Loosen the societal belt.

[gin_ge9]

Hi all, I pray you all a safe and blessed ⁴th weekend.
My name is Eric & my user name is my handle, for my ⚖&🕰.
I have been blueprinting and weighing my best options for my traveling home...I currently rent in Boston and am too old & tired to be strapped around someone else' bills, (43) I know but certainly does not make sense me giving my money to the bank either at this point in the apex.
I want the freedom of developing what seems to be my best retirement plan and I can not get around the freedom of owning either a skoolie or a transit style van. I am in the beginning stages and saving money now to get something in the near ½- 1year. I think I am ready and any suggestions advice would be much obliged. Again be well and I feel good to be here- 🤙🏽✊🏽🙏🏼❣ Eric

[kazetsukai]

First, welcome!


Some questions that come to mind:

• Full time? Seems implied, but just curious.
• How much travel versus parking are you hoping for (transit van versus bus )
• Where and how do you intend to do the actual conversion?

[musigenesis]

It's worth considering that the places where it is extremely expensive to rent or buy homes are generally the same places where it is difficult to impossible to find somewhere to live in a skoolie legally, and even then you would have to pay some amount monthly for your expenses. With my own build, I've estimated that it would take at least a decade of free living somewhere for my bus to even pay for itself, and that's assuming it has no major mechanical problems going forward.

This can be an expensive hobby.

[BeNimble]

How about this:

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I've estimated that it would take at least a decade of free living somewhere for my bus to even pay for itself, and that's assuming it has no major mechanical problems going forward.

How are you doing the math there, if you don't mind me asking?


My initial investment was somewhere around $40k. Our month-to-month costs have dropped by quite a bit since selling our home.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

How are you doing the math there, if you don't mind me asking?

I really don't like doing the math because it's too depressing, but I'm factoring in the costs related to the bus directly plus the opportunity costs of all the time I've been putting into the bus instead of working at my profession as a programmer. There's no doubt that it's possible to do a much cheaper and faster build that would pay itself off in a lot less than ten years - if you can actually find free living somewhere.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by BeNimble

How about this:

Pretty fancy-schmancy with the door and the roof there. My family went camping in an old Apache when I was a kid, with just the canvas roof and zipper door. I got the "dining room" table bed.

[Bus'n it]

At first we were enamored with the freedom of skoolie life. I doubt there will be anything free about it when we decide to travel. Seems as if so many people are doing van and skoolie life that parking lots will eventually not allow overnight parking. As said above, the more expensive places including the southeast frown on skoolies parking anywhere without a fee. Nothing free about it. Even if you get a spot at an RV campground you will pay or they will not let you in regardless. In the end, we are building our bus with the mindset that it will be our home away from home. Doubt I will ever give up a permanent place of residence. We may relocate out of AZ to the southeast and pay cash for a smaller house on an acre or more.

[BeNimble]

Given its July 4th...The American Dream was to buy a house, have it paid off before you retire, and enjoy till the end paying just utilities and taxes, then leave something for your 4 kids so they can get a better start on the same thing. That dream died decades ago, now 'they' want you to own nothing and pay rent for everything, included your exercise bike, until your are dead.

So it understandable to find another way.
In my view, the answer is not to accept it and go live down by the river. The answer is to fight the powers that be to give us not just a dream but an obtainable reality.
Still no healthcare in the US unless you are paying rent for it.
Etc, etc.

Furthermore, after you get old enough you can't even drive, so then what after the 14-day limit at the national park is up. Or worse the transmission fails and you get a $10,000 repair bill and your home is stuck in the shop for a couple months, what now?

[kazetsukai]

I think if you want to travel a lot you should probably just own several lots throughout the country, especially in areas where it is hard to find "free" parking.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

I think if you want to travel a lot you should probably just own several lots throughout the country, especially in areas where it is hard to find "free" parking.

Supposedly in Pennsylvania you can buy random land somewhere and camp on it for up to 180 days each year, which includes camping in a trailer or RV. It might be possible to get a friend or partner to buy a lot also and then just swap plots every six months. I found one plot about a half hour outside of Philly listed for $6000, although since it's basically a one-acre cliff face it wouldn't be possible to even park there without an expensive driveway carved into a hillside.