we start in 69, got off in 1999 built a house we thought we wanted, sold that thing in 2003 and back on the road. Of course I have purchased land and made our own pads, but a house? Well we bought one this past year cause it was cheaper than the rent at the rv parks where we winter. Lasted 4 months, back on the road. Settle down ? Good question. I have survived 9 operations for gangreene of the lower extremeties, 2 heart attacks and I still love my rv more than a house. Thank goodness I was in an rv during those times.
Regret... early on I regrettted that I was forced into fulltiming, but after a few years and I saw the savings, no none.
I dont miss the house, nothing about it.
Return? Most likely just park the rv on one of our lots and die there. What difference does it make where you die or what you are in? Hell, just put wheels on my casket and tow me down the road.
Interesting to read these threads - so many question the wisedom of selling everything they own and going on the road for years or life.
What does it matter - like one poster said "what does it matter where I die"?
We are like sheep in our society - must have a house, must have a car, must have a job, must have a lawn, lawn mower, trimmer, spray the weeks, keep up with the jones - on and on and on.
We as a people have been beaten to death with the message that "We owe" it to the children and grandchildren to do certain things. Like raise our kids - pay for them (as young adults) to go through college, buy then computers, cars, stereo systems, I-Pods, cell phones and - there is no end to it.
True - times of old meant that the family grew up on a farm or ranch and had the same homestead for a hundred years - transfered as the old timers died and on to the kids who kept on farming, etc. In those days the kids would come home on holidays and a family was just that ---- A FAMILY.
Today - if you have kids and grandkids - just how often do you actually hear from them? Once or twice a year and then only if they want something or money.....
Last year (for the very first time ever for us) - we let our children know that for thanksgiving we were leaving and going to buy our dinner somewhere. IF - they wanted to join us we were going to be at XXXXXXX.
The reason for that was for the previous 2 years we set up for a large turkey and trimmings dinner - notified everyone that it was being served "hot" at 1 pm. Two years in a row guess who showed up (between us we have 8 kids all married with families). Answer to the question was (NONE). Sadly none even called to say they could not come and left us feel that they would before that day.
No - we are going to cut the little apron strings and go live our life and enjoy what we worked for so many years to attain. We are currently in the slow but deliberate process of selling off our possesions and eventually will sell our home. Travel will be the focus and we plan on circulating to each and every one of our kids throughout the year.
At the point that one (or both) of us become unable to travel that way - we will select an area of the country (and it won't be in the North where it gets 40 below in winter time, nor in South where it gets 115 in summer time). Then locate a condo or town house - where there is no garden to weed, no lawn to mow, no weeds to pull and etc.
We already have our plot for final resting - and have already selected our caskets and the funeral home for services.
Our society, and true it is the greatest in the world, is slowly but surely moving to socialism - one of the purest yet seen. If you doubt that just try and re-enter your flooded home and find how fast you end up in jail. Just try and not pay your property taxes and see how fast you loose the home.
No - the footloose RV'ing lifestyle is one of the very "last" areas of life in our country where one still has some semblence of freedom.
Of course - this is all in MHO
God Bless
Bill
Bill W. Trammell
Wife - Judy
2001 Monaco Dynasty Chancellor
2008 Malibu 2LT toad
What, if anything, do you miss about an S/B home?
A garage to work on our motorcycles.
Would you return to an S/B home and just part time RV?
No.
Do you plan on giving up the lifestyle at some point?
Yes.
Nolan and JoAnn
2000 Kenworth T600. (The Little Blue Truck)
2004 NuWa Hitchhiker Champagne 33LKTG
2003 Kawasaki Nomad. The Cow. (mine)
2004 Harley Road King. The Hog. (hers) http://community.webshots.com/user/2ontheroad
We've been fulltiming for 4 years. This is our home. If we ever get too old to fulltime we'll just park our home somewhere. We could get old, sick, or feeble a lot easier in a 5th wheel than we could with a house to take care of. I can't immagine giving up this freedom just to have lots of stuff again. The only advantages to owning a home I can figure out is having room for lots of stuff, or keeping up with the Jones. This is the greatest lifestyle.
I notice that the OP hasn't answered as to why the question was asked.
Again, people who don't full time figure that there are all sorts of reasons why it won't work.
As to seeing old people sitting in RV Parks in a daze. You can see that any place in the country where there are a lot of people of advancing age. Look at any assisted living place.
Life is what you make it. If you are adventuresome, get out and enjoy. If you are afraid of being different, sit in one place, get old and die.
Barb
Barb & Dave - full-timing Traveling catpanions Kit (age 17) and Shadow (age 10) Figment II (2002 Alpine 36 MDDS) Mischief (2004 Subaru Forester Toad) FMCA - F337834, SKP #90761 http://homepage.mac.com/barbaraok/ Our blog
Horsedoc wrote: Guys if I might ask this: What are your plans when you simply get too old, too sick, too senile to do it any longer? I like the idea, but we both are terrified of something catastrophic happening and we have to park.......
The 'same' darn thing that would happen if you live in a house!
The kids will most likely fight over who does 'not' want to be responsible for taking care of the aged parent.
When its time for a nursing home, it's time for the nursing home! That fact doesn't change whether you lived in a house or a MH before you got there!
Except when you die.....the family won't have a house and all its stuff to fight about!
And if you planned it 'just' right and enjoyed your travels, the family won't have to fight over your inheritance money either!
Because you will have spent it all, living the good life....
that you on your own terms, chose to do.
31 ft Four Winds
Chevy Tracker 4x4 BlueOx Aventa LX We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
Life is what you make it. If you are adventuresome, get out and enjoy. If you are afraid of being different, sit in one place, get old and die.
Barb
That pretty much says it all. I
It must be a new day, because there is a new thread asking the same silly question about "what will happen when you can no longer fulltime".
You're born, you live your life based either on your own choices or by marching in lockstep to societal stereotypes, you die. Dead is a long time so enjoy it while you can. End of story.
Do you ever regret the decision to full time? NO, I like it more each day...
What, if anything, do you miss about an S/B home? "O"
Would you return to an S/B home and just part time RV? NO, The $18,000 in taxes, ins, and maint on the S/B will buy lots of fuel and campsites. I had rather pay $10.00 per gal fuel than pay taxes...
Do you plan on giving up the lifestyle at some point? Shortly after I'm dead...
2007 Ram Laramie 3500 Quad drw 4x4, 3.73, 6.7, 6 speed auto.
2005 Open Road 349 RLDS-5, B & W Companion, Blue Ox Bedsaver
Fifth Airborne Air Pinbox, Timbrens
+The Super Wife and co-driver
Open Road Owners Club -- Texas Chapter
Do you ever regret the decision to full time? Never
What, if anything, do you miss about an S/B home? Nothing at all
Would you return to an S/B home and just part time RV? No
Do you plan on giving up the lifestyle at some point? Not by choice.....
Dianne
Fulltimers (8 years)
Volunteering/workamping
Heise Hot Springs, ID for the summer
DataStorm
HAM WB6N (Terry)
2005 Teton 39' Frontier Grand
2003 Freightliner FL60
Life Member Good Sam
Escapees
Geocache..."RVcachers" RV net Blog
No, it wasn't just Katrina. I come from some of the oldest families there. All that beautiful woodwork at Beauvoir was done by a g-gf, if you got to go - I don't know if it's re-opened yet or not. That whole beach was lined with these beautifully-kept antebellum homes at one time. I lived there as kid (in one of those parks, at one time when we were moving back from elsewhere - and it was nice back in the day), etc. It's always been its own peculiar kind of place, but had its own kind of beauty and was never what you're talking about. I went down not too long before Katrina and was absolutely appalled. The place had gone downhill, and I had expected that bringing in the casino business would have done the opposite. I drove by my own home 3 or 4 times before I could even recognize it. A neat little house in a pleasant little neighborhood just a couple of blocks off the beach had turned into a shack in a slum. Used to be, the area did fairly well because it's also a military town. In good times there's work, and in bad times you can still fish. It always had that small town beach funk about it - but it was never a slum. But what I saw? Some of what Katrina blew away was better blown.
I don't know why, or what happened exactly. I asked around. My cousins (who don't live that way at all) said a lot of people had moved to the back bay area or over toward Bay St. Louis, but I never got too many details out of them. It just seemed...weird. Since when do you pick up a major industry (tourism), and the town falls apart like that? I don't understand. Something went very, very wrong there. It just made me too sad, so I didn't go through there last trip (post-Katrina), even though I really wanted to visit the family boneyard and pay my respects. Doesn't sound like things have gotten much better, from what you're saying.
Horsedoc wrote: Guys if I might ask this: What are your plans when you simply get too old, too sick, too senile to do it any longer? I like the idea, but we both are terrified of something catastrophic happening and we have to park.
Prior to Katrina, we did a Guld Coast tour and stayed in Gulfport (I believe it was Gulfport - there is/was a retirement home for sailors there and a SeaBees museum) Anyway we stayed in a small RV park across the street from the beach. An elderly couple from Pennsylvania came in and the man was driving the MH. He was in poor health - labored breathing, sweating, and poor color. Now these guys were a very long distance from home, she could not drive the rig and he was in poor shape to even walk around. He ended up in the hospital for 'observation'. I cannot imagine being in this shape that far away from home, or I guess they were 'home'.
There was another park a couple of blocks down and up a couple of blocks. We were looking at other possibilities of staying longer and happened to pull in there. Trailers and MH that had obviously not been moved in years all around, shelters decks added. Very old folks that looked almost in a daze. Constantly smoking cigarettes. This is not the kind of place I want to finish my days in. These guys looked like they were waiting for the next SS check. I felt so sorry for them.
I cannot help but wonder what happened when Katrina rolled in. I hope these guys faired OK, but something tells me they did not. God bless them.
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