For retirees

[Romoshka]

I’m going to buy a bus. I’m going to build a bus. I’m going to retire with 2 years. My initial thought was to make this my permanent traveling home. My concern is, after the build and on the road, what to do with all the time. People retire and star doing home improvement projects or start gardening or dive deeper into their hobby but in a bus and on the road there is little of that to keep ones mind and hands occupied. So any full time retired skoolie out there? What do you do with all your time?

[Danjo]

Whoa! Free time???

I can’t help but to have at least 4 projects going simultaneously. Why would that change on the road? The scale of things might change. For instance I like to do silversmithing. I’m not going to pack a casting machine, but I could just make fabricated stuff or do the wax work while on the road.

And people who just make friends with a guitar seem to get along OK.

Reading, writing, whittling. Lots to do that fits in a shoebox

[Drew Bru]

Best I can advise is to pick up a hobby that you can do outdoors (fishing, hiking, photography etc.) or learn to LOVE reading or other indoor activities. There's a lot of down time in between chores and sight seeing. We really miss having a garden and a workshop and a house to putz around on. Full time nomadic life can get really boring, so have a backup plan if you're going to sell the house and head out on the road. After almost 2 years, our new hobby is house hunting.

[BeNimble]

What were you going to do if you lived in a house?
Maybe more importantly, what you gonna do when you can't drive anymore?

[cadillackid]

im not retired however i entertained the idea a couple years ago of moving to downtown in my city and realized how just that move from a house to an apartment was going to impact my lifestyle.. sure there are close-by walk / bike paths, restaraunts, shopping, coffee, museums, and other activities.. however my love of building things would not be able to take palce without a garage / shop.. things simple as my over-the-top christmas displays would cease, no more futzing and playing with my home automation, nor hosting big dance parties in summer and Christmas parties (apartment life requires reserving the single party room in the complex and hope you win it the day you want it).. while yard work isnt my favorite thing it does take up time in the summer. and is a good source of sunlight and exercise.. i wouldnt have that anymore..



if your idea of retirement isnt home-centric.. ie you make and sell trinkets at festivals, you bike, hike, musem-hunt, explore cities, towns, and the outdoors, maybe are foodies and want to travel around trying out restaraunts on your bucket list, etc then I can see bus life as being excellent for the first few years of retirement. but then eventually setting down a homestead someplace.. or perhaps buying land where you can live for months at a time before embarking on another journey.. god forbid someone has a medical emergency or needs a surgery , etc having some sort of base where you can have "down-time" is a huge plus..



I dont see it working for those who like to build things, collect anything, or even entertain (again unless you have land to entertain on)...

[RamRod4]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

im not retired however i entertained the idea a couple years ago of moving to downtown in my city and realized how just that move from a house to an apartment was going to impact my lifestyle.. sure there are close-by walk / bike paths, restaraunts, shopping, coffee, museums, and other activities.. however my love of building things would not be able to take palce without a garage / shop.. things simple as my over-the-top christmas displays would cease, no more futzing and playing with my home automation, nor hosting big dance parties in summer and Christmas parties (apartment life requires reserving the single party room in the complex and hope you win it the day you want it).. while yard work isnt my favorite thing it does take up time in the summer. and is a good source of sunlight and exercise.. i wouldnt have that anymore..



if your idea of retirement isnt home-centric.. ie you make and sell trinkets at festivals, you bike, hike, musem-hunt, explore cities, towns, and the outdoors, maybe are foodies and want to travel around trying out restaraunts on your bucket list, etc then I can see bus life as being excellent for the first few years of retirement. but then eventually setting down a homestead someplace.. or perhaps buying land where you can live for months at a time before embarking on another journey.. god forbid someone has a medical emergency or needs a surgery , etc having some sort of base where you can have "down-time" is a huge plus..



I don't see it working for those who like to build things, collect anything, or even entertain (again unless you have land to entertain on)...

I agree completely. I'm far from retirement (which might be why I'm still dumb enough to buy a 40' school bus and tear it apart), but I could never live in a bus full time. I built a shop in my backyard for tinkering, welding, fabricating, and building in general. I couldn't do without that and a house to call home base, although I enjoy watching people who are able to do without a home base and live the nomad lifestyle.

My wife and I are building ours to be able to travel with our kids for extended periods of time. We're building it as if we'd be living it in full time, knowing that we'll likely only be in it for a long weekend or possibly a week at a time. Easier to build for that scenario and not need it than to go back and try to outfit a bus for fulltime living after its been finished (think batteries, water tank size, heat/AC).