picopat
Member
Hi! My name is Patrick, I’m a tinkerer and engineer at heart and soon-to-be full time van dweller!
I’m mid-career, married, no kids, and in late October 2016 I was browsing Reddit and happened across a video about a couple in their early thirties that had been traveling the world and living out of a van for the last 8 years.
I was blown away. How the hell did they do it?
I’ve always wanted the freedom to explore the world but freedom costs both time and money. When I was younger and had plenty of time but no money. Now that I’m in my 40s I found I had some money but so many commitments and added responsibility that I could never find the time. It seemed like a cruel joke that I just caught on to. Like most people, I looked for ways to maximize comfort while I waited for retirement to achieve freedom. This couple broke the rules and found a different way.
I shared the video with my wife and started doing research. Bob’s site was one of the first (and best) resources I found. We read a lot, watched a lot of videos, and spent hours discussing the pros and cons, and our hopes and fears. I believe, for us, it came down to honestly identifying the things we were most afraid of and either coming up with ways to mitigate them or just to deal with them head on. After a few months of consideration we finally made a decision to go for it.
We decided we needed a plan and schedule to make it a reality instead of just a daydream about the future. By February 2017 we came up with a plan to save money, downsize our possessions, build our custom stealth camper, get the house ready for our departure, and prepare for remote work opportunities. We ended up with a planned departure date of October 31, 2018 which lined up nicely with a long term project I have at work giving me the opportunity to close out some personal career goals. But “no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. Life happens and we have had to delay departure by a month and make other adjustments.
But now the scariest part is upon us. I will be giving notice at my job the end of this month (September 2018). The point of no return where we give up the security of a salary and benefits. But thanks to Bob and the members of the tribe we’re not stepping out into the unknown. Your stories, videos, and advice have helped us figure out what to do and inspired us to take a chance.
I’m looking forward to being a part of the tribe and lending my background, skills, and experience to contribute to it. Looking forward to meeting many of you at RTR in January 2019!
I’m mid-career, married, no kids, and in late October 2016 I was browsing Reddit and happened across a video about a couple in their early thirties that had been traveling the world and living out of a van for the last 8 years.
I was blown away. How the hell did they do it?
I’ve always wanted the freedom to explore the world but freedom costs both time and money. When I was younger and had plenty of time but no money. Now that I’m in my 40s I found I had some money but so many commitments and added responsibility that I could never find the time. It seemed like a cruel joke that I just caught on to. Like most people, I looked for ways to maximize comfort while I waited for retirement to achieve freedom. This couple broke the rules and found a different way.
I shared the video with my wife and started doing research. Bob’s site was one of the first (and best) resources I found. We read a lot, watched a lot of videos, and spent hours discussing the pros and cons, and our hopes and fears. I believe, for us, it came down to honestly identifying the things we were most afraid of and either coming up with ways to mitigate them or just to deal with them head on. After a few months of consideration we finally made a decision to go for it.
We decided we needed a plan and schedule to make it a reality instead of just a daydream about the future. By February 2017 we came up with a plan to save money, downsize our possessions, build our custom stealth camper, get the house ready for our departure, and prepare for remote work opportunities. We ended up with a planned departure date of October 31, 2018 which lined up nicely with a long term project I have at work giving me the opportunity to close out some personal career goals. But “no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. Life happens and we have had to delay departure by a month and make other adjustments.
But now the scariest part is upon us. I will be giving notice at my job the end of this month (September 2018). The point of no return where we give up the security of a salary and benefits. But thanks to Bob and the members of the tribe we’re not stepping out into the unknown. Your stories, videos, and advice have helped us figure out what to do and inspired us to take a chance.
I’m looking forward to being a part of the tribe and lending my background, skills, and experience to contribute to it. Looking forward to meeting many of you at RTR in January 2019!
Have a great time traveling!
