About to Take the Plunge

ellenhaas2001 · Mar 19, 2020

Hello all. A little about me...I was forced into retirement last September at 55 years old. It was a complete shock. I was so busy running the rat race and raising my daughter as a single parent, I never thought much about what to do after retirement because I thought I had 6-8 years to "prepare" and start a "hobby". I used those quotes sarcastically. The only material thing that I really enjoyed was riding my bicycle. I used to cycle commute to my job almost every day; living in south Florida made that possible. Well, once I stopped working I have fallen into a deeper depression than I have ever experienced. My (work) friends have mostly dropped communication. I've almost completely stopped cycling, I've been sitting in front of the computer, bingeing on netflix or amazon prime, or more recently youtube videos of van dwellers. Being "self quarantined" has been my life for the past six months, I'm killing myself and I know it. I've always been a very anxious person due to myriad reasons. I'm a loner type person because of it. I really like helping others but I have a hard time asking a favor for myself, I guess I think no one will help or I'm not worth helping. Stinkin' thinking, I know. Somehow, I think my new hobby is going to be creating my own mobile home and meeting a tribe and making new friends and having to ask for help because I know nothing about solar power or electricity or wiring but I'm not afraid of hard work or learning new things. I also have some tools. I'm glad to be here and learn some new skills and improve myself as a human being. I like the quote from Shawshank Redemption---get busy living or get busy dying.

rvwandering · Mar 19, 2020

Welcome to the CRVL forums Ellen! We're here to answer your questions so feel free to ask about anything and everything. If you don't understand something ask more questions. All of this is new to most people so it takes a while to get it.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

nature lover · Mar 19, 2020

Welcome ellenhaas2001 - this is the place to meet the right people and learn the right things. Have you been a camper? A lot of the skills I needed for van dwelling were learned from a lifetime of camping. I have been a life long camper and part time van dweller for years. I am preparing to be full time on May 1, of course this virus might change things. There are plenty of people on this forum with lots of wisdom to share. (more than me) Welcome to the tribe.

eDJ_ · Mar 19, 2020

Welcome to the CRVL Forums

You've landed in good company as I'm sure you will realize.

Sorry to hear about your job playing out the way it did. I would mention to you that I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) awhile back and they mentioned that by 2022 that 1/4 to 1/3 of the work force may be over 70 years of age. So you may still be able to find some employment opportunities yet.

In my profile I tell the story of how I went job hunting in my first Van and used it in my job to create advantages for myself.

Below are a couple of links to sites of mine that may be rather helpful for you too.

Cammalu · Mar 20, 2020

Ellen, have you any plans of leaving soon? For someone that has no experience a first vehicle might be a small RV. Everything is set up and ready - well not solar but everything else.

When you head out you are welcome to swing by my place in KY. You have friends here. Just let me know and I’ll PM you an address and phone number.

LERCA · Mar 20, 2020

Hi Ellen,
Welcome! You’ll find many of us have been through some really hard times and can empathize. You’ll find a lot of support here. Just take it one step at a time. You’re in the right place!