Are most Vehicle Dwellers Single

[Knox Al]

I am soon to become single after 30 years of marriage. Plan to retire in July of 2018 at age 63 1/2. Insurance on Cobra until Medicare, I've got to have insurance due to some ongoing permanent medical problems. I will either rent an apartment or buy an RV until then, as I will give up the home to keep my retirement account. I've got a 2003 Aliner Expedition but that is just too small for me for full-timing. Hope to buy a RV soon if I can find what I want and one that I can afford.  If I do there is a monthly campground nearby that requires a one year lease. Will live there until retirement and then take off for the southwest, I am in the southeast now.

This lifestyle seems to be one of individuals that are not mainstream, not intending that to be insulting, just the way it is.  Are most of you folks on here living as a single? 

Al

 

[cyndi]

I don't think you can put any of us in any one box. We're all ages, all genders, coupled and not coupled, cat owners, dog owners, on the road and full time in place. There's no single category in which any one person will fit. There are plenty of singles here, and plenty of couples

 

[John61CT]

Not saying it can't be done, but being a non-wealthy older guy to start with, living out of a vehicle definitely doesn't make things easier out there in the "marriage market", even less so in the "Tinder etc" arena.

Full-time live-aboard even on a nice yacht is hard enough, ask me how I know.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I disagree. If your chosen lifestyle is rv living it would be better to live in an RV single than to get a nice sticks and bricks to attract someone or have a larger pool of people to attract with interests/lifestyles that aren't going to line up with yours anyways. It's easy to get in that mindset that not many people are doing something so it will be impossible to meet someone, but that's never true. A small percentage of people doing something in the US still equates to a lot of people. If only 1% of the people in the US are vehicle dwellers, that's still 3.2 million people. I've read countless blogs where someone met their husband or wife while vehicle living. And i'm sure it's led a few people out of marriage too

So to anyone scared of vehicle dwelling over fear of being single forever, i'd say that's more a self inflicted view than anything.

 

[lenny flank]

Well, some would say that i can afford to be irresponsible and live in a van because I don't have anyone else that I need to be responsible for.

 

[DuneElliot]

I'm single...by choice to a point...I haven't settled for mediocre. Having said that, I would choose to be able to share my life with someone if I could find someone who was interested in RV-living and traveling like me. I have wondered how hard it's going to be to meet someone in this lifestyle with not being in one place long enough to form long-term friendships/relationships.

 

[MrNoodly]

The larger the RV, the greater the likelihood it's occupied by a couple.

 

[DrJean]

I'm not sure what you mean by "mainstream" ... but I think you mean 9-5ers with a spouse, 2 kids and a dog? hahahah Sometimes I think van dwellers ARE the main stream, in that sense, and the rest of them are slightly OCD.

 

[hepcat]

I currently "live" in one of my RVs about four months out of the year, give or take... usually traveling. I lived in a 23' Airstream full-time for a year in 1987. It was really a "fringe" lifestyle then. It was very difficult to find a place to park an RV full-time, and there were NO amenities anywhere. It's been interesting over the years to watch as it has grown into an almost mainstream lifestyle taking in folks from every walk of life, age group, and income level. And the reasons for adopting that lifestyle are as varied as the folks who do it. I always enjoy listening to folks' stories. AND it's even more interesting to listen to how they've adapted... or not.

 

[Almost There]

This lifestyle seems to be one of individuals that are not mainstream, not intending that to be insulting, just the way it is.  Are most of you folks on here living as a single? 

Al

I think what you may be seeing here is part and parcel of the 'cheap rv living' thing! There's a whole passel of couples out there full-timing it but for the most part they've got 2 pension checks coming in so they live a completely different lifestyle than some of here do. They tend to hang out with a different crowd....

 

[OutdoorFT]

If I wasnt married, Id been on the road long ago. You just need more space for 2 and as a 20s couple, we dont have a pension, ss or retirement to fall back on. Luckily, young enough to do labor work if available.

 

[eDJ_]

I've wondered this myself.  I started this thread awhile back to get people discussing their views here about it.

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Choosing-to-be-Single-and-on-the-Road

The nice thing about having an RV that is large enough to live in is that you can travel about the country looking
for a place with a good economy to work for awhile and bankroll yourself for more travel or moving up to a better rig.   If you are in the area for awhile and you decide you want to move on....you pack up and do so.
You may be living in an upscale or Senior Trailer Park,  or renting a place to park your rig where you have water, power, septic/sewer,  cable/internet etc and possibly a small economy car or pickup truck to drive to work in and later tow behind your rig if you decide to move on.

As far as the question of whose single and whose in a relationship of some kind,  I think the singles may be more
chatty on message boards where the couples have their own "company" to talk about things with.  Living single isn't for everyone any more than living as a couple is,  so the message boards seem to take up the slack.

 

[Blanch]

So we need a new forum category - like Tinder? That could be fun.

Someone tell Bob!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jimindenver]

I am single by choice or I should say not with the person I was with for 31 years by my own doing. I'm not saying getting involved again couldn't happen but I thing the chances are pretty slim sitting out in the middle of no where, around no one.

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

I am single only by the strictest or definitions. I have a plethora of friends and some of them are also lovers. After 20 years of marriage I am not interested in what some would consider a traditional romantic relationship. Some call it ethical non-monogamy. Some call it polyamory. I care deeply for my friends and lovers but fail to see a reason for exclusivity.

I will be on the road in the next few weeks and will be traveling solo but would be willing to consider traveling with a travel buddy, platonic or otherwise.

 

[bullfrog]

If you work seasonally you will most likely meet a lot of people. Almost all national park people that work and live in a park do not own where they live unless they live in an RV and when they retire unless they have planned ahead are homeless or like us living in an RV. I think most people that do live independently for a long time know themselves and what they want/like. Compromise isn't a word to be taken lightly. Finding 2 people that value each other enough to make compromises is rare in this group in my opinion. Most would rather not have company if they have to compromise it seems. I guess my wife and I are exceptions as she has lived in RVs never more than 28' long for almost 15 years happily and made tons of compromises but she is about due a park model and a white picket fence once we travel the northwest for a few years.

 

[Knox Al]

I didn't make myself clear. I am pleased to be entering singlehood. It is a joyful, blissful state in which I will remain until death. I have no interest in meeting a woman to romance. Been there, down that and have the emotional and financial scars. 

Just wondering what to expect out there and assumed most folks were single from reading the posts. Thanks for the replies, looks like an interesting topic.

For those old enough to remember or watch cable TV now for "Spanky and our Gang" I am now an offical member of the " He man Woman Haters Club".


Al

 

[ArtW]

I'm in the 'been there, done that, got the scars' category, too
I'm not a hater, I have women friends, some of whom occasionally visit overnight, when they feel like it, but definitely never again will I put myself in a situation where I have to live my life for the benefit of, or according to the rules of, another
I actually find friendships more rewarding, and if that friendship includes 'benefits' without the adversarial component often found in traditional relationships, that's cool, too, but I don't pursue, ever

 

[IanC]

I'm wondering how common, if at all, two friends of the same sex (platonic) travel together.  I have a few friends back home (friends for years and years) and although they wouldn't be interested in traveling (they're all married) , we have a great time when we're together - maybe more so than many romantic couples.  Seems like it would be a good situation, though probably even more difficult to find than a romantic partner.

 

[ArtW]

I've seen a few (on the web, not met personally) who seem to be doing that, I think it'd be ticklish, long term, in a single vehicle like a van, but two very good friends could share a class C or maybe a short bus