Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
As many of you know our house has been on the market since Mid-April and we are in a waiting period. At first it was REALLY difficult. Lee and I were driving each other crazy and the temptation to do something really stupid was almost overwhelming. But we got a hold of ourselves and settled in and for the last month we have been living exclusively in our RV on our seasonal site. Although I certainly would have loved to be among the 72 hour sell the house club, I will say the extra time has allowed us to work through some things and thought I would take a moment and share them for others in a similar situation.
First we finished all the purging and prep work. You have to leave a certain amount of stuff in the house for showings, but everything important is either in the camper or the storage unit at this point. Why move stuff to storage prior to selling the house?? Well it helped us really see what we could live without and I am happy to say we have made no emergency trips to storage to get stuff. If anything we have sent more stuff to storage that we thought we had to have but really didn't need. So I do recommend this approach, it's a nice way to emotionally put a stake in the ground with your stuff.
Second we have learned a lot about living in such a tight space. Little relationship issues can be worked through without the additional pressure of constantly being on the go. Again, happy for those who just up and leave, but the time has allowed us to deal with the massive life change in smaller chunks which has also helped us to be much kinder to each other. Nothing is an emergency as we still have our jobs and if needed the sticks and bricks so we can explore being together in 400 square feet without outside pressures. Because we did not camp much before deciding to do this, I think it is a huge benefit for us.
Learning from others - being the last of our small group of rally friends has afforded us the opportunity to watch those who go before and learn from their successes and challenges. That's been a mixed blessing for sure because it's hard to be last, but they have all been incredibly open about the realities of this life. Let's face it, it's not all sunshine and unicorns, but in the early stages its easy to get caught up in the fantasy. The extra time has allowed us to really look at this choice and be more honest with ourselves. Plus based on our friends feedback, we have revamped our target budget to something more realistic and I think we are much more prepared financially.
Which leads me to saving money. Every dime we put away is more of a cushion for our future and although we could do better, I think the extra money is good. Simultaneously we are making those big purchases now while we have our regular jobs. We are locking in on many levels what we want this life to look like and for us I feel we will have a more solid foundation when we depart.
In conclusion would I trade it all for a 72 hour sale and quick departure, absolutely. I still have serious envy for the folks who got that experience. But I like to make lemonade out of lemons and I do think for us the time has been well spent. Also most importantly all these things keep our head in the right space and feel like positive steps towards the end goal which REALLY helps with the waiting.
Gosh, Trace, you must have heard me this morning saying "How I am going to take another day without the house selling!" I'll speak more softly the next time.
We actually saw houses selling but needed to finish up some things so didn't get it on the market until mid-July. Now the realtor says the winter slow down is upon us. So, I am planning some projects, sewing which I really have done much of and experimenting with my new serger still untouched after being so busy. We are exploring some creative possibilities in case the house doesn't sell next year. You just never know what will happen with the economy when it comes to home sale.
I have been purging stuff since early spring and that was Round 1 which was stuff that I don't know why we still had it anyway, the easy stuff. I have began Round 2 which is stuff I do not need but would sort of like to have plus sending family stuff to other family members that will be here long after I am gone. Round 3 will be when we are ready to pack the RV we are now looking for. It is necessary for us to really reduce our stuff no matter what so it is a win-win. House cleans up so much quicker now too!
We had planned to have our house on the market a year ago so this is especially hard. Our son with DS is with me 24/7 so progress slowed when he left the programs last year. My husband has a 3rd shift maintenance job that doesn't allow 3 day weekends but he gets double pay for the holiday - awful job but pays well for the area. Being debt-free and stuck here has allowed us to put more money away so we won't be leaving with the gets-us-by but with cushion and more flexibility.
Yes, the time has its advantages but..... We will survive!
