would not come close to being worth the price of sitting in one spot... because we would exchange months of our present exciting life for months of boredom while sitting and waiting for the next such event. There is no way that a few hours of involvment in our family's lives would begin to justify giving up the right to have lives of our own! Regrets? Of course we have a few. But there is no lifestyle that is free from regrets. You must make a choice very often in life and those of us who choose to be fulltimers usually have chosen to live "our way" and not spend our lives doing what others believe we should. Every really successful fulltimer is successful because he has chosen the way of living that fits him and has realized that there are just as many choices in ways to live in an RV as there are in any other type of home."

"Sometimes I wish I had benefitted from some of the price appreciation the house I sold experienced over the last four years. However, when I factor in four years' worth of worrying about what might have been going on (decay, neglect, hurricane damage, fire) back at the homestead while on the road, I don't feel regrets about selling. If I ever were to buy a house again, my desires about where to live have changed anyway. Like others have mentioned, whether fulltiming is "fun" depends on the person. Some people don't feel right without a steady community and a predictable routine. I relish seeing new things every day. My heart seems to soar with the excitement of discovery. To me, fulltiming is more than fun, it's invigorating.

We've been full timing since Sept 06. Mostly it is a lot of fun. I am a creature of habit so it took me a while to adjust to shopping at different stores, not being able to find favorite brands, etc. But that has passed and now I rather enjoy the challenge of finding what I want and also am trying new foods, different recipes. So, I guess my answer is we're enjoying it and no substantial regrets that would make life miserable. Attitude is everything!!! We've learned that stuff is just that..stuff.

I want to go to places where I can hike, bicycle, run, skate, motorcycle and meet people doing it. I want to see the loudest sunset possible. It will be nice to feel the ocean wave gently lap my feet and then live where a desert keeps me dry...The stick house is but one path open to us as we go thru this journey called life. There are other choices and I have made mine...

From the RV.Net Forum: "Why go Fulltime?"

The ability to move when we want and to see our great USA. We get to visit family a lot more by spending some time in their area. Don't have to stay in their house or stay for a long time. Makes for fun visits.

We're tired of looking out the window and seeing the same street and houses.
We're tired of being cooped up for the winter.
I/we want:
to see places I've never had the opportunity to visit on a vacation.
to spend Christmas with the grandkids who lived away from us for years.
to be able to move without using boxes and hiring help.
the daily high temp to at least equal my age.

And most of all, we are going full time while we still can.

The freedom that if we wake up one morning and decide we are tired of this place, we can just move on down the road and see what the other side of the mountain holds.

The freedom to experience so many different things....like volunteering at a wildlife refuge, a civil war battlefield, a beach front, the mountains. Looking for that "perfect" place.

Because we want to see the USA at our leisure. One of the best things that we have experienced is meeting all the great people from all over the USA. We now have friends wherever we roam. When we start a new trip we always say, "New territory". It is also great not to have to pack for our new adventures. We love sleeping in our own bed every night.

For the first time in our lives we can do what we want and that's freedom. We'll settle down later on when we get really "old", hold hands and rock on our front porch while we relive all those wonderful memories. I'd never trade our 4 months a year in La Pineta, Mexico, sitting at our site in the jungle looking out over the Pacific for a stick built house. I have it all and feel very blessed.

To put it into very simple terms, freedom! Most of us are people who are tired of having so many possessions that what we have owns us. Most of us have already had a career and raised our kids. Now we want to be able to do all of the things that we always dreamed of doing. We go where we want, when we want and live in the way that we want. We do so because we want to experience new and exciting things, rather than sit waiting for life to come to us. We seek adventure and new friends; change is our reason for living. We are no longer satisfied by watching others do things on TV when we can go out and do them ourselves! We are only limited by our own imaginations.

We want to see it all while we can...We know there will come a time when we have to stay put but for now we will travel....or sit....as we see fit. We personally like most fulltimers do not need the security of sticks and bricks, the same faces every week at church,etc. We want to join the ranks of those who give along the way enabling us to experience new people, culture, food, landscapes etc.

We initially thought it would be a great way to see the country at a leisurely pace, but soon realized that the lifestyle is also very "freeing". You quickly find that there are no responsibilties, and minimal "needs". It quickly became just pure enjoyment for us, reading, sightseeing, napping, cooking and just enjoying every day as it comes. Sorry we didn't start years ago.

We didn't want to wait until retirement to travel. We also found that we were beginning to work more and put family on a backburner to have the "stuff". We also wanted to spend much more time with our kids. So we decided to spend time with them now (the youngest was 3 when we started) and make memories. There are no guarantees in life and I really don't want to be wishing that we'd spent more TIME instead of earned more money. You just can't buy time.

I'll be adding to this section as I come across things that strike me. If you're a fulltimer and have any thoughts on fulltiming you'd like to share, email them to me at Malia@MaliasMiles.com - I'd love to hear from you!