This is where we began our research 5 years ago, so it is where I now come to share this change in our life as we received an attractive offer to return to the corporate world. We have been full-time for 3.5 years in our 2007 Tiffin Allegro Bus and it has been the happiest time of our life. We have spent time in each of the 48 contiguous states. It was more than camping; we have lived in them for short periods. We are 55 years old and found that many who are living this lifestyle are about 10 years older than us using their social security and medicare to cover some costs. Our thought is to return to the corporate world but maintain the downsized minimalist lifestyle in order to save for future adventures. We thought of keeping the motorhome, but we will not be able to use it much and can't bear the thought of having it sit in storage. I guess we will sell it. This seems more emotional that when we got rid of our house and stuff several years ago. It is the emotional aspect of going full-time in reverse. We keep telling ourselves, "We are 55 and can work hard for another 5 years to stack up cash and do whatever we want." However, we have gone through "The Looking Glass" and lived the RV Dream. It is hard to go back.
kb0zke said
05:08 PM Nov 25, 2018
You have done what many of us are doing - visiting all of the States. All of us will, at some point, have to give up full-timing. Some will have a plan in place well before they reach that point. Others will put one together as the signs increase. Some will have the decision forced on them. A few will fall into a perfect exit without any planning.
Your idea of keeping to the "downsized minimalist lifestyle" is a good one. The "stuff" seems to multiply no matter what we do to limit it, but when one is living in a s&b it is easy to let it grow to outlandish proportions.
Selling your MH is probably a wise thing, as you won't really be able to use it properly. Those expensive tires will continue to age, whether you drive it or not, so someone else may as well get the use out of it. Will you need/want to have two vehicles? If so, your current towed will most likely be one of them. The other one, though, might well be one that can tow something, either a travel trailer or fifth wheel. The tires on those are only a small fraction of the cost of MH tires, and for what you get for your Tiffin you can get a decent truck and trailer. You can go off on adventures as circumstances permit, and if you choose well, you may even have your next full-time setup.
Gpndavid said
07:18 PM Nov 25, 2018
Thanks David. Good idea. A truck for a daily driver with an eye toward a TT to let us live the dream on a part time basis may ease the pain. We sure have been comfortible in our little home on wheels.
Neil and Connie said
08:42 AM Nov 26, 2018
Connie and I are also starting to wonder when it will end. We've been in 49 states and 10 provinces with our NH and have firm plans for the next two travel seasons and tentative plans for a third…after that we might think about getting off the road as RVers…although we'll still be doing a lot of travel as there are other countries and places we need to see and although we're still healthy and active we're coming up on 64 and the aches and pains of everyday life are ever increasing. We're still capable of doing everything we want to…just not as fast or as ache-free as we used to be and we want to do those other countries while we're still spry enough to do things easily…especially as out of US travel usually entails walking or public transportation as a primary means of getting around rather than having a car. At this point we've no idea whether we'll stay in the RV but essentially become full time residents at a campground or sell and move back into a house. My guess is that we'll make that decision pretty quickly when it comes time one way or the other…depending on life we might end up RVing longer than we've currently got plans for as the plans for the next 3 travel seasons doesn't necessarily end things for us.
Bill and Linda said
12:36 PM Nov 26, 2018
Neil's post was not unexpected. Like he and Connie, we've done all 49 states and all of Canadian Providence's. Some more than twice. Full-time or not, the thought does sometimes cross one's mind, "been there, done that."
The difference for us is perspective and Neil kind of touched on it in a different way. As we've always "kept the house" we don't need an exit. We've never considered the house to be a restraining issue, at least for us. Neil and Connie go to South Florida for 6 months and the other is, rightfully stated by Neil, "travel season." We travel about he same number of months, we just don't do them all at the same time. Traveling from the east coast to the western states and back is just no big deal for us so we don't feel like we have to "retire" from "full-time/part-time" travel. For us at least, its the best of both worlds.
Neil and I have mussed about selling the big fivers and going with a smaller class C. After reading and investigating, the consensus from my Linda is: "Nope, not gonna do that. Too small." Well, at least we talked about it. :) So those considering exiting should consider the "part-time" thing. It's worked for us for a very long time. Fact is, there isn't much difference for us between full-time and part-time as to what we can do and, for us, the equipment we want..
We've still got, I trust, at least one more trip to Alaska sort of planned with, according to Linda, a side trip to Yellowknife, NWT, Canada. Hey, its just a right-turn off the Alcan. So I think we're still in the game for sometime yet. But we're thinking about "What if?" So far the decision has been "keep on truck'in," at least for us, for now.
Just our perspective.
Bill
bjoyce said
12:38 AM Nov 27, 2018
We are getting a bit off topic, but I have thoughts on all of it.
We have known multiple people who found that they could not afford to be on the road the way they wanted before Medicare. Most were able to live a more downsized sticks and bricks life afterward, which is a good thing. We feel lucky that through a combination of luck and good financial planning we were able to fulltime as long as we wanted. As of October we are now parttimers, but our winter house is a park model with an addition ("Arizona room") and is under 800 sqft and has no yard. Some have even moved to cheaper countries where their money goes further and/or health care is cheaper.
But we intend to still travel, even after camping in 49 states and 6 Canadian provinces. Getting back to Alaska is high on the list.
We are now able to travel internationally, with a fixed location, no parents that need us to be in daily phone contact anymore, and someone (who is actually on this forum, Barb) who is willing to care for our cat. I am typing this from Taiwan, where we are visiting friends who now live and work here. We just took a 5 day road trip to see the mountains, ocean, cliffs, cute old mining town (think Bisbee or Jerome AZ being only half hour from a major city), etc.
We actually know many older folks that can't travel to exotic countries due to needing to have ready access to toilets. It is not just transportation issues that stops older people from traveling, except maybe cruises.
PrairieRV said
03:30 PM Nov 27, 2018
I'm not full-time yet, but hope to be. I'm now 66 y.o. and hope to get many years of travel in before I have to stop. One reason I want to RV full-time is that I don't have any idea where I'd want to live permanently. So unless I someday discover the ideal place to put down roots, I expect I'll end up being a renter. I like the idea of a park model. It's a bit larger than a tiny house, but not too much to maintain. I know I don't want to have to maintain a yard, etc.
mds1 said
08:58 PM Nov 28, 2018
I'll bet when you get back to the corporate world you guys will be the most interesting people there - the stories you can tell..
This is where we began our research 5 years ago, so it is where I now come to share this change in our life as we received an attractive offer to return to the corporate world. We have been full-time for 3.5 years in our 2007 Tiffin Allegro Bus and it has been the happiest time of our life. We have spent time in each of the 48 contiguous states. It was more than camping; we have lived in them for short periods. We are 55 years old and found that many who are living this lifestyle are about 10 years older than us using their social security and medicare to cover some costs. Our thought is to return to the corporate world but maintain the downsized minimalist lifestyle in order to save for future adventures. We thought of keeping the motorhome, but we will not be able to use it much and can't bear the thought of having it sit in storage. I guess we will sell it. This seems more emotional that when we got rid of our house and stuff several years ago. It is the emotional aspect of going full-time in reverse. We keep telling ourselves, "We are 55 and can work hard for another 5 years to stack up cash and do whatever we want." However, we have gone through "The Looking Glass" and lived the RV Dream. It is hard to go back.
Your idea of keeping to the "downsized minimalist lifestyle" is a good one. The "stuff" seems to multiply no matter what we do to limit it, but when one is living in a s&b it is easy to let it grow to outlandish proportions.
Selling your MH is probably a wise thing, as you won't really be able to use it properly. Those expensive tires will continue to age, whether you drive it or not, so someone else may as well get the use out of it. Will you need/want to have two vehicles? If so, your current towed will most likely be one of them. The other one, though, might well be one that can tow something, either a travel trailer or fifth wheel. The tires on those are only a small fraction of the cost of MH tires, and for what you get for your Tiffin you can get a decent truck and trailer. You can go off on adventures as circumstances permit, and if you choose well, you may even have your next full-time setup.
Connie and I are also starting to wonder when it will end. We've been in 49 states and 10 provinces with our NH and have firm plans for the next two travel seasons and tentative plans for a third…after that we might think about getting off the road as RVers…although we'll still be doing a lot of travel as there are other countries and places we need to see and although we're still healthy and active we're coming up on 64 and the aches and pains of everyday life are ever increasing. We're still capable of doing everything we want to…just not as fast or as ache-free as we used to be and we want to do those other countries while we're still spry enough to do things easily…especially as out of US travel usually entails walking or public transportation as a primary means of getting around rather than having a car. At this point we've no idea whether we'll stay in the RV but essentially become full time residents at a campground or sell and move back into a house. My guess is that we'll make that decision pretty quickly when it comes time one way or the other…depending on life we might end up RVing longer than we've currently got plans for as the plans for the next 3 travel seasons doesn't necessarily end things for us.
Neil's post was not unexpected. Like he and Connie, we've done all 49 states and all of Canadian Providence's. Some more than twice. Full-time or not, the thought does sometimes cross one's mind, "been there, done that."
The difference for us is perspective and Neil kind of touched on it in a different way. As we've always "kept the house" we don't need an exit. We've never considered the house to be a restraining issue, at least for us. Neil and Connie go to South Florida for 6 months and the other is, rightfully stated by Neil, "travel season." We travel about he same number of months, we just don't do them all at the same time. Traveling from the east coast to the western states and back is just no big deal for us so we don't feel like we have to "retire" from "full-time/part-time" travel. For us at least, its the best of both worlds.
Neil and I have mussed about selling the big fivers and going with a smaller class C. After reading and investigating, the consensus from my Linda is: "Nope, not gonna do that. Too small." Well, at least we talked about it. :) So those considering exiting should consider the "part-time" thing. It's worked for us for a very long time. Fact is, there isn't much difference for us between full-time and part-time as to what we can do and, for us, the equipment we want..
We've still got, I trust, at least one more trip to Alaska sort of planned with, according to Linda, a side trip to Yellowknife, NWT, Canada. Hey, its just a right-turn off the Alcan. So I think we're still in the game for sometime yet. But we're thinking about "What if?" So far the decision has been "keep on truck'in," at least for us, for now.
Just our perspective.
Bill
We have known multiple people who found that they could not afford to be on the road the way they wanted before Medicare. Most were able to live a more downsized sticks and bricks life afterward, which is a good thing. We feel lucky that through a combination of luck and good financial planning we were able to fulltime as long as we wanted. As of October we are now parttimers, but our winter house is a park model with an addition ("Arizona room") and is under 800 sqft and has no yard. Some have even moved to cheaper countries where their money goes further and/or health care is cheaper.
But we intend to still travel, even after camping in 49 states and 6 Canadian provinces. Getting back to Alaska is high on the list.
We are now able to travel internationally, with a fixed location, no parents that need us to be in daily phone contact anymore, and someone (who is actually on this forum, Barb) who is willing to care for our cat. I am typing this from Taiwan, where we are visiting friends who now live and work here. We just took a 5 day road trip to see the mountains, ocean, cliffs, cute old mining town (think Bisbee or Jerome AZ being only half hour from a major city), etc.
We actually know many older folks that can't travel to exotic countries due to needing to have ready access to toilets. It is not just transportation issues that stops older people from traveling, except maybe cruises.