The Journey is Everything.

[kalsmang]

Hello everyone!

I am beyond excited to be here and so very grateful for the wonderful resources your community provides. I appreciate all of you who have ventured on the Skoolie lifestyle journey before me and those that have been willing to share your experiences. This way of life has been a dream of mine for about a decade and now is only just beginning to become a reality. The risk seemed too scary for some time and now it's just too scary to not take the risk! We are a family of four currently, planning to be a family of five by the time the bus is complete. Estimating about three years in total until we can hit the road!

We are still in the early stages of discussing non-negotiables and necessary specs for our bus, so we have not yet purchased a bus. Like I said, I have been dreaming of living simpler for a long time, so I do believe I have a small bit of a knowledge bank already. Though, obviously I have not yet lived it in reality, so I am willing to learn all I need to know! We are all ears for any and all suggestions!

Thank you again for being here and providing such resources, this is amazing. So happy to finally be able to even take this step to get this far into the planning process. I cannot wait to see where this life takes our family!

 

[Rucker]

Welcome! Love the thoughts about simplification.

Would like to hear your vision for life after a bus....

 

[kalsmang]

Hey Rucker!

Thanks for the welcome!

Our vision is to just life live through the experiences on the road. Roadschooling the kids, learning through living, spending all our time outside, cleaning the house in a couple hours (instead of four days).

Well, see, I have Master's Degree in Education and have spent the last few years delving into my passion for helping kids in lower-income communities through the avenue of teaching. The way of the world in the means of technology though has almost entirely discouraged me. I watch my students come to school, put their faces in their phones all day and using AI to slide by. The majority of them can't seem to muster a care for much of anything. That's not to say it's all bad and I haven't reached a heart or two, or contributed a small part of the solution for a difficult time in a child's life. I definitely have felt my purpose fulfilled in this area sometimes. It has gotten to a point where I can't imagine my children being a part of this community though. I don't want my own kids to suffer through school the way these kids do. Or even take on the mannerisms of their peers, repeating things like "skibbidy toilet," "what the sigma," or "gettin' rizzy." I can't stand the thought of my own children retaining that type of information versus the full experience of life that bus life can afford.

So, I guess, to answer your question, I truly have no clue what life after a bus will look like. I know it will be difficult, a grand adjustment, and not always rainbows and butterflies. But I do know it will offer more of a full life for my family than staying stationary ever could!

 

[Rucker]

That's a great plan, and it will be life-altering for the kids.

And yeah, it's not really the easy path, from what we see reported here. But I'm a firm believer in letting kids play in the mud, and feel the elements and experience hunger and curiosity way more than normal.

Two bits of wisdom seem to emerge from this forum:
Make sure the rig is as mechanically sound as you can get it, so it interferes the least in your journeys.
Shoot for a D- in accommodations and think 'shortest time to the first road trip'. In other words, don't wait years to finish before adventuring.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

That's a great plan, and it will be life-altering for the kids.

And yeah, it's not really the easy path, from what we see reported here. But I'm a firm believer in letting kids play in the mud, and feel the elements and experience hunger and curiosity way more than normal.

Two bits of wisdom seem to emerge from this forum:
Make sure the rig is as mechanically sound as you can get it, so it interferes the least in your journeys.
Shoot for a D- in accommodations and think 'shortest time to the first road trip'. In other words, don't wait years to finish before adventuring.

Amen, Brother.
Kalsmang, get them kids a rescue pup.

 

[kalsmang]

Thanks for the words of wisdom! Mechanically sound is definitely at the top of our list of requirements!

Amen, Brother.
Kalsmang, get them kids a rescue pup.

We already have one! His name is Fitz Hugh and he's a Jack Russel mix. Ready for any adventure life will provide him.