live on a pension?

[steveca4]

Hi everyone

Initially my adventures will only be for a month or two at a time. I'm just entering semi retirement, for me that means taking off a couple months in summer and in winter. In 3 yrs I'll be 65 and have a small ($1000/mth) pension to live on. 

For me stealth will not be as big an issue: only when I stop overnight when traveling from one outdoor spot to another. 

I live in the exact middle of Canada so my first step on my excursions will be to head to one coast or the other, then work my way south in winter and north in summer. 

Finding places to camp for free will be my biggest challenge all along the coasts of North America. 

1. Is living on $1000 a month doable?
2. Free camping along the coasts of US and Canada?

thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions

Stev e

 

[John61CT]

Yes to the money, but it will be tight if you're used to a middle class S&B lifestyle.

Health insurance will be the biggest sacrifice leaving your province.

Should budget separately for miles traveled. https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?pid=353330#pid353330

And the nice coastal locations are the hardest to find free, work on your stealth, or commute to the beach as needed.

 

[DannyB1954]

There are several phone apps that help find free or low cost camp sites. In general you can camp for free on public land here unless it is posted otherwise. I know this is vague but the rules change from place to place. Each of the National forests will have their own web site where you can get more info. Besides Federal land there are also State, county and sometimes city parks.

Here are some links that I have, but there also may be a section of this forum that lists others.

https://freecampsites.net/
http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/index.php
https://www.allstays.com/
https://mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4....gle.com/site/gmap4source/txt/Currentfires.txt
http://publiclands.org/
https://navigator.blm.gov/home
https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/

 

[steveca4]

Yes to the money, but it will be tight if you're used to a middle class S&B lifestyle.

Health insurance will be the biggest sacrifice leaving your province.

Should budget separately for miles traveled. https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?pid=353330#pid353330

And the nice coastal locations are the hardest to find free, work on your stealth, or commute to the beach as needed.

 Hi  John61CT

I'll have to top up some health coverage even when traveling within Canada, good thought. 
I'm good with commuting to the ocean if need be but I won't be doing public beaches, more the boondock coastal thing. 
Steve

 

[steveca4]

There are several phone apps that help find free or low cost camp sites. In general you can camp for free on public land here unless it is posted otherwise. I know this is vague but the rules change from place to place.  Each of the National forests will have their own web site where you can get more info. Besides Federal land there are also State, county and sometimes city parks.

Here are some links that I have, but there also may be a section of this forum that lists others.

https://freecampsites.net/
http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/index.php
https://www.allstays.com/
https://mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4....gle.com/site/gmap4source/txt/Currentfires.txt
http://publiclands.org/
https://navigator.blm.gov/home
https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/

This is great, thank you Danny

 

[rm.w/aview]

 In 3 yrs I'll be 65 and have a small ($1000/mth) pension to live on. I live in the exact middle of Canada so my first step on my excursions will be to head to one coast or the other, then work my way south in winter and north in summer. Finding places to camp for free will be my biggest challenge all along the coasts of North America. 

Go West Young Man! Less expensive camping is found in the western states, and add to this a Passport America membership along with annual passes in the states that offer them to further trim your expense when you're staying at a paid camping area. Entertainment and information can be found at https://www.loveyourrv.com and the same name on youtube as they summer on Vancouver Island and winter in the warmer regions of the states with a very strong tendency to boondock. Happy Trails!

 

[John61CT]

I'll have to top up some health coverage even when traveling within Canada, good thought.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant you will need to "go bareback", there's no way to get reasonably priced health care while travelling in the US.

Many USians pay more for monthly premiums than your whole living budget, especially at your age. And pre-existing conditions are now going back to excluded, ambulance / ER costs optional etc.

Perhaps a "tourist / travelling" policy with a very large deductible, but those do not accommodate long-term travel.

I believe many provinces require you to be gone no more than 3 months at a time to keep your Canadian cover active?

 

[Firtree]

Will you get $1000 US or CD? If CD won’t goes as far in US, right? But maybe our prices are lower so might be close to a wash

 

[Almost There]

First off, as a fellow retired Cdn, you might have understated your pension income.

If you're only considering your CPP income, then you've missed counting on your OAS (old Age Security). It is payable after you turn 65 provided you have met the test(s) for citizenship and length of residency in Canada. If you fail to meet the residency requirements then you might only be entitled to a % of OAS but it's still worthwhile applying for. If you're living on nothing more than CPP and OAS then you might also be eligible for GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement).

You must be present in Canada for 6 months of the year to remain eligible for OAS and GIS. Your provincial health residency requirements vary by province. Ontario is 6 months residency, BC is 5 for examples. But then, you're only allowed 6 months per year in the US anyways so unless you're planning on staying in Mexico or further south, meeting the residency requirements is no problem.

It is wise to carry out of province since each province, despite interprovincial agreements, may or may  not cover the entire cost of such things as ambulance service etc.

Out of country coverage is a wise thing to do also since provinces only pay a small portion of costs for things like US hospital beds. Ontario for example, last time I checked, only paid $400.00 per day for ANY US hospital bed...a far cry from the actual cost.

It is very important to shop around for out of province/country coverage since the premiums vary widely. My first time searching for coverage found premiums that ranged from $1,600. down to $500. for the same 5 month period. For more info in that feel free to PM me.

Free camping is definitely available in BC - go to http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/default.aspx and start finding all the free ones. Ontario, nothing in southern Ontario but in northern Ontario there is a lot of crown land that is vehicle accessible. Unfortunately, there is no good mapping that I know of, that shows where you can get to. It's mostly found out by talking to the right locals. Haven't explored the rest of the provinces so I'm no help there.

Free eastern US is a little hard to come by. Free or very low cost in the western US is plentiful. What type of camping you need will depend on what type of vehicle you are using.

If you're not paying a mortgage and a car payment, the monies available as a CDn senior are quite adequate. Well, unless you've got other expensive habits like tobacco, alcohol and excessive consumerism...lol.

 

[steveca4]

This is great info, thanks so much. I haven't traveled Canada, execpt week long visits to Ontario and Quebec, so I had no idea about how to prepare for extended trips like a month or two. Good to know about this kind of thing before hand. Cheers, Steve

 

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Sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant you will need to "go bareback", there's no way to get reasonably priced health care while travelling in the US.

Many USians pay more for monthly premiums than your whole living budget, especially at your age. And pre-existing conditions are now going back to excluded, ambulance / ER costs optional etc.

Perhaps a "tourist / travelling" policy with a very large deductible, but those do not accommodate long-term travel.

I believe many provinces require you to be gone no more than 3 months at a time to keep your Canadian cover active?

Regarding reducing medical care costs - I will keep my Canadian provincial monopoly health insurance for disasters. However, a good investment is a ten-year visa for India. You can find top-notch English-speaking pay-as-you-go no-rush doctors there (no line up for specialists unlike in BC) for low cost. Chronic health issues are best dealt with out of Canada. This is one reason I am fed up with the land of my birth.

 

[John61CT]

Same for dozens of countries.

No need to pay for a ten year visa, just takes a week or two to get a regular 60-day one processed.

And don't expect to be allowed to fly if you're in need of critical treatment.

Obviously getting in a major road accident is the most likely scenario.

You may not be conscious when tge ambulance takes you to the nearest ER, by the time you wake up next morning, $50K USD have been racked up.

Not to put anyone off, just need to be aware that it happens every day.