We only begin to miss a s&b when the wind starts rockin' and rollin' the fiver (60 mph and more). Brings back memories of the earthquakes Once we realize it is not the big shaker, we settle down and pretend we are on a boat
No, a house is not for us at this point, for sure
Dianne
Donnelly, ID
DataStorm
HAM WB6N (Terry)
2005 Teton 39' Frontier Grand
2003 Freightliner FL60
Life Member Good Sam
Escapees
Geocache..."RVcachers" RV net Blog
The thought of going back to a stick/brick would be very depressing. We've had that taste of freedom and liberation in eliminating all the 'things' one accumulates. Picking up and traveling at will is far more important than living in a confined neighborhood watching your neighbors do the same thing day in and day out.
WTTCS wrote: Well for us it has become full circle. We dont really want a house , but when it comes economically feasible to own ,rather than pay higher park rent, it is time to change directions.
So, having crunched the numbers, added the dollar signs, we are back in a house. Dad gum it. But I ainna gonna throw my money away to these greedy park owners.
We bought a Thousand Trails membership on eBay for $1200.
We pay dues of $450 per year, and this includes electric, water, sewer. The first year, we saved more on camping fees than the membership cost. Even if we had bought at TT instead, would have saved enough to pay for it.
Plus all amenities, and Ive not seen any other system that is better. Oh, it also includes free WIFI access in 57 parks.
We also get a Resorts of Distinction Membership for $99 a year.
This gives us if we want another 99 5tar parks at two weeks each if we need them when traveling around the country. Some are only 12-20 miles from TT, so we could go there a week, go back to TT three weeks, and go there another week, back to tt for three weeks, at no cost except for the gas.
We can stay TT 355 days a year if we wish, moving from one to another each 21 days. We can stay in 5 campgrounds in S.CA in the winter that are less than 110 miles apart.
We can full time on Social Security comfortably, with money to spare.
Dues are frozen at 62, so they can never go up...
In 2007 we traveled over 12,000 miles. CA across the south, up the east coast to ME, NH, VT, NY back to NJ, PA, OH, IL, then south to TX, and back to CA. We made a number of side trips. It cost us $873 for campgrounds as on the side trips we stayed in National Park & Forest Campgrounds. With our Senior pass got a 50% discount. Senior pass cost us $10 for a lifetime, in 1992. Last year we went into Grand Canyon they were charging an entry fee of $25...
If not a senior, a Yearly pass saves families a lot of money.
Bob & Nadine 1984 Allegro 23 feet, always at home!
Living Life With a "Golden Age Passport"
and Thousand Trails VIP Membership, Priceless!.
WTTCS wrote: Well for us it has become full circle. We dont really want a house , but when it comes economically feasible to own ,rather than pay higher park rent, it is time to change directions.
So, having crunched the numbers, added the dollar signs, we are back in a house. Dad gum it. But I ainna gonna throw my money away to these greedy park owners.
Question for FT'ers: Without consideration for all the variables associated with full timing, generally is it cheaper to full time than to live stick built? I felt park fees were also expensive but the answer probably is ...."it depends."
We have found it far less expensive to fulltime. But then we had a farm, but everything had been paid off for years. So actual living expenses are definitely less for us....
When we crunched the numbers this last summer we realized we were spending half what we spend for a stick home to live in the rv. Someone mentioned rv park cost but when you figure your housepayment, or rent, utilities, taxes and so on you should be ahead in an rv by at least 500+. Or at least thats what I get every time I figure the cost comparison no matter what we were to pay rent or house payment. Go back to stick? Not till I can no longer travel.
Lee & Fran
2005 37 Ft Holiday Rambler Vacationer Gas Hog
While traveling down lifes paths, stop to smell the flowers.
SB - not counting morgage, maintenance or insurance, since you probably have those on both and they'll be about the same:
Taxes: $200
Utiltites: $350
Pool Service: $85
Yard Service: $125
Alarm Service: $25
Total: $785/mo
Space Rent, which includes everything is anywhere from $350 to $1000/mo in this area. So just depends on where you want to stay.
WTTCS is referring to a specific area which is a high tourist/snowbird area and where the park owners have raised their rents a lot in the past couple years. If you're flexible you can choose areas and parks in various areas where the cost to stay is in the under $500/mo range. So overall it will usually be cheaper in an RV.
* This post was
edited 02/04/08 03:16am by trkrhelp *
John Ewing
2007 Allegro Bus 42QRP ("TisIt")
2005 Sportster/HydraLift ("Dinky")
2002 Miata toad ("Mellow Yellow") www.jandse.com
FMCA 104106
What goes around comes around - always treat others the way you'd like them to treat you.
I miss the flower beds .. our daughter shared that that is what she misses also. I miss seeing the crocus blooming in the lawn (yes, I planted crocus in the lawn), and the daffodils and tulips, plus the roses.
But I don't miss the money I spent on the flower beds. Only now I cannot seem to be without the large plastic pots filled with plants on the patio where we are sited for a few months. Looking forward to putting soil in those large plastic pots and setting primroses out in March/April.
But I can miss the flower beds when the real bonus is we can be where we either want to be or need to be for the family. Our exit plan is to either site the rv where it doesn't get cold, or get an apartment near our daughters (where there is winter weather).
Traveling down the Road "Side by Side"
2004 Alpenlite TT 28RL
2008 Suburban 2500 Lt
Home Base: Tri-Cities WA - USA
trkrhelp wrote: SB - not counting morgage, maintenance or insurance, since you probably have those on both and they'll be about the same:
Taxes: $200
Utiltites: $350
Pool Service: $85
Yard Service: $125
Alarm Service: $25
Total: $785/mo
Space Rent, which includes everything is anywhere from $350 to $1000/mo in this area. So just depends on where you want to stay.
WTTCS is referring to a specific area which is a high tourist/snowbird area and where the park owners have raise their rents a lot in the past couple years. If you're flexible you can choose areas and parks in various areas where the cost stay in the under $500/mo range. So overall it will usually be cheaper in an RV.
Flexible is my middle name! Not wanting to be a hermit but not going where the masses are will always be my goal. And boondocking will be some of our time during the year also. My hats are off to those that can boondock all the time but I don't think we will since we will want a little more stability than that.
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Once we realize it is not the big shaker, we settle down and pretend we are on a boat 
