Any one watch Tami's End of RV Living: Why You Shouldn't Go Nomadic

[capt_caveman]

She had some bad times boondocking I feel bad for her . Tami made some good points I didn't think of Il be looking out for now.
 
But I cant let it stop me Ive all ready did a year in New Mexico and loved it .
Getting ready for full time Nomadic life my vehicle is ready Im ready .

 Fear is your first line of defence but you cant let it take over let it make you stronger .
Fear is a waist of Imagination 

Here is her story 

 

[Almost There]

i tried, I really did try!

But, as a single female who has had 17 years now on the road all over the continent as a single female, I found my experience to be so radically different than of all the dangers she alluded to that I simply couldn't continue to watch it.

In the first nine minutes I managed to struggle through (her delivery is poor IMO), I heard only one allegation of someone trying to break in to her RV in Flagstaff. (If indeed someone did try to break in to her RV in Flagstaff, she chose poorly for a location - big city parking lots are not the place I would choose. I have to call most of it hyperbole and B/S.

She also says she reached out for help - again, she certainly didn't reach out to us here on CRVL. I've seen several years of helping hands reaching out to teach women just like her, how to survive and indeed thrive as nomads.

One can either let fear of the imagined rule ones life or one can live life to it's fullest.

I know which one I choose.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I saw that one too...

She says she is 'attractive' and uh....I don't see it. She says most females on the road look like guys....Ok...whatever. Opinions vary, obviously. 

Then she says that the nomad movement started in the last few years....huh?

Yeah, it's more visible now, but its been going on for a hundred years, or forever if you want to include our pre-RV history.

So it doesn't suit her...that's fine. But, videos of her blogging from inside that little 'studio' apartment are gonna get boring real fast.....just sayin....

.

 

[capt_caveman]

i tried, I really did try!

Thanks for replying I had a hard time watching it my self .

 I must say in my short year of boondocking  I never felt so alive I did more outside stuff then I have in years spent lots of time at the Library,gym (showers),events so on .

I never was bothered by any one but pan handlers here and there in town
 people were not watching me they could care less.. 

I never parked next to rv's that looked like they have been there a long time .

I think this makes guys look like we all are evil with one thing on are minds.
  I want to meet other van dwellers on the road not be [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]frightened of my own shadow...[/font]

 

[AMGS3]

I don't know how it ended up on my YouTube suggested videos feed yesterday, but I watched it anyway because it was a weird title for a video on a channel with that name. Also, this was the first one of her videos I've ever seen, and the last.

Aside from agreeing that living in fear and encouraging others to do so as well is not a healthy way to live, i have 3 other critiques about that video.

1- I think that vehicle dwelling is not any more or less safe than s&b life. They each come with certain considerations to think of as far as safety goes. If you are the victim of a stalker and are in a s&b, then that stalker always knows where to find you, right? If you are in a vehicle and choose to park it in an area you know nothing about, then you may accidentally find yourself in a more dangerous area than you wanted to be. The bottom line is that being a nomad with the option of mobility is a strength. There are certain things you can do to be safer as a nomad. There are certain things you should never do. Same goes for s&b living. But living in a vehicle is not inherently more dangerous.

2- She bad-mouths other unnamed vanlife YouTubers for not feeding into her "vehicledwelling is dangerous" philosophy. She specifically refers to a popular YouTuber with a series of videos out now that is about how to keep cool in the heat. Obviously she's referring to Bob's current series of videos. She sums it up by saying that you don't need to watch all these unnecessary videos. (The implication being that it's dangerous to distract yourself with videos about staying comfortable/healthy in summer heat and take the focus off of how shaking-in-your-boots-scared you should be about everything vanlife.) An AC isn't going to keep you cool in the summer in the southwest anyhow. (Bob never said it was the only thing you should do, but she'd know that if she watched the videos) She'll tell you everything you need to know about the keeping cool in 30 sec - go north and go up in the mountains.

So I get aggravated about those slickly produced vanlife videos with their spotless un-lived-in vans promoting this Instagram worthy notion that everything in the nomadic lifestyle is a beautiful rolling version of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It sets up unrealistic expectations for newbies. But Bob's videos aren't like that. He simplifies the skills you'll need to live comfortably as a nomad. I admit that on some of his videos I end up fast forwarding to get past the parts I know and onto the parts I want to learn. But I appreciate that his videos are geared towards people who may have very basic skills with tools and need to know the very basic elements of living in a vehicle and have tuned in to learn the skills they need.

- Several times she implies that attractive people are more likely to be sexually abused and harassed than nonattractive people. There's several problems with this line of thinking. It feeds into the "blame the victim" mentality. The victim of stalking "deserved it" because of how pretty they were. The victim of molestation "deserved it" because of how the way they looked made the perpetrator feel. The sexual assault surviver "had it coming" because she/he could have prevented it by looking less attractive. These are all dangerous lies we tell each other to reinforce the underlying fears we as a society have about sexual misconduct.

The truth is that anyone, man or woman, young or old, rich or poor, living in a rural or urban place, anyone can be on the receiving end of sexual misconduct. I think that living in fear of it does nothing to protect yourself from it. The first step is trusting your instincts about people. If something makes you feel off about someone get away from them. Get away from that situation. This is more helpful than spreading the false notion that if you are too attractive it's just a fact of life that you'll have to deal with unwanted attention. Unwanted attention gets aimed at everyone. Not just "pretty" people.

That said, I think that her trusting her instincts and getting out of the nomad life if she thinks it doesn't suit her (even if I think her reasons are BS) is the right decision for her. It's important to gather information from reputable sources and trust your own instincts about your life choices.

~angie

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

 

[highdesertranger]

my question to her would be, where in the hell are you boondocking? I just don't see it. her line that until a couple years ago the only people that lived this way were criminals. WHAT? wait a minute did she just say that? yes she did. highdesertranger

 

[capt_caveman]

my question to her would be,  where in the hell are you boondocking?

I was hoping you would post 
I was kinda nervous posting this but the things she was saying is just not right 

And for her to say all the women look like boys in Bob's videos why would she say that .
AMGS3
AMGS3: I all so had her video pop up as a recommended video I don't now why

 

[GotOldEarly]

While I am not full time, heck not even part time yet, and getting my vehicle ready as am able.  I do watch many, MANY videos of those that are.  Her's popped up so I hit play out of curiosity.  I am learning a great deal from many of the YouTube videos and the forums.  It is clear to me that there are many ways to accomplish the same objective.  I'm finding it particularly interesting and noteworthy by seeing approaches that fail for others already out there.  Yes, I am old, evenso I am able to learn to avoid the mistake made by others.

Honestly, I found her video uninteresting and not beneficial to me.  I only watched the 1st 5 min. of it because I fell asleep after the 1st 2 min.  Yep, woke up and over 3 min. of it had slipped right by.  It did not work out for her and for that I am sad for her.  Many time the results are determined by the chemistry used.  One can avoid twisting their ankle if they see a hole and alter their path to NOT step into it.

 

[johnny b]

That woman has some issues that are not related to dwelling at all. I think she's unhappy and afraid in general and it won't matter where she lives. The dangers of apartment life will be her next video series..."I was just too pretty to be safe there..." "Stalkers are everywhere..."

She has her monetized channel, and numerous doom and gloom soliloquies. She's got 2200 subscribers so I guess she's found a small niche.
Calling out opposing viewpoints by name is definitely low class, just because she couldn't make it work.

As with any utube video, accept or dismiss as to YOUR needs/wants. 

"It's on the interweb, it must be true."

 

[tx2sturgis]

That woman has some issues...

lol...

I think Bill Clinton once said something to that effect...

 

[sreesekelley]

It must have popped up on a lot of peoples feeds. I never heard of her before and couldn't finish watching this one. "No matter where you go, there you are." Quote stolen from somebody on here I think.

 

[John61CT]

"No matter where you go, there you are."

Used often in 12-step programs, to caution people seeking a "geographic cure".

To change your life, you have to start by changing your attitude, your habits of thinking.

Superficial changes will not change the fundamental realities our behavioural patterns produce.

 

[NellyTheRoadWitch]

Yes, it popped into my feed, and I watched it. I figured nomad life can't be all roses, and other YouTubers truthfully post some of the harsh realities, so I gave her a chance. I tried. I watched the whole thing. And I found her attitude and her accusations offensive. Also, her premise is unsupportable. I know I am less safe in the city. I have a dangerous stalker from whom I have been hiding for three years. I am still in sticks & bricks, but looking around my hut today before coming here, I was thinking as I put away my one shelf of clean laundry, this is nomad practice. I've even divested myself of a permanent residence. I have roadtripped the country east of Colorado/NewMexico alone with my dog(s) for more than 30 years in minivans. I have great instincts, and I know I am safer on the road.

Watching the video I kept thinking if I pulled into a camp where she was, I would probably leave after listening to her. I may help if she needed it, because I am altruistic, but then I would drive away. Her vibe is nasty and made me grateful she has left the road.

~Nelly~

 

[captndiet]

I think the bigger issue is that YouTube selectively picked who to send the feed to.

They are watching you...……..

Jeff

 

[John61CT]

YouTube = Google

Bet your petooties they are.

Listening, emails, searches, location info all of it.

It knows my teeth need fixing, nothing I've searched or discussed with anyone.

Lots of women find out they're pregnant by the ads and links show up in their feed.

 

[lenny flank]

 "No matter where you go, there you are."  Quote stolen from somebody on here I think.

Buckaroo Banzai.

 

[tripper]

I believe she did have some legitimate points. She (IMHO) is fairly attractive and depending on where she is parking could easily attract the wrong element, many of the female nomads don't bother to use makeup, they cut their hair short and don't maintain a slim body and thus are much less likely to get harassed by men. I understand my point of view is not "politically correct" I don't mean to offend anyone, just basic biology, most men are attracted to a certain look and proportion. What I think she really needed is to travel with an experienced boondocker/friend to learn how things work, fear of the unknown is her problem. For her safety concerns really learning to use a gun and keeping it on her should alleviate any worries.

Really, some people here should reach out to her and invite her to join them for a while, show her how good the life can be once you know the ropes, she is just scared and a bit paranoid.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Really, some people here should reach out to her and invite her to join them for a while

I wouldn't waste my time on trying to help her. Seemed to me she was quite happy judging everyone else instead of looking in the mirror to find the cause of the problems in her life. No thanks.

All of her points were based on ramped up emotions and unfounded assumptions. Statistics and facts prove her wrong in just about everything she said.

 

[velojym]

I've known plenty of people over the course of my time on this planet, and while "our mileage may vary", in many cases, folks attract attention based on how they think and act. I've known people who were convinced that they were victims, and always would be victims, and through the way they communicated with the world around them, presented themselves as bait to those who are always looking for a victim. Also, through projection, the "victims" perceive all the non-predators as victims as well, as we're always trying to normalize our own tendencies and feelings.

The way she advocates carrying a weapon.... I think she'll be more likely to get someone hurt than if she were more confident with herself and the world around her. Scoobie and Shaggie shakily holding a .357 revolver in sweaty palms as they're shoved into the carnival funhouse...

I carry, but I also know that a gun is no magical talisman. As has been stated PLENTY of times on this forum, awareness and education will keep you out of trouble far more than just carrying a tool to deal with the consequences of ignoring them. I've only had to draw mine twice in my life, and I was sure glad I had that right, but in neither case did I have to fire. Both were life threatening, but in both cases the attacker took off running as soon as I cleared leather. Those are the numbers that rarely to never get reported, by the way. I'll also note that my line of work, for a majority of my adult life, placed me in "bad" areas much of the time.

I don't want to pirate this thread into another topic entirely, just wanna say that sometimes we let our fears craft the world around us, never seeming to realize that we can make it better.

 

[cyndi]

"...Really, some people here should reach out to her and invite her to join them..."

Let us know when you bear bear from her