Starting My Full-Time RV Adventure
Starting My Full-Time RV Life Adventure
Written by Nancy Carter, Making My Own Lane
How and Why I Chose a Full-Time RV Life
Life is short, wouldn’t you agree? The lessons I learned during the craziness of 2020 and 2021 planted the seeds for change, and the events of 2022 pushed me over the edge.
Taking time to reevaluate my job and lifestyle led me to understand that the opportunity I never believed was an option - slowing down, spending more time with family and friends, and traveling the US, really was a possibility.
But in order to have this lifestyle, three things had to be in place.
One. I needed an RV.
I bought Daisy (my new-to-me 26.5 foot Class C motorhome) in December of 2022. Not to live in, but to travel locally with friends, and maybe to see the country when I could retire. Click here to read how I found Daisy, and why she is perfect for me. You can read more about how I chose Daisy here.
Two. Paying for my lifestyle.
Giving up the income I relied on to pay my mortgage and all the expenses that come with home ownership was not an option.
But I hadn’t been happy for a long time, but I felt locked in. My life consisted of going to work so I could pay on a house that had grown too big, too empty, and full of stuff I no longer needed.
So one day I quit my job. Not necessarily what I expected to do when I woke up that morning, but certainly overdue.
Three. Downsizing.
Lots of soul-searching and finance-assessing showed me that living life in a motorhome and traveling more was a possibility, if I sold my house, and everything in it.
Not so sure about that idea, I did begin to purge my house of 20 years of stuff. Just in case, right? Three months later, I didn’t feel any closer to being able to move than when I started. Many trips to GoodWill, lots of contractor bags of garbage, so much shredding of old, once-important documents, and a couple of yard sales for those things I was able to part with, including boxes in my garage that hadn’t been opened since I put them there 20 years ago, when I moved into the house.
I sold things on Ebay that I felt would be easy to sell and ship. But there was still so much stuff.
Selling The House
However, the urge to sell the house grew stronger, and 4 months after I quit my job, I listed my house on the market.
The house sold in 3 days, still full of stuff that I now had one month to purge.
If I thought the first three months of decluttering were tough, it was nothing compared to what the next 30 days would bring.
I was motivated by the sale price, and agreed to an estate sale where whatever wasn't sold would be removed from the home. Perfect. In the end almost everything was donated to charity.
I read books about downsizing, and other people’s experiences of selling everything and leaving their home of 20 years. All the emotions of watching things so important to you sell for pennies on the dollar, or not sell at all. But by this time I was too caught up in the whirlwind to stop, and one month later the house was empty and I was officially a nomad.
Downsizing from a 3,000 square foot home with a pool on over half an acre and two cars to a 200-square foot home on wheels. No storage unit.
It hurt to let so many of my worldly possessions go for nothing or next to nothing, but I did achieve my goal of getting rid of everything without taking on a storage unit or towing a trailer behind me full of stuff that I would never look at again.
It all happened so fast that I hardly had time to think about what was going on. Probably for the best.
The Downsizing Experience
Amazingly enough, looking back almost a year after I started this crazy experience, I have no regrets.
I don’t miss the house, but I did shed many tears, especially that last week before the house closed. The memories of raising my daughters and all the happiness of having a house full of their friends was so strong.
But the house had grown very quiet once they both moved out into their own places.
I am a numbers and analytics geek, and possibly a bit frugal.
It’s like I woke up one day to an empty home and thought to myself, “how am I ever going to keep this lifestyle up? How long can I do this for? What else would I do?”
Then I quit my job, and everything figured itself out seemingly by itself. I still have a lot of questions and concerns, but I am trusting that God will show me those answers as I continue on in this journey.
There has been lots of adjusting, even more purging, and mind-work. I have been pushed out of my comfort zone almost every day. And today I am happier and more free than I have ever been.
Is it for everyone? No.
Is it forever? Probably not.
But for now, living on the road in an RV is a unique and sometimes exciting lifestyle that allows me to see the world in a way that most people never will. For me, the decision to embark on this journey was fueled by a desire for adventure, freedom, and a break from the monotony of everyday life.
In this blog, I want to share with you living and traveling as a solo female RVer, recreating my life to a life I love living.
You can’t escape life - the day-to-day grocery shopping, paying bills, taking the dogs for a walk kind of stuff. If you figure that out please let me know.
The Benefits of RV Living
One of the biggest benefits of RV living is the ability to travel and explore new places while still having the comforts of home, including the food I like to eat, the ability to choose from any of my outfits, the option of having my fur family with me, and familiarity of sleeping in my own bed every night, no matter where I am. I have become the best house guest!
Eleven months after the unexpected start of this journey, a “mission statement” of sorts came to me.
To create a sustainable, debt-free lifestyle while enjoying life, traveling, creating memories, spending time with the people I love, and making new friends along the way.
So far, this lifestyle allows me to spend time with the people I love, meet new people, and experience the beauty of nature. Additionally, the flexibility of this lifestyle means that I can work from anywhere, allowing me to maintain an income while still enjoying the benefits of travel.
While there are certainly challenges that come with RV living, such as maintenance and dealing with a small living space, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. It has allowed me to simplify my life and free my life from clutter, prioritize experiences over material possessions, and embrace a sense of adventure that was previously unattainable. Overall, my RV lifestyle journey is an incredibly rewarding experience that I wouldn't trade for anything.
I hope you’ll come along for the ride as I continue Making My Own Lane.
If you are a full-time RVer and have any tips or suggestions, leave a comment here.
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