Is living in an RV less or more freedom than paying for rides?

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Compared to being a vagabond using the bus and walking like a monk I mean. You get more comfort and convenience but give up personal liberty and pay a higher price..

When I think about the steps necessary to going on the road (4-wheel wise) frankly I get really upset thinking about the coercion (gun-to-the-head, in this case by the State, not gangsters).

1. drivers licenses
2. automobile insurance
3. international borders
4. passports
5. more I might not have thought about

Also, commitment/investment. This is why my instinct tells me that being on the road in India or Nepal, staying in guesthouses has fewer issues about personal liberty. Not devoid thereof but fewer. I remember while travelling by a 1955 Chevy from Holguin to Havana in 1997 the Cuban police stopped the taxi driver at night and ask to see what was inside his trunk. After, he was *really* angry and embarrassed and said 'in your country can the police look inside your property - they have to have a search warrant right?' I disappointed him by commiserating that his liberty vision of North American, that no they don't (in practice anyway) and they do, because they have the power, whether or not it is Constitutionally sanctioned or not. I am impressed by the Freeman on the Land movement that challenges State authority including that of Highway Patrols intrusions into privacy. But I don't like to have to deal with State authority, even less challenging them. I am  a coward and lazy, I prefer to avoid the State. So RVing, you have to submit all the time right, just by virtue of being on the road: compulsory this, mandatory that. That really irks me.

How do you deal with it? And I fear that it's going to get worse before it gets better.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

I lived in Thailand for 25 years and traveled all over Asia. Lots of dealing with passport, embassies and Visas and red tape. It is probably more free living in your own country, but I don't regret traveling around the world either - best years of my life.

 

[[email protected]]

^
Hi, I lived in Chiang Mai for a while. Mind telling us why you are not there now? I notice that most guys in their 60s and 70s return home, wherever that might be. I know a guy living in a trailer in the SW who is trying to transition to Vietnam.

 

[rvwandering]

As I've never lived in or visited any country other than the US, Canada and Mexico the requirement for drivers licenses, auto insurance, and passports has always just been part of life and not something of much concern. My husband and I have been traveling and living in an RV since 1993. We pass through drug and smuggling check points near the Mexican border, produce check points at the California borders, and through customs at the Canadian border and never have any problems. We have never been searched to any degree. At the most a border guard has entered our RV and done a very minor search - looking in the refrigerator and opening a few cupboards. This is a rare occurrence. In my opinion co-operation to this small degree is better than trying to challenge the authorities. You may win in the long run but it will sure be a hassle in the meantime.

 If you want to avoid some of the requirements you could try bicycle touring. Years ago we would take long bike trips and that is much more free than RV living. No need for a driver's license or insurance and you can sleep almost anywhere that is hidden from public view.

 

[John61CT]

Best to deal with it by accepting Reality as it is, and not be so full of resentment and fear toward "the state".

Just like nations, races, professions and other pigeonholing labels for groupings of people, these are not actual entities in Reality,

but just mental classifications propagated by socialization (brainwashing).

Free your mind and deal with the people you encounter as individual humans. The vast majority are decent and at least well-intentioned, most rules are there for good reasons and not abused by the bureaucrats we pay to enforce them.

And just like "security", "freedom" is just an ideal which meaning is too often twisted by those seeking power by manipulating our language and ideas.

There are good and bad aspects of travelling and living overseas, but wherever you go, there **you** are, and to the extent we create our own reality through our attitudes and preconceptions, those parts you focus on and stress about will travel with you.

 

[Weight]

I no longer have an interest in visiting other than Canada and USA. If I could afford the money, I would travel by train using Amtrak Bedroom or Roomette accommodation. The next best is a van or Class B.

 

[rm.w/aview]

Compared to being a vagabond using the bus and walking like a monk I mean. You get more comfort and convenience but give up personal liberty and pay a higher price..
1. drivers licenses 2. automobile insurance 3. international borders 4. passports 5. more I might not have thought about. Also, commitment/investment. So RVing, you have to submit all the time right, just by virtue of being on the road: compulsory this, mandatory that. How do you deal with it? 

To answer the thread title, it depends on the destination relative to current location. Some items listed above can be used to avoid becoming a detainee and have been used to make life easier. There may be no controlling some issues, only the reaction to them. Comply and move freely I suppose.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

^
Hi, I lived in Chiang Mai for a while. Mind telling us why you are not there now? I notice that most guys in their 60s and 70s return home, wherever that might be. I know a guy living in a trailer in the SW who is trying to transition to Vietnam.

I had a business that did very well for many years, but was ruined by new technology. I would have stayed in South East Asia otherwise. Much prefer it to the US.

 

[DannyB1954]

It is not really a choice between living in a vehicle here or back packing it in another country as you can back pack it in this country. If you believe that this country has excessive regulations and rules it is because you have not been to other countries. Thailand and Vietnam have been mentioned. Bad mouth the government there and your bottom will be in prison. Try to get social benefits there if you fall on hard times. Need hospitalization? No money, no deal. Die in the street. Yep, great places to visit.

There really is no place that is utopia. Lots of great places to visit, but every one of them will have disadvantages to go along with their advantages. A lot of us Veterans have been to these "dream places" and yet we choose to live here in the States.

 

[John61CT]

I have seen many homeless / destitute Americans begging in third world countries.

They are treated well by some locals, despised by others.

But yes, of course if they get a serious medical condition requiring crazy expensive treatment, basically allowed to die.

And that is one version of "freedom", you makes your bed, then you lies in it.

 

[velojym]

It's all a matter of 'balance'... what you're willing to do in order to achieve a goal.
For most of us, the Bad Apple hasn't pulled us over and subjected us to all he's capable of doing. (though I did get a dose when I was younger, as I just happened to "know" a guy who'd ticked off the county sheriff, and they were willing to put me through hell to get me to help put him away)
So, anyone who hasn't had to deal with it won't really see an issue, normally.

However, relying on someone else for a ride, in my opinion, is far less liberating because they can, if they want, just leave you in the middle of the desert if you so much as say something that offends them. And, in this day and age, being offended appears to have become a popular hobby.

I don't like being leashed to anything, and I think that the current method of license/registration/etc. has nothing to do with safety, and is used mostly to track and control us. Just look at a bunch of the drivers out there now... by what standard are they actually being held? Or is that little plastic card mostly used to ensure that, when you're pulled over for whatever reason, Officer Friendly can check to ensure you haven't displeased your betters and are deserving of "special" treatment.

It doesn't matter if you're walking, though, as the "Papers, Please!" thugs will still want to see your ID, even if you have no logical use for it. So, gliding through, relatively anonymously, in your motor vehicle seems like a safer bet, if you're worried about the Bad Apple noticing you. Keep your vehicle clean, keep a low profile, and don't do anything that would peg you as an easy target... you know, some activities that have become popular for frivolous "gold mining" stops, like texting, eating a two-fisted burger, flashing truckers, or looking like you "ain't from 'round heah!"

I can't stand authori-TAH (different from authority, as the latter can be earned with knowledge and experience. The former is completely arbitrary) and my methods for avoiding it are just living the square life. I don't go barreling down the highway at double digits over the limit, I remember what the turn signals are for, and I make sure all the lights on the outside of my car are working (great Bad Apple bait, by the way, a taillight not working). I keep all my PaPerZ in OrdAH, too, as I think there are far more important battles to fight in the future, and getting myself "outed" as a non-conformist now would only hurt me in the long run.

Your mileage, and opinions, may vary, of course. This is not an invitation to tell me what my views should be, just that some of us aspire to liberty, as all societies must do if they're going to succeed in the long run, and are not wanting to use ourselves up on this sort of thing.

 

[lenny flank]

If one defines "freedom" as "living independently and doing whatever you want", it is an illusion. Humans are social animals, the idea of the "rugged individual" and "self-reliance" is simply not true, and all of us live within a human society with all its restrictions.

It is a pipe dream that doesn't and can't exist in reality. No matter how 'independent" and "free" one wants to believe one is.

No one is an island. We are all tied to everyone else, inextricably and inevitably.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

When I think about the steps necessary to going on the road (4-wheel wise) frankly I get really upset thinking about the coercion (gun-to-the-head, in this case by the State, not gangsters).

1. drivers licenses
2. automobile insurance
 . . .
So RVing, you have to submit all the time right, just by virtue of being on the road: compulsory this, mandatory that. That really irks me.

 . . . I think that the current method of license/registration/etc. has nothing to do with safety, and is used mostly to track and control us. Just look at a bunch of the drivers out there now... by what standard are they actually being held? Or is that little plastic card mostly used to ensure that, when you're pulled over for whatever reason, Officer Friendly can check to ensure you haven't displeased your betters and are deserving of "special" treatment.

 This is not an invitation to tell me what my views should be, just that some of us aspire to liberty, as all societies must do if they're going to succeed in the long run, and are not wanting to use ourselves up on this sort of thing.

You apparently want to travel in a society where the guy piloting an 8,000 lb missile coming towards you has never been checked for skill or medical competency in driving.  Nor has he shown that he has the resources to repair you and/or your property when he damages them.

Your license on stops is checked for liability insurance (the ability to fix what you break), validity (your driving privileges have not been revoked), warrants for your arrest, outstanding tickets for an unsafe vehicle.  Most cops don't have the time or interest in playing games, but there are jerks in all occupations.

 

[AMGS3]

Oknownew -
So if you are going overseas wouldn't you need your passport?

And what about backpacking through the US? None of the legal requirements of owning/operating a vehicle, all if the benefits of travel, with more freedom than a lot of countries. For instance when was the last time you heard of anyone getting caned in the US? Sure it'd be much slower, but some people seem to enjoy the independence of getting from one place to another on their own two legs.

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

 

[velojym]

Spiff. Nope. Thanks for preaching at me based on a flawed assumption, though.

 

[Weight]

velojym. Nope!