Hello.... sigh

[elaineremains]

Hello everyone, here my mind goes again toward an RV to live in... my husband and i are older, but not old enuff to retire for him yet, we most recently lost our home and car and credit rating etc after my husband was off work for a few years from a car accident... so we are living in an apartment right now, and at first it was a relief, but now i'm feeling that same old stress and the place is smaller, and we did leave ALOT of junk behind, but STILL this place is full of junk that will probably never get used again... and we are still financially strapped... i'm trying to think of a way OUT, but i think it's different in canada, not as cheap, and we can't just park anywhere, tho rent in an RV park would be cheaper by a few hundred bucks a month... but i think the thing is, i'm attracted to small living spaces (hubby is not, coz he's a hoarder lol) but it's not JUST small that i like, it's small and pretty! &nbsp;now i'm not sure if i will ever be able to afford one of the new and gorgeous airstreams, am thinking something older and maybe repaint everything WHITE and do a shabby chique trailer, do you think that's possible? most parks won't accept trailers that are too old for full time living, certainly nothing over 20 years old... but, unbelievable shallow tho it seems, having nice surroundings is very important to me, as i'm home on disability, i look at ads for trailers and click off it so fast if it looks 'depressing' to me... but yeah, maybe shabby chique is my only hope... any ideas for what kind of trailer would be good to paint all white? lol i'm happy to be a member of this forum and can't remember how i found it, but glad i did, nice to meet y'all...<div>elaine</div>

 

[stude53]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Elaine, Welcome to this forum! <img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="/images/boards/smilies/wave.gif"></p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">There are many different stories here, and a lot of friendly people. There are a lot of Canadians here, too.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Being in an apartment, parking a trailer to work on may be a problem. My advice is to research, plan, and think out all the issues before you buy something you may lose before you can use it.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Bob</p>

 

[SirJoey]

<div><b><font face="Arial"><br></font></b></div><div><b><font face="Arial">Welcome aboard, Elaine! &nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wave.gif"></font></b></div><div><b><font face="Arial"><br></font></b></div><div><b><font face="Arial">Lotsa great info &amp; advice to be found here!</font></b></div><div><b><font face="Arial"><br></font></b></div><div><b><font face="Arial">May God bless you both in your search for a camper, &amp; a better, more fulfilling life! &nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif"></font></b></div><div><b><font face="Arial"><br></font></b></div>

 

[elaineremains]

hi you two! thanks for replying! and yes i hadn't thought of painting things white as being sort of 'working' on the trailer... i figured i could do that while we lived in it... my husband just got up for work, and i told him my idea and he said 'I'M NOT LIVING IN A TRAILER, EVER!!!' &nbsp;i'm not sure what that was about haha, he's so stubborn, but we have some land for an RV after retirement anyway, so he WILL be living in a trailer... but i am sort of wondering about something like getting a camper van AND a trailer... living outside of his work during the week, and going home to our big trailer on the weekend, would something like that be doable? &nbsp;is there decent room for two in a class b or whatever? not even sure what a class b is? haha, thanks for brainstorming with me, and Sir Joey, yes, thank you for the prayer, i'm hoping for Jesus' guidance too, not just y'all <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[elaineremains]

hi there sparky, i knoooooow haha, at least i'm near the border in bc, you know, vancouver area? it doesn't get that cold here in the winter, it's mostly rain, but the land we own, well it gets a bit of snow out of the city limits... and that's true that we don't have to worry about maintenance in our little apartment, that IS nice lol... perhaps i should just look for a smaller apartment? &nbsp;ugh.. i just searched, we are pretty much in the cheapest apt that's livable and not a complete dive... i don't know what to do... what are the bylaws for living in a class c on the streets and in parkinglots, and where do you get your water and empty tanks and such, and electricity, i'm not sure i 'get' how some of you are doing it.. i've read a few articles, but yeah, no comprehendez, it's a riddle <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[elaineremains]

actually, sparky sort of sparked an idea.... we like the city we live in, i can live in a smaller space with a CONDO... i know our credit is shot, but i have a plan lol if hubby agrees to try owning again, since everything we have ever tried to own, we lost... it would cost us about the same as our rent, but it would be OVER in 15 years, then we could retire rent free... am i on the wrong forum for this? lolol<div><br></div><div>elaine</div>

 

[Les H]

Hi Elaine. I have heard of some Rv parks giving people a hard time about what the own/ live in/ drive. It would seem these are mostly the larger chains or " resort" style campgrounds. My wife and I have a 14' Shasta travel trailer from 1969. It is in presentable condition, though far from shiney, new or perfect. We have had no problems whatsoever in the smaller mom-n-pop or one- of campgrounds in Ny, Vt, NH or Me. And if you don't really need a campground, you are even better off. State land up north, state and national forests and BLM land out west offer tons of possibilities, though those are here in the states.
Anyway, glad to have you here, even if it's for ideas on how to live smaller and cheaper in a sticks and bricks. We went from 2069 square feet to about 1100 when we moved from Ny to Alabama, and are reasonably comfortable, and looking at downsizing to a Rv in a few years when the youngest is 18 and out of school.

 

[elaineremains]

awwww thanks for the welcomes guys! and sparky, i hate divorce so much, it's so heart breaking and life breaking, my husband and i are so intertwined with each other, we have been thru a couple for sure cause divorce things, and here we are, still together, i think God for that... feel for ya man...&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>and yes i maybe in the wrong forum now, because the thoughts sparky gave me combined with my husband not wanting to live in an RV, got me thinking, if we sold our land, and used the money i was going to buy a trailer with, we would have like 80% down on a little condo i have my eye on, it would still be a small space but not so many breakable moving parts haha... it's in a co-op on leased land, needs 35% down, etc etc so i imagine it will just sit on the market waiting for us... if anybody wants to buy a resort lot in beautiful british columbia let me know, i'll give you the best deal i can squeeze out <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div>

 

[yesican]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Welcome Elaine...keep your researching. Hopefully your husband will come around.&nbsp; Prayin for ya.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Rae</p>

 

[yesican]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Welcome Elaine...keep your researching. Hopefully your husband will come around.&nbsp; Prayin for ya.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Rae</p>

 

[elaineremains]

thanks Rae <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> I will take all the prayers i can get, i thought my shabby chique trailer was not too bad of an idea, and i found a couple with silverish/white type carpets that would have been perfect, but yeah, hubby is against it for now, so i will try to keep researching and see what happens with this condo that nobody else seems to want anyway lol...&nbsp;

 

[dborla01]

Hang in there, Elaine. There are a lot of folks out there who are downsizing by necessity and my wife and I are there too. The economy is taking a toll but we remember that we have each other, wife and I, and there are also our friends to count on. And this forum has some good people who help when they can. Sincerely, Darrell.<br>

 

[elaineremains]

thanks Darrell, yes hubby and i have each other... i'm sort of changing my mind again, back to the shabby chique trailer idea, but i'm not sure hubby will go for it, i'm a little depressed at the moment, as our property is going down in value, and we will probably have to hang on to it, which means it makes more sense to look toward getting an RV for it, even tho we don't live out there yet.... what can i do? buy an RV for it, and get perhaps a truck camper for when hubby is working and drive it back out on friday night for the weekend in our palacial RV lol how much would that cost? can i get a decent truck/camper combo for under 20 grand? that two of us could stay in during the week without turning my husband into a holy terror? .... what to do, what to do?

 

[elaineremains]

i'm actually quite frustrated at the moment, i envy you americans and your free laws and your weather... i mean is this living in a van really even possible in canada? even in the 70's when my parents were traveling across canada in a van, along with everybody else and their dog, we would get kicked out of most places we tried to sleep along the way, and now, it's hard to find a parking spot for your CAR for two hours of shopping, nevermind a living space... i'm thinking i might buy an airstream bambi sport and force my husband to be miserable in it haha... or maybe just keep renting and let the chips fall where they may as we age and retire and can't afford rent anymore, but that gives me a sick feeling in my stomach... my husband doesn't want to buy a condo either, even tho i had a great idea there too... because he is unsure of his job security, and i don't blame him after what we've just been through, i'm not sure i want to be tied to a bank either... i would love to custom order an off the grid truck camper or type c whatchamahoozit, but honestly, where would i park it? canada is not like the states... they freak out at people parking in store parking lots over night, and certainly can't park on a residential street... ugh, i thought we were in a housing crisis? why won't condos go DOWN in price??? &nbsp;i'm a bit pissed off right now, that i can't solve this problem, if i don't think of something good to do with the money i have coming in, my husband will fritter it away very quickly and have nothing to show for it... what do i do? man oh man the world has changed, there's no way out of this trap, this death trap... i have tried to solve this problem in various ways before, we lived on a boat, ended badly, we lived in a mobile home/trailer park, ended VERY VERY badly... i feel like i'm stuck in quicksand... i wish there were kinder gentler lands, and i wish we were allowed to cross a border for heaven's sake... i'm completely at a loss as to what to do, sniff sniff <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[elaineremains]

awwww sparky, i hear ya, but there's prolly waaaaay more rules in the resort where our land is... and the condo is in a self run co-op so maybe is a bit better? not sure.... och, we will probably keep the land anyway, but still, we have no way of living there right now, because it's too far from hubby's work <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><div><br></div><div>if i could sell the land, get my money, get them to come down on the price of the condo, things just might work out perfectly, but yeah, we'll see... tomorrow is another day of second guessing everything i think lol</div><div><br></div><div>thanks man</div><div>elaine</div>

 

[elaineremains]

hehe, i like the way y'all think <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> been getting good suggestions in private too, this is an 'outside of the box' kind of place isn't it? lol you have a great weekend too, sparky!

 

[blars]

For me, condos combine all of the bad things about apartment living with all of the bad things about home ownership.&nbsp; While you might not need to make payments forever, expect to pay ever rising association dues forever.<br><br><br>

 

[elaineremains]

good point blars, and i'm not feeling all that good about a condo today anyway, gosh i'm moooody on this subject, why don't they have 'rent control' in canada? lol... i remember when i was young, there was senior citizen apartments that were cheap to live in, seems like they don't have that here anymore... i started looking around for subsidized housing or whatever, but can't find anything... i'm scared for our golden years, that's for sure... maybe will just keep our land and move onto it someday, still thinking about buying a little airstream for it...

 

[elaineremains]

ok, just had a long talk with hubby, and he says we should keep the land, and buy a cheap lot in the states, just over the border, and travel back and forth, he agrees with me getting an off the grid type RV that he will live in, just outside his work, until he retires, so i feel a big weight off, but have no idea how to get my hands on an off the grid class c or whatever... suggestions? <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><div><br></div><div>elainexoxox</div>

 

[elaineremains]

ok, hubby just changed his mind on living in an off the grid RV outside of his work, and i don't know where we could park it, he says he won't ask people to park in their place, or whatever... he still wants an off the grid RV, but he wants me to put my money away until he's finished with his work, THEN buy the RV and the lot in the states and go between the two, but i see no reason for off the grid small living if we are going to go between two lots, i think better to buy two RVs one for each lot...<div><br></div><div>i also have noooooo idea where it's safe to invest money these days, perhaps will just get an RRSP and pay into it each month to keep it alive, tho that thought scares me with our economy being wiped out...</div>