As we sit here in Tucson for our final week in AZ until next winter, I'm thinking of all the things I'm not missing this spring in the Pacific NW.
No mowing
No weeding
No moss killing (yes in Western WA you have to kill off the moss each spring or it kills your yard)
No power washing the driveway
No power washing the patio
No cleaning the deck and all the deck furniture
No ivy trimming
No tree trimming
No fertilizing the lawn
No spreading weed killer on the lawn
And most of all, not missing the soggy, drizzly weather at all!!!
Our first spring on the road and once again we're feeling the freedom!! No wonder we've had time to spend with family and friends, visit wineries, visit the local botanical garden, veg by the pool and enjoy the sunshine here in Tucson.
Note - this is not meant to be "nose rubbing", just so excited that it's April and none of those spring chores are on my "to do" list Last spring I was the one saying this is the last time I ever have to XXXXX and guess what? It was the last time
PIEERE said
06:45 PM Apr 16, 2014
It gets better!!!! Happy to hear your enjoying the freedom of Sping Chores!!!
Dogpatch said
09:12 PM Apr 16, 2014
Congrats!
Personally, I'm on the "Freedom 106" Plan.
The way I figure it, I'll be able to afford to retire about 5 years after I'm dead! LOL
jrzygrl64 said
09:16 PM Apr 16, 2014
Ruth and Dale,
This is OUR last year! We have not had to kill moss (we live in PA) but we've had our share of spring chores and I cannot wait to be rid of them!
Thanks for a reminder of yet another reason we are doing this! The list is LONG! Its hard to keep track of them all!
Kelly
Camper Chronicles said
12:15 PM Apr 17, 2014
Fantastic LIST....as we are doing all those things now getting ready to seel I am super jealous
karen948 said
09:01 PM Apr 17, 2014
I know it's awesome! And we didn't have to write that large property tax check due April 15tH either
bjoyce said
09:26 PM Apr 17, 2014
Yesterday while we were visiting Santa Barbara and Solvang CA, we noticed that many people were retired and living in this area. That got us talking about where we would land and both of us are very happy as fulltimers and do not want to settle anywhere. We can see having a small place to land in the winter, it is not as much fun to travel then. In July we will have been on the road for 11 years. We planned to be out 2 to 5 years, but knew then that keeping the big house with all its expenses and maintenance was out.
NWescapee said
10:42 PM Apr 17, 2014
Bill- you do realize you are an inspiration to many of us, right??? 11 years and not ready to settle down yet is a fantastic track record.
And yes, I'm sure you remember moss killing (although it might be a foggy memory by now) and don't miss that Western WA lawn care any more than we do!!
-- Edited by NWescapee on Thursday 17th of April 2014 10:43:16 PM
BiggarView said
05:39 AM Apr 18, 2014
bjoyce wrote:
...we will have been on the road for 11 years....
Yet another example that it is possible to kick GCLD(TM) or Gilded Cage Living Disorder.... We aren't there yet, but we are in the GCLD 12 step program and hope to be "clean" in about five years.
GCLD reminds me of the "war on drugs" commercial many years back, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGAVTwhsyOs Substitute "use coke" with "own a larger house and everything that goes with it", "work longer" with "look more successful" and "can work longer so I can buy more coke" with "need to make more money so I can buy a larger house and everything that goes with it".
I'm done with "that" koolaid. Bill, you and all the other seasoned FTers are shining beacons to us S&Bers still getting "clean".
Disclaimer: This in no way diminishes or ridicules OCD, ADD, alcoholism, drug abuse etc., all of which are serious problems but may in fact be related to GCLD in that our modern society is driving us all "crazy" to a certain extent with the constant monotonous drumbeat of consumerism as a panacea for living dreary lives.
Easy Mike, just poking some fun at the crazies(including myself). No, I don't need any tinfoil, I have plenty for everybody.
Brian
-- Edited by biggaRView on Friday 18th of April 2014 05:39:35 AM
-- Edited by biggaRView on Friday 18th of April 2014 06:08:29 AM
Hdrider said
06:06 AM Apr 18, 2014
Wow Bill,,, 11 years! We started out thinking like you that we would give it a year to see what we thought of fulltiming. We are getting close to 2 years. Now we are thinking of a 4 or 5 year plan, we will see.
But as we think about the long list of things we are missing that Dale and Ruth posted 11 years sounds pretty good LOL!!
WestWardHo said
06:28 AM Apr 18, 2014
11 years and offering lots of helpful information to others! How great is that? Ruth, your delight in your current situation is palatable!
Sherry
Dog Folks said
06:34 AM Apr 18, 2014
I knew there was something I missed about owning a house. Thanks for the list!!
bjoyce said
10:30 AM Apr 18, 2014
I have said this before. Some people who observe fulltimers more than I, have found that the magic cut off is 3 years. Once fulltiming for 3 years, you are committed to the life and can continue until health or other circumstances cause you to stop. You can be committed below 3 years, but it is not obvious from the outside.
For the second year in a row we spent 3 months in Mesa AZ. We had mixed feelings when we left, but quickly were glad we were on the road. The snowbirds at that campground don't understand us. The snowbirds seemed to be in competition on who could get "home" faster, they had little interest in the journey. When they get home they have weeks of dealing with maintenance issues and other things that were delayed because they were not "home". We do not have that feeling.
We experienced that ourselves after some long RV trips away, one two month trip and two one month trips. Something was always needing attention at the house, it was expensive to keep the house, and we had no good reason to keep that house or live in that particular area. Off we went, fulltime.
I moved twice in my life to get a job. Many won't do that. We are about to visit cousins, three sisters who live within 5 miles of their parents house. Their world is different than ours. We still get along, but they don't get us. We are fine with that. You will also get fine with that, if you go on the road with a plan to do it indefinitely.
Sorry to ramble.
BiggarView said
10:40 AM Apr 18, 2014
bjoyce wrote:
...You can be committed below 3 years, but it is not obvious from the outside.
Some people close to me, think that once we started discussing and planning this I should have been commited And we haven't even hit the road yet
Terry and Jo said
06:30 PM Apr 18, 2014
We appear to be just the opposite of Bill's experience of moving during their working years. I've lost track of the number of moves we've made and places we've lived. My longest place of employment has been been our last, which we will be retiring from in a couple of months. I've been in that job for 15 years, which is more than double of my longest employment in the past.
One of Jo's sisters made the comment that she thought all we would handle in the RV was two years. Well, it's been nearly 3 now with no plans or even remote thoughts of changing.
Terry
bjoyce said
07:40 PM Apr 18, 2014
Terry: I meant it the opposite way, that most won't move even once for a job. I would have moved more, but jobs did show up where I was and it was easier to not move.
Terry and Jo said
08:15 AM Apr 19, 2014
Sorry, Bill.
I read that wrong, I guess. However, if one has been fortunate enough to have been able to "make a career" with only one or two job moves, I would think they were very fortunate. Where we now work, I know of some folks that have never worked anyplace other than our state agency. I also know that a few of them are really suffering from burn-out with their jobs.
One of those is my immediate boss, and she has commented that she is so jealous of my "varied work experience" because it seems to have made the idea of traveling after retirement so much easier.
However, back to the original post's topic, when we sold our home and 3/4 acres, we "threw in" the lawn tractor and push mower and other lawn equipment. When we got to our present location, the mobile home park, and fenced in the yard, I asked the landlady if she wanted us to mow inside the fence so her workers didn't have to mess with that and our dogs. She told us that was fine and that if we did that, we should take $20 per month off of our rent. I saw immediately that that savings would more than pay for a mower in one year, so I was back into the mowing business. However, mowing inside takes a sum total of about 20 minutes to do, so it still isn't a big deal.
Our next move will see us giving the mower to our son and unless I'm workkamping, I shouldn't be doing much more mowing. I have to say that after a while, even 20 minutes gets to be a nuisance.
Terry
NWescapee said
11:11 AM Apr 19, 2014
Just thought of a couple more things I'm not missing this spring!!
No mulching the flower beds
And so far here in AZ we're not running away from the mosquitoes!!! Love that
Lucky Mike said
01:10 PM Apr 19, 2014
Im not missing that snow shovel!!!
NWescapee said
06:42 PM Apr 20, 2014
Lucky Mike - having spent my adult life in Seattle and Dallas, we didn't own a snow shovel until 3 years ago. I was happy to leave it behind for the new homeowner!!
As we sit here in Tucson for our final week in AZ until next winter, I'm thinking of all the things I'm not missing this spring in the Pacific NW.
No mowing
No weeding
No moss killing (yes in Western WA you have to kill off the moss each spring or it kills your yard)
No power washing the driveway
No power washing the patio
No cleaning the deck and all the deck furniture
No ivy trimming
No tree trimming
No fertilizing the lawn
No spreading weed killer on the lawn
And most of all, not missing the soggy, drizzly weather at all!!!
Our first spring on the road and once again we're feeling the freedom!! No wonder we've had time to spend with family and friends, visit wineries, visit the local botanical garden, veg by the pool and enjoy the sunshine here in Tucson.
Note - this is not meant to be "nose rubbing", just so excited that it's April and none of those spring chores are on my "to do" list
Last spring I was the one saying this is the last time I ever have to XXXXX and guess what? It was the last time
Personally, I'm on the "Freedom 106" Plan.
The way I figure it, I'll be able to afford to retire about 5 years after I'm dead! LOL
This is OUR last year! We have not had to kill moss (we live in PA) but we've had our share of spring chores and I cannot wait to be rid of them!
Thanks for a reminder of yet another reason we are doing this! The list is LONG! Its hard to keep track of them all!
Kelly
I know it's awesome! And we didn't have to write that large property tax check due April 15tH either
Bill- you do realize you are an inspiration to many of us, right??? 11 years and not ready to settle down yet is a fantastic track record.
And yes, I'm sure you remember moss killing (although it might be a foggy memory by now) and don't miss that Western WA lawn care any more than we do!!
-- Edited by NWescapee on Thursday 17th of April 2014 10:43:16 PM
Yet another example that it is possible to kick GCLD(TM) or Gilded Cage Living Disorder.... We aren't there yet, but we are in the GCLD 12 step program
and hope to be "clean" in about five years.
GCLD reminds me of the "war on drugs" commercial many years back, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGAVTwhsyOs Substitute "use coke" with "own a larger house and everything that goes with it", "work longer" with "look more successful" and "can work longer so I can buy more coke" with "need to make more money so I can buy a larger house and everything that goes with it".
I'm done with "that" koolaid. Bill, you and all the other seasoned FTers are shining beacons to us S&Bers still getting "clean".
Disclaimer: This in no way diminishes or ridicules OCD, ADD, alcoholism, drug abuse etc., all of which are serious problems but may in fact be related to GCLD in that our modern society is driving us all "crazy" to a certain extent with the constant monotonous drumbeat of consumerism as a panacea for living dreary lives.
Easy Mike, just poking some fun at the crazies(including myself)
. No, I don't need any tinfoil, I have plenty for everybody.
Brian
-- Edited by biggaRView on Friday 18th of April 2014 05:39:35 AM
-- Edited by biggaRView on Friday 18th of April 2014 06:08:29 AM
But as we think about the long list of things we are missing that Dale and Ruth posted 11 years sounds pretty good LOL!!
Sherry
For the second year in a row we spent 3 months in Mesa AZ. We had mixed feelings when we left, but quickly were glad we were on the road. The snowbirds at that campground don't understand us. The snowbirds seemed to be in competition on who could get "home" faster, they had little interest in the journey. When they get home they have weeks of dealing with maintenance issues and other things that were delayed because they were not "home". We do not have that feeling.
We experienced that ourselves after some long RV trips away, one two month trip and two one month trips. Something was always needing attention at the house, it was expensive to keep the house, and we had no good reason to keep that house or live in that particular area. Off we went, fulltime.
I moved twice in my life to get a job. Many won't do that. We are about to visit cousins, three sisters who live within 5 miles of their parents house. Their world is different than ours. We still get along, but they don't get us. We are fine with that. You will also get fine with that, if you go on the road with a plan to do it indefinitely.
Sorry to ramble.
Some people close to me, think that once we started discussing and planning this I should have been commited
And we haven't even hit the road yet
We appear to be just the opposite of Bill's experience of moving during their working years. I've lost track of the number of moves we've made and places we've lived. My longest place of employment has been been our last, which we will be retiring from in a couple of months. I've been in that job for 15 years, which is more than double of my longest employment in the past.
One of Jo's sisters made the comment that she thought all we would handle in the RV was two years. Well, it's been nearly 3 now with no plans or even remote thoughts of changing.
Terry
Sorry, Bill.
I read that wrong, I guess. However, if one has been fortunate enough to have been able to "make a career" with only one or two job moves, I would think they were very fortunate. Where we now work, I know of some folks that have never worked anyplace other than our state agency. I also know that a few of them are really suffering from burn-out with their jobs.
One of those is my immediate boss, and she has commented that she is so jealous of my "varied work experience" because it seems to have made the idea of traveling after retirement so much easier.
However, back to the original post's topic, when we sold our home and 3/4 acres, we "threw in" the lawn tractor and push mower and other lawn equipment. When we got to our present location, the mobile home park, and fenced in the yard, I asked the landlady if she wanted us to mow inside the fence so her workers didn't have to mess with that and our dogs. She told us that was fine and that if we did that, we should take $20 per month off of our rent. I saw immediately that that savings would more than pay for a mower in one year, so I was back into the mowing business. However, mowing inside takes a sum total of about 20 minutes to do, so it still isn't a big deal.
Our next move will see us giving the mower to our son and unless I'm workkamping, I shouldn't be doing much more mowing. I have to say that after a while, even 20 minutes gets to be a nuisance.
Terry
Just thought of a couple more things I'm not missing this spring!!
No mulching the flower beds
And so far here in AZ we're not running away from the mosquitoes!!! Love that