Hello from FL newbie!

[MollyMarie]

Good morning!  

My name is Molly. I'm 26 years old and I live in the central Florida area. I don't have kids (unless you count my two dogs -- I tend to), I have a wonderful supportive boyfriend, and I'm really tired of paying someone else to live my life.

I rent a small house now and my lease is up in August this year... I want to break free of leases and landlords. My plan is to purchase a small plot of land close to my job, and live in a camper/trailer/whatever works on site while my boyfriend and I build our permanent home, debt-free, over the course of a year or so.

We pay $900/month now for a house that's not even ours! Imagine if we had that money every month to go towards something we are making ourselves. I get so excited thinking about that future. I want to make it happen while I'm young and healthy and free!

My concerns are possible hurricanes and intense weather, contending with the humid heat in the summer, and finding decent soil to grow our own food. Also, figuring out economical yet healthy ways to cook and clean.  I'm just wondering if anyone else has dealt with similar problems while living off-grid in a trailer/rv, and how you overcame them.

Also, I should add that I currently have a vehicle capable of towing up to 7200lbs, so if you have any recommendations for towable trailers that fit in that weight range, I would love to hear them.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Love to you all.  

 

[rvwandering]

 Welcome to the forums Molly!

 Bob has written a lot of articles about different aspects of living in RVs and at least one on homesteading. Click on the links at the top of this site - http://www.cheaprvliving.com/

 Most of the members here are living or planning on living on public land or in safe spots in the city if that's where their job takes them. There are a few who are living on their own land. Hopefully they will chime in to help answer your questions. Zoning, building codes and access to utilities seem to be the largest stumbling blocks so check into all of those before you buy any property.

 Please take a little time to check out the Tips and Tricks page.

 

[SinnTek]

I'll be honest... If you're nearby where I lived in Central Florida, living in your van is awesome.

I lived in Palm City for 3 years until I could afford to get out of dodge. Anyways, welcome to the forums.

 

[MollyMarie]

I'll be honest... If you're nearby where I lived in Central Florida, living in your van is awesome.

I lived in Palm City for 3 years until I could afford to get out of dodge. Anyways, welcome to the forums.

My job is in Oviedo, which is about 10-15 miles northeast of Orlando. So I was hoping to find a plot in the area between Orlando and the coast to Titusville.

My BF is a professional mechanic and he would have no problem maintaining and repairing a van... I just am not sure how it would work with our dogs (50lbs and 70lbs). But the temperate weather in the area would definitely make van living a lot more agreeable, especially during this time of year when it stays between 50-80 degrees.

Thanks for your reply! I hope to keep gathering ideas and info, so please let me know if you have any other tips or opinions

 

[MollyMarie]

 Welcome to the forums Molly!

 Bob has written a lot of articles about different aspects of living in RVs and at least one on homesteading. Click on the links at the top of this site - http://www.cheaprvliving.com/

 Most of the members here are living or planning on living on public land or in safe spots in the city if that's where their job takes them. There are a few who are living on their own land. Hopefully they will chime in to help answer your questions. Zoning, building codes and access to utilities seem to be the largest stumbling blocks so check into all of those before you buy any property.

 Please take a little time to check out the Tips and Tricks page.

Thank you! Yeah, the whole legal side of land owning and living is very daunting. I've just begun to skim the surface on it all and it can definitely get overwhelming. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[SinnTek]

Best bet with Florida is to avoid the local Wal-Marts at least from my experience. A lot of the cops where I was at were kind of douchey about parking 24 hours.

Depending on the cops though, we had one who used to ride around with a megahorn at 6am and tell people to wake up since it is illegal I guess to sleep passed 6am if you are camping.

Anyways, from my experience the best places in Florida were 24 hour gyms that did not have a no 24 hour parking sign or towing sign up. The next best bet was local construction sites or Comcast buildings. They're everywhere.