I was so excited when I found this site about 6 weeks ago that I jumped right in and started asking a lot of questions. I guess it's time to introduce myself and say 'Hi'.
I'm Kimbrell, sometimes Kim. I live in western NC with my husband, John, a mutt we call a Husky-Bull-Beagle and a young Border Collie. We live on a 10 acre hobby farm and have 2 goats that are the last of a small herd of dairy goats I used to raise. We are both in our late 50s and are self-employed. John travels around NC selling printed products like books and cards that are used in funeral homes and I'm an artist, currrently making functional pottery. We don't have the usual 8-5 work lifestyles and already enjoy more freedom than most people. We have a good life, but I want adventure. One of the regrets I have in life is never having lived more than 60 miles from my hometown. It was me who got the bug to go full-time and John is intrigued. We love our home and land, but are not connected otherwise to our local area. This was just a place to live that had what we wanted at the time. Our only family is my daughter in Southern CA, and my birth-family (I was adopted as a baby). I care about them, but it's not the same as family you grow up with, so I don't have any hang-ups about leaving. Our idea is to spend 3-5 years touring the country while choosing where we'd like to live next.
I have a large following of galleries and shops that carry my work, so I'm going to wind that down in 2012. I'm tired of producing as much pottery as I have been and want more freedom to experiment and make what I want to make. I'm hoping to develop some workshops that I could facilitate in art centers as we travel. John would love to give up the suit and the daily driving of many miles. There are a lot of things that need to be done before this place could go on the market. Who knows, by the time we get all that done, we may not want to leave! It really is very beautiful here and I have the most wonderful studio. Actually, our plan is to market the farm as an artist's haven complete with a dream studio.
So, as you can see, we are still in the investigation mode, and this website has been an invaluable source of information. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to answer my questions.
kimbrellsf said
11:39 AM Sep 28, 2011
Yikes, you'd think that saying all that would be enough, but I forgot to say we have and Everlite 31RLS travel trailer that we've had 1 year. Before that we had a small expandable trailer for 3 years. The Everlite is great and we could take some very long trips in it, but if we full-time, I think we'll have to go larger. I wish we could have a 5th wheel, but we carry long kayaks on top of the truck so a 5th wheel won't work for us. The kayaking a major part of our travel. Since 2002 when we got them, we been as far west as the Rockies on 2 occasions and north to Nova Scotia, and south to Florida kayaking everywhere we go.
granny said
07:52 PM Sep 28, 2011
Welcome Kim, Sounds like your place is somewhere we want to visit! We are newbies too, to the site as well as rving. I joined this site a few months ago just to investigate this interesting lifestyle. I have learned so much from all the great folks on here so much that a few weeks ago we took a leap of faith and bought our first 5th wheel. It is a 38' Heartland Big Country and much bigger than planned but we are moving into it fulltime in about 2 weeks after our house closes. We have only been in it for 3 weekends but feel really comfortable and confident again because of all the advice on this forum. Good luck with all the planning. We found that once we made the plan and knew what we wanted to do it all fell into place. I call it a God thing because I certainly didn't make all this happen so fast. Keep asking questions, maybe one of these days I will be able to answer one of them!!
kimbrellsf said
06:32 AM Sep 29, 2011
Wow!~ That's a really fast transition! Before we make the plunge, I've got to work on a budget to make sure it makes sense. Enjoy your new life!
NINK said
08:12 AM Sep 29, 2011
Hi Kim,
Welcome to the forum. I, too, grew up in NC, but left when I was in my 20s. I've found this forum to be a great place for researching the RV lifestyle. Good luck as you continue your investigation.
bonnie and clyde said
04:58 PM Oct 3, 2011
Welcome Kim,
There is something special about the freedom of getting out and about. Best to you in your exploring.
Bob and Kathy said
07:19 AM Oct 7, 2011
Welcome to the forum Kim!
If you want to learn a LOT about the full-time RV lifestyle, you need to get yourself to an RV-Dreams RALLY! Bob and I just attended the Fall Rally in Hershey. Oh....my....goodness!!!! What a jam-packed informational event. You will LOVE it. Bob and I have never camped in our lives (well....except for as a kid and we went to Boy/Girl scout day camp). The "bug" bit us when we attended our very first RV Show last year, and I have been researching this lifestyle ever since. But the best thing we could have ever done for ourselves is register and attend Howard and Linda's Rally. I just can't say enough good about it. They have inspired us to continue toward our dream, because they had never done the RV thing before either.
Their next Rally is in Texas in April. It is SO worth investing your $$ and your time. Here's to "Champagne wishes and RV (caviar) dreams" !!
Kathy
kimbrellsf said
09:17 AM Oct 7, 2011
Hi Kathy, Thanks for the suggestion. I'll talk to John about going!
I was so excited when I found this site about 6 weeks ago that I jumped right in and started asking a lot of questions. I guess it's time to introduce myself and say 'Hi'.
I'm Kimbrell, sometimes Kim. I live in western NC with my husband, John, a mutt we call a Husky-Bull-Beagle and a young Border Collie. We live on a 10 acre hobby farm and have 2 goats that are the last of a small herd of dairy goats I used to raise. We are both in our late 50s and are self-employed. John travels around NC selling printed products like books and cards that are used in funeral homes and I'm an artist, currrently making functional pottery. We don't have the usual 8-5 work lifestyles and already enjoy more freedom than most people. We have a good life, but I want adventure. One of the regrets I have in life is never having lived more than 60 miles from my hometown. It was me who got the bug to go full-time and John is intrigued. We love our home and land, but are not connected otherwise to our local area. This was just a place to live that had what we wanted at the time. Our only family is my daughter in Southern CA, and my birth-family (I was adopted as a baby). I care about them, but it's not the same as family you grow up with, so I don't have any hang-ups about leaving. Our idea is to spend 3-5 years touring the country while choosing where we'd like to live next.
I have a large following of galleries and shops that carry my work, so I'm going to wind that down in 2012. I'm tired of producing as much pottery as I have been and want more freedom to experiment and make what I want to make. I'm hoping to develop some workshops that I could facilitate in art centers as we travel. John would love to give up the suit and the daily driving of many miles. There are a lot of things that need to be done before this place could go on the market. Who knows, by the time we get all that done, we may not want to leave! It really is very beautiful here and I have the most wonderful studio. Actually, our plan is to market the farm as an artist's haven complete with a dream studio.
So, as you can see, we are still in the investigation mode, and this website has been an invaluable source of information. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to answer my questions.
We are newbies too, to the site as well as rving. I joined this site a few months ago just to investigate this interesting lifestyle.
I have learned so much from all the great folks on here so much that a few weeks ago we took a leap of faith and bought our first 5th wheel. It is a 38' Heartland Big Country and much bigger than planned but we are moving into it fulltime in about 2 weeks after our house closes. We have only been in it for 3 weekends but feel really comfortable and confident again because of all the advice on this forum.
Good luck with all the planning. We found that once we made the plan and knew what we wanted to do it all fell into place. I call it a God thing because I certainly didn't make all this happen so fast.
Keep asking questions, maybe one of these days I will be able to answer one of them!!
Hi Kim,
Welcome to the forum. I, too, grew up in NC, but left when I was in my 20s. I've found this forum to be a great place for researching the RV lifestyle. Good luck as you continue your investigation.
Welcome Kim,
There is something special about the freedom of getting out and about. Best to you in your exploring.
Welcome to the forum Kim!
If you want to learn a LOT about the full-time RV lifestyle, you need to get yourself to an RV-Dreams RALLY! Bob and I just attended the Fall Rally in Hershey. Oh....my....goodness!!!! What a jam-packed informational event. You will LOVE it. Bob and I have never camped in our lives (well....except for as a kid and we went to Boy/Girl scout day camp). The "bug" bit us when we attended our very first RV Show last year, and I have been researching this lifestyle ever since. But the best thing we could have ever done for ourselves is register and attend Howard and Linda's Rally. I just can't say enough good about it. They have inspired us to continue toward our dream, because they had never done the RV thing before either.
Their next Rally is in Texas in April. It is SO worth investing your $$ and your time. Here's to "Champagne wishes and RV (caviar) dreams" !!
Kathy