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Old 10-13-2016, 07:32 AM   #181
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dredman View Post
I would have to agree, with my short time talking to skoolies, my shock is that this forum only represents a very small group of all skoolies out there?

for sure!.. and the number of people who want to build a skoolie some day.. I hang out in city coffee shops a lot.. writing code.. and of course on the roasd with the bus too.. but when people ask about my work and travels.. and they hear about DEV.. i get alot of "OMG I have so thought about buying a school bus and travelling... but how do you even buy a bus?"

seems most people think you have to be some special person or have 'connections' to even buy a bus let alone learning how to build it.. i nfact alot of people have the skills but never even knew "regular people" could buy and own a skoolie..

-Christopher

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Old 10-13-2016, 08:58 AM   #182
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Having been on this forum for a number of years, I have noticed an interesting trend. For several decades, it was mostly older folks who took the skoolie route. But over the past few years, I have noticed that more and more young people are opting to take this "different path". They all seem to be saying, "screw the traditional house and mortgage crap" and want something entirely different than what current American society has to offer. And lots of them appear to have viable plans for earning on the road. Like Cadillac, all they seem to need is an internet connection to make a living.

Oddly...it reminds me of another time when Freaks & Hippies said "screw the man" and hit the road in skoolies making their way by creating jewelry, music, art or whatever craft they were proficient at. I can only guess that something about the current political state has something to do with it.

To them I say...follow your dream and your conscience.

Peace.
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Old 10-13-2016, 09:27 AM   #183
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I think the "connections" requirements that have certainly been an issue in the past, are quickly dissolving. Given the ease of information access we currently enjoy, we can not only find a large community with similar interests, we can also access a massive depository of how-to's, and step-by-step instructionals that remove the wall of technical hurdles, and allow the common (wo)man to escape the box they are living in
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Old 10-13-2016, 10:36 AM   #184
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we all here know theres no need for connections.. it all starts with a little research and then you just go buy a bus.. however I dont think many realize it yet.. the things I mention and hear are real people I run into out and about who never realized it was so "easy" to get hold of a bus..

young people are definitely ready to do something different as far as housing... a big part of it i think isnt necessarily that they are broke or tired of a mortgage, etc.. its a big shift in society after the past 20-25 years or so..

many many people lived out at least their child bearing years in the same city, working at the same company.. so owning a home made sense.. the "american dream" of you bought a house and paid it off in 20 years if you will...

fast forward to today... yes houses are expensive.. but people also are staying single or child-less longer, people realize thoire is more to life than their home-town that their parents would always say "this is the best place you can live".. same for jobs too.. you arent looked upon poorly in the career-world for changing jobs every few years like you once were..

that leaves most people with renting.. well it so happens everyone is interesated in renting... many lost their homes in the last crash and said "no-more.." city dwellers rent apartments.... burb dwellers rent homes and apartments..

most apartments only require a year lease so it offers a freedom to move every year or two.. the modern decor of "modern simplicity" makes moving easy.. you dont accumulate basements full of Junk...

BUT it makes rents crazy expensive! thus enter skoolie Life or full-time RVing.. a freedom like none other.. esp with the internet where people can share places to park, or maybe even park on a job site... ive seen more than one monster RV parked on a commercial construction site that is used for the job foreman to Live and have meetings, and still have a comfortable place...

Nomad-life totally has a place in today's society.. its a fantastic way to live-explore, learn, and see many places all at once..

as well does the partial nomad life... people like myself that escape to other places simply to be inspired and set my brain on fire with new scenery .. thus my workflow is in high gear all the time.. as tango mentioned with nothing more than an internet connection..

internet - that in and of itself has made nomad-life much more possible for many people.. those that maybe they dont need it for their work, but sure like to have it when off-work.. previously you were tioed to that phoneline or cable modem..

-Christopher
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Old 10-13-2016, 02:02 PM   #185
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The crowd trying to avoid mortgages have to figure out free parking/living or... get a mortgage to buy land far from the hoa's and code enforcement. Unless living full time on the road, rent/mortgage will still be part of the equation. Living on the road is even more expensive for MOST folks. A few nights in a koa and one may as well have been paying for a house somewhere.
I've ALWAYS known bus people, and have always had friends living in buses, but I'm a deadhead. We deadheads have been converting buses since the 60's.
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Old 10-13-2016, 09:18 PM   #186
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we had a bus in our yard when I was 5, used it for storage as I remember. Guess I might have it in my genes?
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Old 10-13-2016, 10:45 PM   #187
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Is that a bus in your jeans or are you just happy to be here.
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Old 10-14-2016, 08:00 AM   #188
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I just been a Bus Geek all my Life... always hated camping... sorry but me sleeping without climate control just doenst work... I like my A/C or heat, to not be rained on, or crawled on by spiders, or eaten by bears, or bitten by wolves.. and darn it dominos doesnt deliver to the "3rd mountain from the left when viewed from denver..."...

but I got to be friends with the school bus drivers.. esp my high school bus driver.. who let me take her personal Superior home one night... yeah my father forbid me to ever have a bus, or to ever see here (after he found out she was "married" to her high school sweetheart - another girl).... so of course i still saw her.. and played with the busses.. oops got caught by dad driving her bluebird around town.. yeah that didnt go well...

so alas i set out way back then at some point i was goingto have my own bus.. or busses... yeah I really tried to find a superior.. got a carpenter.. (I always thought of marcie and I as a team.. as did she..)

{my dad still thinks her gayness somehow "infected" me and thats how I became gay..wierd huh}...

oh yeah anyway we had a carpenter as an EVAL unit for a year.. she was the most ecperienced driver there... I felt good when I got to help fill out the EVAL paperwork with her on what she thought of the bus as a candidate for the schools..

and now I have my Blue-bird.. always said i wanted an 86 Bluebird.. so i have a 2000 instead... its very similar.. bluebirds didnt change much.. though I may find a way to retrofit the old bluebird dash into mine.. I really HATE bergstrom heaters.. hurri-hot was better...

nevertheless bus-life for me is perhaps much different than most.. alas I just drive the darn things around.... my skoolies are like cruisers....

oh yeah as far as camping... maybe something like Offgrid's build is my style....

-Christopher
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