We are working full timers. People often assume since we sold our house and live in an rv that we are retired. We work in one spot up to six months at a time. This week was interesting, we went to visit my 70 year old mil who lives alone in an older house. Every time we visit there is something to help with and we are never able to get to everything that needs to be done. It is hard for her to find help with the little things or it is out of her budget. It just reaffirms to me that I do not want to be in that situation, when you are older even the little things like trimming the hedges are hard. We are 45 and 53, when we no longer desire to live in an RV we will look at a SMALL mobile home or park model somewhere warm, until then we are enjoying every minute. I also agree about getting out of the consumer rat race, we use to always be shopping for stuff for the house, now we just shop the local fruit stand, much more fun!
Kerry and Joanne
Lucy (female Jack always on the attack)
2007 Holiday Rambler Admiral,2002 Ford Focus
Full-timers mantra, Close your eyes, click your heels,
you're already home.
Madison S.D. via Vancouver, WA.
Laura and I are full-timers who are not retired, thus, like the OP, don't travel much. Yet. That will change in a few years and we will be well positioned for it when it happens. Laura either workcamps or works with NPS, either way we get a free place to live. I still commute to my job. Lots of details on our web site with expenses, etc.
Ditto to all the posts here, our feelings jibe with them, live frugally, more aware of our footprint, less stress, etc. So glad to have sold our suburban ball'n'chain last year........
We don't mind not being able to travel all over the US yet. Simplifying and slowing down is easy to do in an RV. We are confined to one spot for 3-4 mos and we've spent more time at the Mall on this trip than normal. But only because it's right across from the Project and has the Movie Theater inside. Oh and needed to replace some clothing.
This trip seemed to go by much faster than usual. We're out of here in less than a month!
2006 DRV Elite Suite 36TK3....our home
2008 Ford F450 Lariat CC 4x4......his office
Working Fulltimers since 3/2005
"Shoot for the Moon! Even if you miss it, you will land among the Stars."
I'm 54 and have been full timing for 4 years now, the entire time having worked full time 40 hours (plus) per week at the same company. I have moved 3 times, stayed in freinds yard for 1.5 years, stayed at a campground for 2.5 years, and have been at a Mobile Home park for the last 3 months. I can't consider retirement for at least 8 more years, but this has been a great experience and I have no exit plan or strategy... my only plan is to hit the road once I do retire!
*Cliff*
Chaos reigns within. Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.
2004 Trail Cruiser XP C-23B
1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee
1989 Thomas Diesel Pusher (Cat 3208/Freightliner)
Chesapeake, Virginia
outdoorsman2007 wrote: Maybe this is why so many folks enjoy camping in their RVs. It's a simpler, more meaningful existence.
That's it right there for me. Spending all my time at work or working on the house just drains my soul. I'm soooo ready to exchange the morning rush (dress/shower/coffee/race to work) for the mist rising off a lake (with my coffee in hand) that I can barely wait for my freedom.
I'm not a full timer yet (and I don't play one on TV), and I don't know that I'll qualify to answer your question as I will have a small income from a pension, but I will be working on the road...though I can do the work anywhere.
Ask me again in a year. I'm free of my shackles in August, and will know more 12 months from now. (But I admit I may give it up to live on a boat in the Keys....another dream I see no reason not to indulge in.)
Why Full-Timing? Because at my age, I have maybe 40 more chances to see flowers bloom. CrusinSusan's Blog!! 2006 Winnebago View 23J
We are moving into the fifth wheel as we speak, Now depending on IF we sell the business if that happens then will be retired and full timing, if not then will be living in the fifth wheel and working by the way have a perspective buyer coming next week ( prayers and crossed fingers, blessing statues and good thoughts all accepted) The house is going on the market in the next month
( appraiser coming on Tuesday) So we will see, we will either be retired and fulltiming or we will be working and living in our fifth wheel, either way we can't wait to start the life
Him and Me
06 Dodge drw
06 Crossroads Zinger (searching for our dream fw)
We've been working full-timers for 2 1/2 years but will retire in 458 days(not that I'm counting). The only thing we regret is waiting so long to do it.....
Scott and Brenda Schnelle
Olivia and Jasmine, Mini Schnauzers
2006 KZ Escalade 36CKB
2006 GMC 3500 D/A(LLY), CC, LB
Fulltimer Class of '06
Lifetime Good Sam's members
Lifetime NRA member
USCCA Member
Currently, we are part-timers (3-4 months a year, but full-timer wannabe's). We sold our house on May 28, 2008 and after wards spent the first couple of weeks in our RV just relaxing from all the stress of moving. Those weeks were the best!
During that time, I would wake up each morning and think, "What should we scrub, or fix, or weed, or paint or wash?" and then I would laugh and remember, "We don't have a house and don't have to do any of those things." What a relief! I can clean the RV in under an hour and still have time to take walks with the kids, go for long bike rides and read my favorite books. (I homeschool the rest of the time.) The quality of life is so much better in our RV than it was in our house (go figure?) So why didn't we do this sooner?
Unfortunately, we can only be gone from NJ a couple of months at a time as my DH still works and has a few years until retirement. And there are no good RV parks near his office (we are staying with my mom in between living in the RV) so we just have to be satisfied for now with our "part-time" status. Oh well..
Tammy, Dave, Mark and Kirsten
04 Dodge 2500 4x4 SLT Quad Cab/Short Bed
HO-CTD/48RE - Graphite: Raptor SS nerfs, Tekonsha Prodigy, Reese 16K Kwik-slide, BD X-Monitor, PML Trans pan, PML Diff cover, DiPricol fpg
04 Jayco Eagle 305 BHS
I've been living in my Winnie for almost 7 years now (I was 35 when I purchased it - I wanted my retirement toy EARLY,lol!) and I still can't see myself living in a regular house so I must still like the lifestyle if I can still stand living in small quarters. And as another poster said, you tend to curb your spending habits because storage space on an RV is at a premium.
I was never more thankful I chose this type of living until the recent home forclosures and credit disasters of this past few months. (that was the time I was glad the loan on this thing had a FIXED APR! - I'm guessing due in part of it's VEHICLE loan status - although Wells Fargo was the finance company and many of their HOME loan customers were defaulting after getting caught up in the sub-prime mess)
I was also lucky to have run into my landlord a few months after purchasing it. He and his wife are ALSO full-timers (retired). They head south for the winter, so I only see them here for three months of summer and I stay here on a plot of land year-round that they have their garage on (They have a lake-front pad just a quarter of mile down from me).
We have developed the plot into a small mini campground and put in a couple RV spaces with electric and sewage hookups as he has friends who also come up for the summer months.
I don't take the Winnie out on the road much - especially with the price of gas, but I'm hoping next year I can take a trip out of State after I shake all the bugs out of it since it's been sitting for a couple years (which is NOT good for it, I know.)
It's not the kind of life for everyone, that's for sure. There's things you have to get used to if you've lived in HOUSES most of your life (When was the last time you made sure you set the parking brake on your house?)
We are full time, in a 5th wheel. Have been living in an RV/trailer park, for the past 3 years, while still working.
We absolutely love it. The beauty of it is, if we don't like the park, or our neighbors, we can just hook up and move to another one in the area, which we plan to do soon, just for a change of pace.
Retirement is within the next 2 years. Won't have to stick around and wait for a house to sell at that time.
Best thing we ever did, and the state of the economy and housing market is not affecting us, like it is so many other people.
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