Are you really happy as a nomad?

[BobBski]

16 months now and loving it. Going back to a permanent dwelling would feel like being put in jail.

 

[free2enjoy]

16 months now and loving it.  Going back to a permanent dwelling would feel like being put in jail.

I've lived about 3 years in two RV's but at the same campground.  I did so in part to save money when I separated from my wife and also to try out an RV lifestyle.   I love it for the kind of people that do this and for the simplicity of it.  

In a few years, I will be quitting my job and taking my small business on the road for income while I live as a nomad in a travel trailer.   I can't wait.   It will be about 3 and a half years before my gf's youngest finishes high school, then we are leaving the matrix to be free. 

 

[Jim Plow]

I've lived about 3 years in two RV's but.... at the same campground.     

In a few years, I will be...  on the road...  live as a nomad in a travel trailer.   I can't wait.... to be free. 

Once you hit the road and get out of that RV park you may wonder why you waited so long.

Living in an RV park    VS..   Living off grid as a nomad on the road. Traveling from BLM to national forest to BLM again with the changing weather.
Is nothing like an RV park.


Step one;
turn the key.
And just do it!

Step two;
park in the desert at least a 1/4 mile or more from another camper.

Step three;
step outside at 2 am on a clear night and look up.

 

[free2enjoy]

No doubt!!  I can't wait, but deconstruction of my old life is in the works (prepping and selling a house, finishing a divorce, helping the kids move into their new lives as they both just got their career positions as paramedics, and the gf's son who first needs to finish high school, then we hit the road).

My gf and I are going to be taking practice runs over the next couple years.   She has a truck and a T@B camper that I'm putting solar on now.  Her son is going to Africa this summer for a couple months so we will hit the road for a few weeks.

 

[Jim Plow]

Yes;
I completely understand. I was 5 years in trailer parks, after my second divorce. "thank you Lord"

It takes a little time to tie up all the loose ends and start a new life... Been there.

Sounds like you got a good plan going.

 

[dualhammers]

I started doing it because my partner left me and I've been too depressed to work. If we lived in a country that took care of its citizens I would be happy to have a tiny home somewhere. I really just do this because if I live on nothing I can't be hurt too bad by people abandoning me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Minivanmotoman]

Sorry to hear that. See thread below for some encouraging words given to another that you may gain some benefit from. 
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=28428&pid=357933#pid357933

 

[Jim Plow]

I'm out here cuz, now that my wife walked out on me

I can now start living the way I want.  
And loving every minute of it

 

[ShastaRosie]

It appears most people who post on youtube and other forums are exceedingly happy with the life. What say you? Do you think most are pleased with the choice or that there are a significant number of people who think they made a bad choice.

I've only been on the road for three months but no, I'm already counting down to the day I can get back in a house. I've got a long row to hoe though, the plan is three years on the road to pay off the debt I've been carrying since my business closed during the Great Recession; yes, six years ago. I've been essentially paying the minimums, just about covering the interest they're charging. Well, no more! I can tough it out for three years and get back in the black. Then, back in a house.

 

[DannyB1954]

I lived on a boat most of my adult life and liked it. Then a RV for 3 years part time, (Mon-Fri). I was buying a house too far to commute to work before I retired. But then I was not camped out in a desolate area, and had to move every two weeks.

I think a lot of people will not say how unhappy they are because it would reveal that they have no choice. It is better to convince yourself that you want to do what you have to do. Having disposable income makes life more comfortable whatever you are living in.

 

[LadyJo]

Humans are wonderful creatures. We can learn to like and find enjoyment even when shoved out of our comfort zone. We make the best of most situations and find joy in simple things, like the sun rising on a new day. We meet challenges, refigure out our world all the time. We are incredibly adaptable.

 

[A Savage Adventure]

I find it easier to plan in terms of 2-year slots. So for me I am committed to the next two years with the current truck and travel trailer I have. Of course, I am alone, so it is just me to think about. But in 2 years I can re-evaluate my situation and plan from there.

 

[lenny flank]

I think a lot of people will not say how unhappy they are because it would reveal that they have no choice. It is better to convince yourself that you want to do what you have to do. Having disposable income makes life more comfortable whatever you are living in.

A good point. There is a big difference between dwellers who do it because they WANT to, and dwellers who do it because they HAVE to. Many dwellers are, quite frankly, homeless and near-broke, and have no other choice. That is not an easy life, regardless of whether one "likes" it or not. We live in a society where "having money" makes things an awful lot easier than "not having money". That is alas a brutal fact of life.

Me, I have a good income that I can do on the road, and I have enough savings that I could buy a house tomorrow if I wanted to. But I continue to van-dwell because I like it. It's a big country, I want to see all of it, and van-traveling is the most flexible and most interesting way to do that. I have no plans to stop for the forseeable future. I'm having too damn much fun.

 

[Vermithrax]

Very happy, always had a wanderlust in me now can exercise it and enjoy it.

 

[LathrenJames]

Any mode of travel can be tiring but I am more content on the 'road' than not. I feel I am not wasting time. Keep moving. It may not be perfect but it's not a bad way to live. Peace

 

[DesertRose]

I would agree that there is a LOT of work to being on the road. I did not like it. I also did not have enough money and one of my dogs did not travel well.

I am in Northern New Mexico on a 200+ acre ranch for now. Doing a work exchange for lodging. My dogs love it. I am 25 miles from a small town (between 10k and 15K population).

Full time life on the road is a lot more expensive than most people realize. If you're on a low fixed social security income, think twice. Right before I left, my savings account (emergency fund) got drained by auto repairs, the California DMV and my car charger dying ($41 - and Verizon doesn't let that payment slide). Things kept happening to compromise my financial situation and I bailed.

Think twice if you're fantasizing or dreaming or even almost there. Most of the people I met on the road were happy couples with plenty of resources and a good rig and a pull behind. (Don't snark. I can't remember what they're called.)

If you have enough resources then yeah go for it.

 

[LathrenJames]

I agree. Budgeting is paramount. This way of living can be done on a fixed income but it does bring on anxiety of having enough nest egg to cover not only what might happen but what will happen. Still, a lot of folks have little choice in the matter. So, planning and  having a back-up plan and hopefully an emergency fund are the way to go, I believe...But it can be done. And it doesn't have to be done unhappily. When I sat down to do a budget analysis, I was surprised at the amount I was literally throwing away for things I really did not need. I got frugal. Not cheap but wiser and more aware of my spending habits. It was much like my trash accumulation habits. I was going through paper products and plastic and other items like I was a family of four. And I'm not. My footprint is way down, now. It's a learning process. Or 're-learning', really. It's an adventure or it's a trial. I choose ADVENTURE! Peace :heart:

 

[wasanah2]

I'm not as happy as I thought I'd be.

It seems I can't do things as easily or as cheaply as others do.  Don't know why.  Yeah I was looking at this youtube video and this woman got a really nice rig for like 700 dollars.  It was worth many many multiple times that.  I don't find deals like that.

If this lifestyle isn't all about me, I don't know why I'd be doing it.  It is all about me and all about you.  But truly, I thought I'd be happier and would struggle less.  Sure, I have a few more bucks in the bank, but I don't know that I'm near as happy as others think they are.

I think the minimalism crap is getting to me.  Sometimes I just gotta hit some garage sales and hoard a few things.   I'm feeling almost rebellious.