New member

[Sheryl]

Hello to all! Hubby and I have been planning to sell off our belongings and move into a tiny place out of the city, in Ontario, for years. We were looking at tiny cottages in the country, as rough, cheap and small as we could find, hopefully on the water, cutting our expenses down to little and simplifying/downsizing our stressful jobs and lifestyle - semi-retirement, sort of. We really needed to "get out from under" it all! Both kids are gone and we were just not happy with the stress of trying to keep up the home, bills, vehicles and material possessions. We were losing the battle, frankly, until Hubby suddenly got the idea to buy an old, used camper and move into that. <br><br>The more we thought about it, the more we liked it. We already had an old truck to pull it with. We found exactly the camper we wanted, small and older but with all amenities and for a price we could afford.&nbsp;<br><br>We looked around and researched the best place in Canada to live in a camper full time. We came up with the only place - British Columbia. It's on the coast with warm areas for winter, full of campgrounds to work in and wilderness for camping. They allow us to use a mile marker address on the Alaskan Hwy as our home address for everything. We soon had a job offer at a campground in BC and left Ontario behind. We have never looked back. We love this lifestyle! We truly enjoyed the camp worker experience at a small, fairly wilderness Provincial campground in the northern Rockies of BC. and best of all, it's stressfree! We had lots of time to hike, &nbsp;explore and perfect our new way of doing things. I'm sure we will continue to grow into the lifestyle as we go along. &nbsp;<br><br>Our needs are so small now that we can easily make enough to meet them working at campgrounds during the busy season. We keep our needs and our footprint small, trying to save what we can.&nbsp;We even saved enough money to buy a better and more reliable truck!<em>&nbsp;(Our old one broke down twice on the way to our campground job here in BC, but hubby was able to fix it on the road.)&nbsp;<br><br></em>I sometimes miss gardening but brought a pot of necessary herbs with me. It travels in the back of the truck and I put it in the sun on the ground whenever we stop anywhere, but we don't travel a lot. I intend to add to it when spring comes so I will have a small, potted and mobile garden. We will be working at a campground again in the spring and will stay there until late fall, so I will give container gardening a try there. Short season things like spinach can always be grown anywhere.<br><br>We have learned a lot about camping frugally and mobile living in the past few months and we still can't believe it! We sold all that we owned, other vehicles and every little thing that wouldn't fit into our camper, capped truck and new lifestyle. It all went. I cannot express how liberating it is to completely let go of the past life and all one's material possessions!! I was such a hoarder but no longer! Possessions own you, not the other way around! We're free and we love it!<br><br>We are now saving for a bigger camper, since it is our permanent home wherever we go.&nbsp;<br><br><br>&nbsp;<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

 

[OlJoe]

Outstanding! Congratulations - Thoreau would be proud!<br>&nbsp;Ol' Joe guy in Oregon

 

[HoboBerg]

Congratz on the wonderful lifestyle choice, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Sunny1]

Sheryl, just discovered your blog today.&nbsp; It is GREAT!&nbsp; I will be following along with you now.&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br>Why don't you put a link to it in your signature so others can find it more easily!

 

[akrvbob]

Sheryl, we are all so glad you are here! It sounds like your going to fit right in and make many new friends.<br><br>There are many Canadian Snowbirds here in Arizona, hope you can make it one of these days!!<br><br><em><strong>Please</strong> </em>put in a link to your blog, I'd love to see it!<br>Bob

 

[Sheryl]

Thanks guys!<br>I am glad you liked my blog!<br> I put the link in my signature.&nbsp;<img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="bbc_img"><br>I made a mistake&nbsp;the&nbsp;first time but I have corrected it, so it should work now.

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

I joined both of your blogs. I'm an artist also. Welcome.

 

[peacetara]

Welcome!!

 

[yesican]

<p>Welcome Sheryl and hubby.&nbsp; You are an inspiration to all us drooling to get out in the vandwelling lifestyle.&nbsp; I'm still trying to come up with a good container garden idea that will travel fairly well.&nbsp; Look forward to your input. <br><br>Rae</p>

 

[Sheryl]

Thank you! I am looking forward to being a part of this forum.&nbsp;<br>I'd love to see some of your work, Dragonflyinthesky!&nbsp;

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

<STRONG>A few from my now put on hold Fairytale.</STRONG>

 

[Sheryl]

Very nice! Are they watercolour?

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Watercolor and acrylic, I make them to be reproduced so I don't necessarily follow the 'rules'.&nbsp; I was very impressed with your work. Will pm you later.

 

[Sheryl]

Thank you!<br>I don't pay a lot of attention to "rules". I figure the are my paintings. I can do anything I want but mine are all acrylic. Sometimes I highlight sharp black lines with a fine marker. It's all sealed together anyway.&nbsp;<br><br><br><br><br>

 

[Elf]

Welcome! I do container gardening at my sticks &amp; bricks house - it is so much easier.

 

[blkjak]

welcome .... blkjak