new to forum but no vanlife

[BobKat Adventures]

Hi everybody -looking forward to adding back into my life a layer of like-minded adventure spirited people. For various seasons in my life I have been an adventurer choosing to hike, camp and explore.I have a long history filled with various adventuring platforms .My first camper was a 80's VW campervan. My first conversion was a station wagon,then a mini van. I drifted away but then found my self converting a Blazer for a place to sleep for fishing or hiking trips and after 2 years I got a new 4 wheel drive Ford Explorer- my 4 season adventure platform. I used these to be a weekend Dad, for holidays or summer vacations with my kids- who lived in Maine -I lived in Conn. In the winter we skied ,in the summer we camped.As they grew I bought a Coleman Popup and we camped regularly for 2 years mostly in National forest all over the North East . They eventually came to live with me and we lived for three years near the ocean and for a year directly across the street from a famous ocean front estate.As they grew the style of adventuring changed- we did several summers cottaging at the beach.About this time I got a 30' travel trailer and eventually set it seasonally for them but in the end it was where I lived when not traveling for business.When they got to be college aged I closed my business and began my career.After a short while and very rapid rise I transitioned from construction into management I became a field project manager for a very large retailer traveling up and down the East coast for ten years. I got remarried and we bought a house in Franklin county Va a couple acres, a couple of miles off a county road up on a ridgeline no far from the Blue Ridge Parkway (paradise). Health issues forced changes in our lives but we still camped eventually trading that 30' travel trailer for a 30' toy hauler with a master bedroom slide out- my first choice. We adventured in that for 3 years- spending vacations traveling the N.E. and weekends exploring national forests and state camp grounds in and around Va and WV. Health issues forced us to warmer climates and the real estate market forced us to become land lords- that went very poorly. After a couple of painful expensive lessons we ended up regrouping in Florida  At one point we lived in our 2008 30' ft toy hauler in the Tampa area for over a year. Health issues have plagued us and made my early retirement a disaster. In the wake of that disaster once again I got the itch and we started exploring again.I stumbled on Bob's youtube channel. We are back to tent camping- we just finished a week at the Florida shore where we introduced our grand daughter to camping- we bought her her own tent and gear to introduce her to camping- it is my experience that these experiences are the foundation for being able to thrive and care for yourself no matter what.My wife said yes to a Runaway after we watched the videos so we're looking....forward to new adventures

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome BobKat to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. highdesertranger

 

[GypsyJan]

I found the Runaway campers fascinating....but I wouldn't be able to stand up in one so I'll stick with just the Rav4 for now. Great prices and so lightweight, though.

 

[[email protected]]

Welcome! Like you, I am waiting for my traveling dream. Right now, the snag is my Medicaid services that keep me out of a nursing home. My Case Manager tells me I will lose my services if I am 'homeless'. So, instead of moving into my van this weekend, I'm going crazy trying to find a place to live that folks I depend on will accept.

However, my daughter understands my dream and is encouraging me. She even wants to accompany me on some vanventures! Even though she hates camping LOL.

But, I've been researching before my Internet gets cut off. There are programs for 'chronically homeless' to get Medicaid, and they can get Soc Sec Disability SSDI, too! If they can do that, then maybe my Case Manager's boss is wrong. I'm not 'chronically homeless' - yet - but I'm still researching and some of the provisions apply to the very program I am on. I'm still mad at GA and in fact, the entire Southeast for refusing to expand Medicaid. Don't they realize how much money the States would save in catching little health problems before they become large?

Also, note that we vandwellers don't have the problems most homeless folks who don't have a vehicle to live in have. We know how to stay clean. We have the resources to keep ourselves healthier than our poor friends on the sidewalks. And I'm not saying that I'm better than my brother begging on a busy highway near me from his wheelchair, either. It's not my job as a fellow Christian to judge. I have an income. He doesn't seem to have one. So his daily choices are a lot different than mine now or if I were vandwellin'.

I got the van so I wouldn't have to be homeless like on the sidewalk homeless. Yet, I got the van because I want to have adventures like the folks on this forum are! I'm tired of rent always going up and having to move a houseful of stuff.

I still have to downsize, and I know it'll be hard. But I'm giving my daughter her inheritance now and I'm happy to do that. She can do what she pleases with the special stuff. A lot that's special to me won't be for her because she doesn't have the memories I do connected with 'em. But, she can weed and I don't have to see it

There's a bit about what I'm doing and how I feel about this stuff.
 How about you? How are you downsizing, as in, any advice to the rest of us?
You have a lot more experience with this than I do, having traveled a lot on your off from work time and all. What do you take with you now that you didn't, then? How have your priorities stuff-wise changed over the years?

Looking forward to hearing more. Good luck to you and your wife, and to your future family adventures!

 

[Rtay]

I still have to downsize, and I know it'll be hard. But I'm giving my daughter her inheritance now and I'm happy to do that. She can do what she pleases with the special stuff. A lot that's special to me won't be for her because she doesn't have the memories I do connected with 'em. But, she can weed and I don't have to see it Smile

There's a bit about what I'm doing and how I feel about this stuff.


I’m not sure if I will be of any help, but will tell you what I did several years ago when I sold my house. Maybe a thought that might work for you.
I’m very sad that the kids don’t seem to be interested in, or even care about the history behind items that we cherish, but my little grand daughter LOVES anything I give her. I’ve been collecting glass for years and had inherited a beautiful set of carnival glass from my grand mother that had belonged to my great grand mother. It does have a decent value, and would have broke my heart had my daughter in law either thrown it out, or yard sales it off for $3, which she is so good at. I wrote the history behind it all out, along with some memories I had about both the grandmothers and put that in her baby book. My son wanted my china cabinet, and I’m not sure why, but the daughter in law didn’t object to putting those in the cabinet for safe keeping.  My grand daughter is 11 now, and has her own collection of carnival glass growing because of those items.
I gave all my crystal to my oldest daughter in law, because she loves crystal, and she seems to actually like me most of the time. LOL
I still have all my Fenton Glass, and Milk Glass, but I will probably sell it if I can find respectable buyers. I’ve left the price tags on the ones that had them, in hopes they wouldn’t make it into a yard sale for $3.
The other thing that I collected that had sentimental value is a knife collection. It was started with a few pocket knives from my grandpa, and grew into antique pocket knives, skinning knives, and antique butcher knives. Got to be quite a large collection, and I never purchased a single one. Most of the time they just appeared out of nowhere. It was always comforting and made me feel like grandpa must be around. I made my sons take a good portion of them a few years back, and my now 5 year old grandson is excited to know that even tho he doesn’t have possession of them yet, they are his.
The rest of my stuff, either isn’t their style, and they would only be interested in getting rid of it all. So, maybe I’ll grt rid of it instead. I know the value, and could use the money. I am going to store my household items for at least a year or two, just to see how it goes once I’m out there. Who knows, maybe it will go to furnish my granddaughters first apartment. She’s the only one in the family that would love to have it all!
You know I loved my kids when they were kids, but I find it hard to even like them as adults. It seems as tho, if it’s not cash, they don’t want it.i wonder sometimes who raised them? We don’t seem to be connected at all anymore.