It's been a secret since September 2015, first between my husband and me, and then shared a little - under close cover - with the members of this forum. Finally, as of May 18, we've gone public: we are official full-time RVers who will be heading south later this year!
All the seemingly crazy decisions we've made in the last 20 months: selling our house and most of our possessions; living in the in-laws home during the winter while they were down south; buying a big trailer and truck; and lastly, quitting the job I absolutely love, effective June 30 . . . it finally makes sense to everyone.
Ok - that's not exactly true. It makes sense to nearly no-one! And we are loving the responses. Everything from "we wish we could do it" to "you crazy kids' and "but what about all your stuff?". I REALLY enjoy the look on people's faces when I tell them all our 'stuff' fits in a 40-ft 5th-wheel, and we have nothing else.
Our closest friends and family are all on board; others, not so much. At least, that's what we glean from the lack of enthusiasm and interest in our plans. We can't decide if it is envy or disdain - but we really don't care! We finally feel we are being true to ourselves.
My hope is to run into fellow Dreamers this fall and winter as we travel from Saskatchewan all the way to Rockport, TX (November), then Castroville (December), after which we will work our way west. (No set times or locations yet.) Our final destination is Parker, AZ, from mid-March to mid-April.
You may not realize it, but many of you have been a support for us during the long journey (in time) since we hatched our plan. Thank you for what we have learned from you, and for how your dreams have inspired ours!
-- Edited by In Laymans Terms on Tuesday 23rd of May 2017 07:47:00 PM
-- Edited by In Laymans Terms on Tuesday 23rd of May 2017 09:49:09 PM
vannchan said
08:46 PM May 23, 2017
Congratulations! I hope to be making a similar announcement, at least as far as full-timing goes, by summer of next year. I can only imagine at this time what you must be feeling. Be safe and hope to meet y'all along the way.
kb0zke said
08:57 PM May 23, 2017
Congratulations! After four years of full-timing we still have some close family members who wonder when we are going to settle down (near them, of course).
Barb and Frank said
06:46 AM May 24, 2017
Congratulations! I can imagine how excited you are! We are going to be full-timers as of October 1st and we are anxiously counting down the days.
Good luck and best wishes in your travels.
Barb
-- Edited by Barb and Frank on Wednesday 24th of May 2017 06:47:05 AM
NWescapee said
11:18 AM May 24, 2017
Congrats and enjoy the journey. It really doesn't matter if people don't understand or think you're crazy, it's your life!
jayc said
06:06 PM May 24, 2017
Congratulations and welcome to full timing. We're in our 9th year of being full timers. We're originally from Texas and now spend our winters there.
You are on the foremost RV forum for full timers, so you will get a lot of good information here. Good luck.
PrairieRV said
08:47 AM May 25, 2017
Congrats!! But why was it a secret?
In Laymans Terms said
07:45 PM May 26, 2017
Hi Prairie,
Long story, but mainly because of our jobs. I job share at the high school, so my work partner would not have been impressed! And my husband was actually laid off from his position and looking for work. We were concerned no one would hire someone they knew was going to quit within a year or so. It also just seemed wise to keep things to ourselves until all our ducks were in a row: house sold, truck and trailer bought, finances in order. It all seemed like such a dream - we didn't want to do anything to derail the vision!
LarryW21 said
02:06 PM May 27, 2017
"I job share at the high school, so my work partner would not have been impressed!"
The heck with your FORMER work partner.
jrzygrl64 said
06:57 AM May 28, 2017
Congrats! We have been ful-time for almost 3 years and have not looked back! We also were very careful who we shared our news with b/c Bill was still working and didn't want to give notice until we had a mortgage commitment and closing date from our house buyers. It was stressful, but necessary at the time.
Now, looking back at that completely different life, we have no regrets, except to echo the common cliche- "wish we had done it sooner!"
Good luck and reach out if you need anything!
In Laymans Terms said
09:58 PM Jun 15, 2017
Thanks for the offer, Kelly! Hopefully we'll cross paths somewhere, someday. We are nailing down our first-year's journey, starting in Rockport, Texas and ending in Parker, Arizona five months later.
And life is taking some amazing turns! My job-share partner came up with the brilliant idea to continue splitting our position at the local high school; I will work August to October, she'll jump in for November to April, and I'll re-start from April to June. I get to keep the job I love, have summer holidays here in Saskatchewan, and all winter to go south. Talk about a win-win! And my husband has quit the job he didn't enjoy and immediately was offered a position combining for a local farmer friend. Yay!!! Life is good, good, good!
Thanks to everyone here for the well wishes. We will certainly be looking for more advice and wisdom as we prepare to hit the road this fall. It'll be here before we know it!
jrzygrl64 said
08:11 PM Jun 19, 2017
Bill and I MAY be heading west next year - we will have to keep in touch and plan a meet-up if our paths cross!
It's been a secret since September 2015, first between my husband and me, and then shared a little - under close cover - with the members of this forum. Finally, as of May 18, we've gone public: we are official full-time RVers who will be heading south later this year!
All the seemingly crazy decisions we've made in the last 20 months: selling our house and most of our possessions; living in the in-laws home during the winter while they were down south; buying a big trailer and truck; and lastly, quitting the job I absolutely love, effective June 30 . . . it finally makes sense to everyone.
Ok - that's not exactly true. It makes sense to nearly no-one! And we are loving the responses. Everything from "we wish we could do it" to "you crazy kids' and "but what about all your stuff?". I REALLY enjoy the look on people's faces when I tell them all our 'stuff' fits in a 40-ft 5th-wheel, and we have nothing else.
Our closest friends and family are all on board; others, not so much. At least, that's what we glean from the lack of enthusiasm and interest in our plans. We can't decide if it is envy or disdain - but we really don't care! We finally feel we are being true to ourselves.
My hope is to run into fellow Dreamers this fall and winter as we travel from Saskatchewan all the way to Rockport, TX (November), then Castroville (December), after which we will work our way west. (No set times or locations yet.) Our final destination is Parker, AZ, from mid-March to mid-April.
You may not realize it, but many of you have been a support for us during the long journey (in time) since we hatched our plan. Thank you for what we have learned from you, and for how your dreams have inspired ours!
-- Edited by In Laymans Terms on Tuesday 23rd of May 2017 07:47:00 PM
-- Edited by In Laymans Terms on Tuesday 23rd of May 2017 09:49:09 PM
Congratulations! I hope to be making a similar announcement, at least as far as full-timing goes, by summer of next year. I can only imagine at this time what you must be feeling. Be safe and hope to meet y'all along the way.
Congratulations! I can imagine how excited you are! We are going to be full-timers as of October 1st and we are anxiously counting down the days.
Good luck and best wishes in your travels.
Barb
-- Edited by Barb and Frank on Wednesday 24th of May 2017 06:47:05 AM
Congratulations and welcome to full timing. We're in our 9th year of being full timers. We're originally from Texas and now spend our winters there.
You are on the foremost RV forum for full timers, so you will get a lot of good information here. Good luck.
Long story, but mainly because of our jobs. I job share at the high school, so my work partner would not have been impressed! And my husband was actually laid off from his position and looking for work. We were concerned no one would hire someone they knew was going to quit within a year or so. It also just seemed wise to keep things to ourselves until all our ducks were in a row: house sold, truck and trailer bought, finances in order. It all seemed like such a dream - we didn't want to do anything to derail the vision!
The heck with your FORMER work partner.
Now, looking back at that completely different life, we have no regrets, except to echo the common cliche- "wish we had done it sooner!"
Good luck and reach out if you need anything!
And life is taking some amazing turns! My job-share partner came up with the brilliant idea to continue splitting our position at the local high school; I will work August to October, she'll jump in for November to April, and I'll re-start from April to June. I get to keep the job I love, have summer holidays here in Saskatchewan, and all winter to go south. Talk about a win-win! And my husband has quit the job he didn't enjoy and immediately was offered a position combining for a local farmer friend. Yay!!! Life is good, good, good!
Thanks to everyone here for the well wishes. We will certainly be looking for more advice and wisdom as we prepare to hit the road this fall. It'll be here before we know it!