I hope I have come to the right place for encouragement.
My husband just retired from teaching last month, and he would like to pursue a career in the East Tennessee area as a Percussionist. As he auditions for positions and networks to find out about different jobs there, we are considering living in a travel trailer or 5th Wheel at a local campground. (There are TONS of campgrounds to choose from there.) He really needs to be in the area to audition when jobs become available, and right now we are about 7 hours away.
If he isn't hired there, he might audition in another area like Branson, MO. Our thought is that with an RV we can have our house with us, and we can stay together as a family which is most important to us.
The RV option certainly seems like a better idea than moving our furniture from apartment to apartment all around the United States, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that RV parks with full hook-ups have excellent monthly rates!
I know our situation may not be like most full-timers because we will be staying in one place alot, but we have some concerns.
1) Will we be able to live in such a small space?!?
2) His mother knows of our plans, but will my parents and our friends think we have lost our minds?!? Caring what other people think of what we are going to do seems to really be holding us back.
3) Will our RV really feel like home, and can we keep it as clean and organized as our current home?
It has been my husband's dream to play professionally since before he began teaching 26 years ago. I seriously hope our concerns don't keep him from taking a shot at fulfilling this dream.
I know if you are a full-timer then you most likely "think outside the box" about life. Maybe some of that will rub off on us. We have to make some decisions about this fairly quickly.
We are not full time yet but have done some extended stays in our coach. Your idea of having your home with you is right on target.
As far as your specific questions go:
1. Only you can tell that one. have you spent any appreciable time in an RV or small place before? Depending on weather you do spend time outside more so than in a house. Have you looked at RV's to get an idea of floor plans, features etc? I would look for MH of about 40 ft with a minimum of 2 slides and more if you can afford it. And yes you can live quite comfortably in an RV.
As far as what other family members think, don't worry about them, this is your life and dream, do what you want!
Do you already have a Tow Vehicle? If so I would buy either a TT or 5th w around
32 to 38 ft in length with slide outs. We travel 4 months out of the year in a 34 ft TT with no problem {to speak of} . As far as caring what other people think of what I might or might not do would be WAY DOWN on my list. I would say go far it with both barrels. He should pursue his dreams as you only go around once in this life
samsontdog wrote: Do you already have a Tow Vehicle? If so I would buy either a TT or 5th w around
32 to 38 ft in length with slide outs. We travel 4 months out of the year in a 34 ft TT with no problem {to speak of} . As far as caring what other people think of what I might or might not do would be WAY DOWN on my list. I would say go far it with both barrels. He should pursue his dreams as you only go around once in this life
Thanks for the encouragement. We plan to buy the tow vehicle and RV at the same time to open up our options. May I ask why you suggested a Travel Trailer or 5th Wheel instead of a motor home?
We aren't full time yet, but as soon as the house sells we are going to be out of here (Tennessee, by the way).
An RV would work well for what you want to do. However, you need to understand that they are a fairly small space in which to live. You need to be able to get along with each other, figure out how to give each other space, and both want to do this.
Here are more questions to ask of yourselves. What will YOU do all day? Will you need an additional vehicle in addition to what your husband will drive? Will you be able to live in the RV you choose in the winter months? Will you go stir crazy when you can't even go outdoors in rainy, cold Tennessee?
We (briefly) worried about what our parent, children, other family members and friends would think about our decision. One neighbor continues to jokingly tell people we have lost our minds and gone crazy. Bottom line is that it is our life. We will absolutely miss our family and friends, but it is still something we want to do for at least a few years while we are still fairly healthy.
Ask lots of questions - and this Forum is a good place to do that.
What's the worst case scenario? You try it, you don't like it, you return to your old lifestyle. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
We aren't full time yet, but as soon as the house sells we are going to be out of here (Tennessee, by the way).
An RV would work well for what you want to do. However, you need to understand that they are a fairly small space in which to live. You need to be able to get along with each other, figure out how to give each other space, and both want to do this.
Here are more questions to ask of yourselves. What will YOU do all day? Will you need an additional vehicle in addition to what your husband will drive? Will you be able to live in the RV you choose in the winter months? Will you go stir crazy when you can't even go outdoors in rainy, cold Tennessee?
We (briefly) worried about what our parent, children, other family members and friends would think about our decision. One neighbor continues to jokingly tell people we have lost our minds and gone crazy. Bottom line is that it is our life. We will absolutely miss our family and friends, but it is still something we want to do for at least a few years while we are still fairly healthy.
Ask lots of questions - and this Forum is a good place to do that.
What's the worst case scenario? You try it, you don't like it, you return to your old lifestyle. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Good luck with your decision.
Miss "B", you bring up a very good question that I have been thinking about. I may try to ask it if I don't get some replies here.
What are winters like in an RV? If we were traveling all over, we'd head to Florida for the winter, but since we'll be in Tennessee or further north.....how low can the temperature go outside before the temperature gets intolerable inside the RV? How low of a temperature can a travel trailer or 5th wheel take without us needing to purchase an all weather (or is it called 4 seasons?) RV?
Thanks.
*btw......My thoughts were exactly like what you said. If we try this and it doesn't work out - no harm done. We wouldn't move back to this same town anyway.
“The marvelous richness of human experience would lose
something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome.
The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark
valleys to traverse.” Hellen Keller
I have a different perspective on your question than most of the folks here... bare with me...
I left my wife last fall and took refuge in my fifth wheel..
Since I am already paying the mortgage on the trailer, I pay no additional rent, so financially it is a sound idea. Also consider that it is YOUR space. You clean it, you own it, it's full of your stuff. YES you can make enough room to live if you have the right RV for your needs. Is it TOO small?? Remember it is not a house or apartment, but it probably won't be forever, so you can deal with the close quarters for a while. Does it solve your housing issues? It Should. As far as what anyone else thinks... who cares.. this is your life... LIVE IT... NO do-overs.. It does take a little adjustment, but it is very do-able. I am quite comfortable.. alone.. but comfortable.
My point is... If you have a dream... CHASE IT, if you have a problem, SOLVE IT... we do NOT get a second chance to be happy... do it now.
Ed
* This post was
edited 06/13/09 04:45pm by got2go *
Don't let what other people think hold you back. There will always be people who think that you're crazy to do it but it's really none of their business. If your husband has had this dream for 25 years , he should give it a try.
You will need some type of hobby if you're going to stay in one spot for an extended amount of time.
In my opinion RVs are harder to keep as clean and organized as a house but that's probably because in such a small area any dirt or clutter looks much worse. And a RV is not much larger than an entry way or hall so anything that gets tracked in is right in your living area. On the plus side , it's easy to clean them because they're small but you do have to clean constantly.
Try to get a four season RV. You may end up spending time in a very cold climate. The most important things are dual pane windows and a heated basement area.
A couple of thoughts on issues you did not address...
You mentioned moving stuff from apt. to apt. otherwise. Does that mean you do not own a home you are trying to unload? If you don't, it's simpler. If you do, I would advise you to exercise caution about such a large financial undertaking (burning bridges, etc. if you should change your mind). Now is probably not the time to be optimistic about real estate and 'things working themselves out'.
Secondly, you mention family, but not children specifically. If you do have kids still in the nest, that presents a different set of issues, which can be researched and addressed here also with FTers w/ families on the road. I have not done it, but many have. If it applies to you, you can search out homeschooling and other kid-related travel topics here on this forum.
Your love and support for your DH's dream is admirable, but it must work for ALL of you, IMO. Good luck. It can be a great life, but it's not for everyone.
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