I lived "life on wheels" in the early 70's and yes it was a great life. Living was so much easier then, we parked and stayed days, weeks, months in various places, rent free. Find an old dirt road, pull down and set up home for awhiile. Shoots, my husband delivered my daughter in the back of my first bus in a clearing that we moved into in Monticello, Kentucky. No one ever showed up and kicked us out or bothered us. We moved on and parked wherever we wanted.
We once pulled down a dirt road in Homestead, Florida and got stuck up to our bumpers in the Florida everglades. We jacked and jacked and jacked up the bus for over a month every nite after work to no avail, finally being pulled out by a bus we flag down, thinking it was a migrant workers bus and finding out it was another couple just moving on whom we followed to Rule, Texas.
I could go on for hours about the adventures.
Unfortunately, those adventures are what led Clint & I to this new adventure. I have the memories with my ex husband but Clint has nothing but what I told him. It wasn't till after we bought our bus that I woke up and realized that the life I remembered was just that, a memory and that life on the road will most likely be very different now.
It's been about 2 years since we got our bus and I have had many day and nights to realize that my experience in the 70's will not be the experiences that Clint & I will have years from now.
There are many full timers here that can give you a feel for "real life on the road". Their experiences may very well not be what you will experience, but something for you to think about.
Lorna mentioned "start selling off what you won't be able to take with you". Great advise....I sold off all I owned back in the seventies and thought this time around would be a walk in the park. I guess as you get older, things have more comfort value than when I was in my 20's.
Clint has just gone through selling off all of the tools he won't need for the bus at pennies on the dollar, thousands of dollars of tools for a few hundred dollars. It was a big shock to him, but he was willing to do it.
I am still in the process of ridding my life of all I have accumulated and will, also feel the pinch. I can guarantee that it will most definetely be an eye opening experience for you.
We are planning on full timing only until we happen on a town that just wins over our hearts and we may or may not continue to live in the bus, only time will tell. We are moving on down the road because we just want to see what else is out there.
Living on the road, IS NOT CHEAP, campgrounds can get expensive, finding "free" place to park can get old fast. Gas, repairs, being stranded who knows where, etc can deplete your pockets and mess with your minds quickly.....and on and on I can go.
Don't fall in love with dreams...sit down and be honest about the pros and cons, and don't try to sugar coat the cons, because they will not be sweet in real life.
Make damn sure this is what you want to REALLY do before you sell off everything and get on the road. I, from experience can say that my first time on the road was a memory I am glad to be able to relive in my mind, but what life will be like this trip...only time will tell.
Maybe, that is all your family is trying to tell you.
|