dustytrailhead
Active member
I live on a lake with lake and sylvan view, perhaps a bird lovers dream habitation. Unfortunately, this ideal place comes with a cost, a cost I am weary of. Someone has to fund it, and the one is me. It is a mortgage. And paying that requires that I have a job and I don't like that job....let me backup. A few months ago I was minding my own business, browsing YouTube, when I came upon a documentary by Kirsten Dirksen about the Tiny House Movement. It was intoxicating, and I watched everything about "Tiny Houses", almost exhausting the topic. As I expanded the subject matter, I came upon Without Bound and eventually this site. From the very first I thought "I can do this!" From all my research I came to realize that the subject is not "Tiny House", "Tiny Living" or "Van Dwelling"; the subject is "Intentional Living". It is not an absolute, but it is the will to learn what you need and making a plan to reach that goal. I was minding my own business in that this may not have occurred to me had I not been presented with these ideas....uh, so I bought a camper, am selling my house and quitting my "good" tech job.
Why a camper and not a tiny house? Well, I am learning about what I need, including where I can find it. I have had 5 campers in my life, from a home made pickup truck camper to a 26' class A. I lived in the truck camper for a summer on a lake beach most of the time, so I know a little about boondocking. And there is wanderlust, and a tiny house is not mobile enough at this time. So, "the plan" (lower case) is to equip my camper with with some golf cart batteries, solar panels, and a composting toilet. And then I will follow the sun and hope to recognize when and where to stop.
But until then I will have to come to grips with eliminating my 60 inch TV and surround sound, my car, my computers and broadband, my clothes and shoes, my memory foam bed, my washer and drier, my coffee maker, my leather sectional, my "stuff"...things that I worked so hard for and defined my identity, at least in my mind. Then there is HEALTHCARE!!!! It's like having mortgage. Since I made this decision, a day has not gone by when I wake up in a panic, thinking "You crazy fool, what are you doing!?" But, by the end of the day I'm OK with it. Then repeat tomorrow. I am crazy.
I know I am not saying anything new and many of you came to the same conclusion, possibly from a different path. I am interested in your plan (or path) and how it is going. It may encourage me. But, feel free to discourage me.
Thanks.
Why a camper and not a tiny house? Well, I am learning about what I need, including where I can find it. I have had 5 campers in my life, from a home made pickup truck camper to a 26' class A. I lived in the truck camper for a summer on a lake beach most of the time, so I know a little about boondocking. And there is wanderlust, and a tiny house is not mobile enough at this time. So, "the plan" (lower case) is to equip my camper with with some golf cart batteries, solar panels, and a composting toilet. And then I will follow the sun and hope to recognize when and where to stop.
But until then I will have to come to grips with eliminating my 60 inch TV and surround sound, my car, my computers and broadband, my clothes and shoes, my memory foam bed, my washer and drier, my coffee maker, my leather sectional, my "stuff"...things that I worked so hard for and defined my identity, at least in my mind. Then there is HEALTHCARE!!!! It's like having mortgage. Since I made this decision, a day has not gone by when I wake up in a panic, thinking "You crazy fool, what are you doing!?" But, by the end of the day I'm OK with it. Then repeat tomorrow. I am crazy.
I know I am not saying anything new and many of you came to the same conclusion, possibly from a different path. I am interested in your plan (or path) and how it is going. It may encourage me. But, feel free to discourage me.
Thanks.
