RE: Christmas in an RV
We first started our full time rv career in September, and I am so excited about our first Christmas in the RV. I have a 32" fiber optic tree on the dash. Unfortunately, I've learned the cats like to play hide and seek with it, so I have to keep an eye out. I have a bow on the front of the rig, and I plan to place a bow on each rear view mirror. Inside, there are slight gaps where the slides stop and I push red garland inside the gaps along them, checking first to be sure it wouldn't be a fire hazard on the kitchen side! They have some beautiful flameless candle table ornaments that I'd love to purchase and place on each side of the dash for ambiance. Then, I have a giant red stocking hanging from my top pantry door. Hopefully there's a 40 ft Phaeton in our future and I'm hoping then that I can move a Eurochair and put up a tree in its place. If I'm able to find a few more small suction cups, I'd love to hang a few flat ornaments on the door window. Fortunately, they would hang between the inside of the door and the screen door so the cats should not be able to get at them! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
RE: Water Softeners
I really appreciate all the replies. We did go with the "On-the-Go" and it does make such a difference. There is sometimes still just the slightest film on some of the dishes if not dried immediately, but MUCH decreased from before. My husband fixed it so we could set it inside the bay, and the recharging is simple and inexpensive. We are grateful for all the help. Thanks again.
RE: Considering full-timing with 6 kids... are we nuts?
As a family that chose an "alternative lifestyle" of homeschooling when it was a relatively new concept, IMO I'd go for it. You know, you can take two identical children, place them in an identical situation and one may flourish while the other one wilts. I don't know of any children that are irreversibly damaged because they did not have a "conventional" education or lifestyle. In fact, after having been homeschooled all their educated lives, both my adult children are considering the homeschool option. Had we decided to fulltime too, well, we would have had one recipe for adventure! One can always change their course if things do not go as planned. Whatever you decide, we wish you luck!
RE: Water Softeners
Oops, I guess I should have mentioned that my husband works a territory and we spend a lot of our time in this area. When we do go farther away, it isn't for extended periods of time. So that would not be an issue....I've researched the water softeners and have found quite a few that seem very good, however we've heard that sometimes the "recharging' and/or maintenance can be costly. Is this true? Again, thanks.
Water Softeners
Hope I'm posting in the right place, I've found info on softeners, but can't find anything specifically addressing our question. We need a water softener in our rig and have heard we can lease one for less than $30 a month. We were told we take the softener back once a month, exchange it for a different recharged one, and we're on our way. We're wondering how this compares to buying one. We're hearing that some of them are rather costly to maintain and wonder if this might be a better solution. We're new to fulltiming and there is so much to learn! Thanks....
Windshield Curtains
I can't find any info on this with my search. Is there something special one needs to do to clean their windshield curtains? Mine are filthy and need cleaning something terrible. Can I simply throw them into a large size washer on gentle with Woolite? I can't find any ticket on them with any directions to follow. Is dry cleaning a better bet? Any suggestions? Thanks
RE: Anyone Take MH And Tailgate At High School Football Games?
No high school games, but the last time we went to a Packer game we arrived hours before the game started. It was wonderful weather, and a great time was had by all, but David and I both kept saying how convenient it would be to bring the RV next time around. My pet peeve: using the portable potties early is ok, but once the crowd gets drinking, well, the aiming at the target gets worse and worse and I'd rather use my own bathroom!
RE: New to fulltiming
I almost felt like I could have written your post! We have been "homeless" since the 9th of September. We closed on our home that day (our 31st anniversary) and after signing the papers we went back to the house to answer a few more questions for the new owner. How odd it was, right at that moment I felt uncomfortable, as if I was somehow intruding into someone elses home! But reality has not hit us completely yet, at first there was this feeling that we were simply on an extended vacation as we'd done times before. Then the momentary thoughts...."Did I leave that at home?" Oh wait....this IS our home! Another step was when we had satellite TV and TIVO installed, like we had in our S&B. Slowly, each day becomes more comfortable and feels more like "home". We have now domiciled in Texas, our cars are registered and we've got new license plates, and that is yet another step that brings this out of the surreal and into reality. One thing that is missing....that overwhelming feeling I always had when we owned the S&B....you know, when am I going to get time to do this, gotta do this, gotta do that, never ending. Of course there are responsibilities with our motorhome too...but what a difference.
RE: Full-Timers ????
We've only been at this a month, and my husband works full time yet. As for me, my agenda is to do all the things that I had loved to do before I went back into the workforce years ago. All the things I was not able to do because of the work ratrace, 40 plus hours a week, unending chores around the house, all the maintenance and upkeep trying to maintain our "American Dream" (things my husband is unable to do because of physical limitations due to a car accident). One by one all of my hobbies fell by the wayside and all I had was work at work, work at home, and tending to my husband. It seemed as if my life was beginning to revolve around just those things. I'd had enough! If and when I get tired of rediscovering all those things I used to enjoy, then I might find some part time work / volunteer activities. Since it was something I was unable to experience all of those years, I also plan to rediscover "boredom"!
RE: Registering vehicles
Thanks to all for the advice....as it turns out we did speak with the park owners and they are ok with us using the RV park address since this is where we are, physically speaking. And we intend to stick around for a while anyway. With DH learning his new territory, and us sort of settling in, it will be much easier for us at this point to just stay in one place till we get situated. We like it here pretty well at Miller Creek RV Resort in Johnson City, cost is reasonable, people have been super friendly, and we are even considering this as a sort of "home base" if you will. It's early yet, though, in our journey. Much can change. Frankly, I think it's gonna take me a while to get over this fact that we are really doing this.....it just feels strange! :-)
Registering vehicles
I hope I'm in the right forum here, we have just begun full timing in September and have relocated the past week for my husbands job in Texas. I did a search and cannot find anything to address our issue specifically. Because the town where we are sitting at the moment does not have a UPS Store, we have a UPS Store street address in a neighboring town. What we didn't realize was that this neighboring town is in a different county, which is causing some confusion as far as registration and inspection of our vehicles. We were told that if we are not physically in the county, we have to use the inspection and registration facilities within the county that we are physically residing. So do we use the address of the RV park and have our vehicle business done in the county that we physically reside in? Do we disregard what they are telling us and use the inspection and registration facilities in the county where our UPS Store address is? Or did we just plain screw up by getting our UPS Store address in a different county. To make matters worse, we don't have a lot of time, our car insurance from Wisconsin expires on the 20th, and we have to have all this stuff done before we can insure the cars. Maybe I'm making a panic where one is not warranted. Please advise.
RE: How many of us are waiting for the SOLD sign?
We closed on our home on the 9th of September (our 31st anniversary!). We sold it ourselves, listing it on Craig's list. Putting it on Craig's list produced pretty phenomenal results, we had many e-mails, phone calls. What surprised me the most was not the lack of interest, there was plenty, but people just did not have the financial means, they either didn't have money and/or couldn't get money. That was not a surprise so much with the very young couples, but with so many that were our age and nearing retirement age. I will bet that 1/3 to 1/2 of the responses were asking for us to finance, rent to own, or just rent it out, unfortunately none of which were options for us. It would have cost us a fortune to hang onto it, so when an older gentleman viewed and said he had cash, well, we checked it out, it was valid, and we said SOLD! By that time we'd dropped the price dramatically, accepted his even lower offer, and we ended up practically giving it away, but we did not have the luxury of waiting since we needed to be down south for my DH's job relocation. It was less than two months on the market, and we have no regrets. Now I can't get over the fact we're actually doing this. We've been on extended trips before, and that was how it felt at first, but now I'm thinking, whoa..... this is it! And I can't seem to get over the desire to pinch myself every so often! While some who don't understand might see us as foolish for not waiting for the market to bounce back, or for selling all our worldly possessions to pursue this dream of ours, well, they simply haven't got a clue as to what we've gained by doing this. I wish everyone out there whose waiting for that SOLD sign to go up good luck.
RE: Do you miss your stick built house?
We won't be "full-time" till the end of this week. If all goes well, closing on the house takes place Wednesday. I love the village we live in, I love living along Lake Michigan, and I love the people in this little place. There are things about my house that I love. However, each and every time we traveled whether it was a weekend or months, it depressed the heck out of me to come home. My husband, bless his heart, is disabled and I do all the mowing, raking, shoveling....when we had the garage built 4 years ago it was the biggest mistake, all it did was make more work for me. I'm going to learn how to drive the RV and do maintenance on it. However, I do believe it will be a little different than it is now! I do hope to be able to return summers once we are truly retired. Til then, I may miss some things at first, but hey, I think I'll adjust! :-D
RE: Help, I have the jitters!
My emotions have been so up and down since putting the house on the market, I'm not sure what you could call it. We are supposed to close on the house next week. When I think that I will only need to mow the lawn one more time I get absolutely giddy! I think about leaving before the yard is full of leaves and I want to shout from the rooftops! No more snow to shovel, if I could I'd do a flip! In contrast, tonight I felt bad because my son is leaving again for Iraq and we leave next week. Somehow I feel like I shouldn't be leaving. When I saw my 5 month old granddaughter in her little Green Bay Packer outfit and how adorable she was I cried because I know I'll miss my grandchildren. We love this community and will miss it greatly. And then there is the "what have we done?" mode. There's no turning back. "That ship has sailed." Yes, I think I've felt a knot in my stomach once or twice. But mostly I find myself just being plain old grateful for this wonderful opportunity that we are facing, the chance to do something different and out of the ordinary. Thank goodness there are forums like this that I can refer to when I need to read "we sold our house, hit the road, and it's the best thing we've ever done!" Good luck to you!
RE: Occurance of "sunbirds?"
Posted By: Jim S. on 08/27/09 06:43pm
spend summers in Michigan on Saginaw Bay chasing walleye. The great lakes are wonderful and the fishing is great.
******************************************************************I'm in agreement with this. We live in a rural community that is nestled along the shores of Lake Michigan and it is awesome. We are Texas bound for a job and as excited as we are about that, I look forward to a day when we will be able to venture back up north for the summers. Grand Marais area along Lake Superior in Minnesota is beautiful too. And of course, as mentioned, Michigan. Hope fishing has been good, enso hey? ;-)
RE: Help with selling the home......
I listed ours on Craig's list July 20. We have had phenomenal response to the listing. A number of "bites" however each and every time something happens and the deal "falls through". People don't seem to have money, and can't seem to get money. It's becoming clear to us that we're going to have to just short of "give the place away". We don't have the luxury of waiting for the market to rebound, and it will end up costing us more in the long run to live in the motorhome 1200 miles away and keep this place for the time being. I do believe when we checked, the going commission rate was 6% if we went with a broker. The last time I spoke with him, he was having a difficult time selling what he had on his plate already, and I'm not sure jacking up the price on what we have in order to cover the broker's commission is the best move anyway. We have about a month yet, and we'll continue to pray for the best.
RE: Retirement
When my mom and step-dad got up in years they purchased a second travel trailer. Parked one down south and one in Wisconsin. That way Donnie didn't have to mess with hooking up, pulling, having to back into sites, etc. When it started getting cooler they took their time going back down south in the car and summers they took their time coming back to Wisconsin. Both trailers were stocked up, all they had to do was buy groceries each time they arrived and get their utilities and sewer hooked up. They still had the pleasure of full time RVing but eliminated some of the things that were becoming difficult....fortunately they could still drive back and forth in their car. They did it that way till Donnie died and then my mom moved into a small apartment. My dad, on the other hand, had to retire from the RV lifestyle as he aged and he and his wife ended up in an apartment also. Daddy never was a complainer but I always thought that he regretted having to give it up. DH and I haven't even started our fulltiming yet, but my parents were my inspiration and I hope DH and and I can continue till we go to that big RV in the sky!
RE: In The Beginning...
We found out at the beginning of the year that we'd be relocating at the end of this year for my husband's job. So our "transition" period has been pretty much ongoing...It's been hard to let some items go, I sold my livingroom furniture and suddenly am feeling nostalgic about parting with it. :-( House is for sale..Am anxious to get going, yet find myself already missing the things that I love about being here (that doesn't include the ten foot snowdrifts and yard work). We're excited, giddy, and yet terrified! I think this is normal....My husband is breaking in his replacement in these parts next week and told me it really hit him like "wow"...this is really gonna happen. When we first started talking "fulltiming" I was teased about going thru a midlife crisis, though I didn't feel that there was anything "critical" about my husband and me re-evaluating our life now that the kids are gone and deciding to do something radically different. We were gone in the RV a total of 13 weeks last year and hated coming home every time, so I'm confident we'll be alright. I recall reading a post about not wanting to be looking out that window to the outside world and wondering how it would have been if we had attempted to live our dream. We're jumping out that window and chasing it! Mental and emotional adjustment? You betcha! But we're not going to let that stop us! Good Luck!
RE: GPS directions conflict with printed directory
Our gps took us on a narrow winding mountain road with no shoulders once (35 foot motorhome with toad) and I was near tears. Since then, we use multiple resources for guidance. When visiting our son in Fort Sill, OK, last year and Fort Bliss in Texas this spring, we've noticed the gps has no clue where to go.....something to do with signals coming from the base maybe? Due to circumstances we did not do what she was telling us to and she continued to recalculate. No kidding, I would have sworn by her tone she was getting totally annoyed with us!
