Nomad vs Sticks and Bricks Dollars and Sense!

[eDJ_]

If a person can live in a Van or RV of some kind a small house or tiny house may be all that they would need for a home base.  It could be added on to in time for a garage or wing etc.

Amazon is now selling kits but I'm sure in some parts of the country one could beat their deal. 

Amazon's 20K Kit House

In my area of Southern Ohio  the shell house build company  Jim Walter's prices are often beat by local contractors.
This way you have a chance to find a decent place to live where the taxes are low, neighborhood is decent.  

The house could be built much like the Rig, using the Rig's generator and some of the domestics (chemical toilet etc) transferred into the house during the season one is there.  A cistern could provide for the domestic water needs.
A portable on demand hot water heater could be used for hot water needs.  Propane could be the fuel source.  You would basically have a stationary Rig and a mobile rig too.    And declare the house is still under construction.

Water could be drained from any plumbing for the winter when one traveled south for the winter.

 

[michaelwnoakes]

As for tiny house ideas, there is a YouTube channel called living large in a tiny house that's really good. The guy is in Australia, but travels all over the world interviewing people who live tiny.

 

[SLB_SA]

This is an amazing thread.
1. IGBT said "It is the downside of trying to be a nomad with assets to protect." This is a concern for me. In the "Buying Land" thread I asked about liability insurance and it has been crickets ever since.
2. michaelwnoakes said "Kids grow up and move onto their life." I started Medicare this year and two of my kids depend on me financially. In my opinion, as long as you and your kids are alive your responsibility never really disappears. (Many people might disagree; to each his own.)
3. If not for my kids (& grandkids), I would be on the road right now. I hate the costs of S&B.
4. One of my aunts called me yesterday. She and her husband were nomads (mostly in Utah) for 12-18 years. At the end, she was ready to return to S&B and they live in the northwest. They saw some amazing things and even stayed in Slab City for a couple days (not the right environment for them). She said the memories are wonderful.
5. If I had known about being a nomad before kids, my life might have been different. I can't turn back the clock however. I'm still in great shape, exercise every day, can (& do) drive 1500 miles in a day (or a bit more) on occasion, etc.

I'm a writer now; maybe "aspiring" or "(mostly) unpaid (so far)" writer is more accurate. They say being active is good for the mind; we'll see.

 

[highdesertranger]

holy cow 1500 miles in a day? there isn't enough hours in a day to go that far. LOL highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

^^^ Avg 62.5 MPH over 24 hours but no gas, food, or restroom breaks at that pace. Cannonball run?

 

[highdesertranger]

hahaha diapers and a two 55 gallon drums of fuel. highdesertranger

 

[SLB_SA]

^^^ Avg 62.5 MPH over 24 hours but no gas, food, or restroom breaks at that pace.  Cannonball run?

Or get on I80 and put your foot down hard.  Turn up the radio, make very brief stops for gas and restrooms, munch on snacks, etc.
One time I was heading to Sacto just west of SLC going a conservative 100 mph toward Wendover when I saw a (an?) Utah state police car with lights flashing far behind me, then passing me and then way ahead of me; he must have been doing 140 mph.  We passed him later at an accident site.
Another time, I left home, drove to Eureka, CA, attended my daughter's (8th?) birthday party at her cousins' house , and drove us home. About 3600 miles in almost exactly five days.  I slept for 24 hours while in California.

 

[SLB_SA]

hahaha diapers and a two 55 gallon drums of fuel.  highdesertranger

I haven't made the trip in about a year.  I hope it hasn't come to nappies yet but maybe someday? HaHaHa

 

[maki2]

I did just think of one advantage of owning a sticks and bricks.

If you need to qualify for various assistance, sometimes the primary home is not taken into consideration as far as assets.  I forget which ones, maybe SSI or something?, you can't have more than $2,000 in the bank and only $xxx in possessions NOT including the value of your residence.  So someone with $40k in the bank renting an apartment using that money would not qualify while someone with $2k in the bank and a $38,000 paid off house would qualify.

Not fair but what in life is?

If you are over 65 you can have $3,000

 

[IGBT]

My brother back in the day (when he was 22) drove from Washington state to Georgia in about 45 hours.

I remember as a kid thinking mom was going to go crazy with worry.

 

[Noel Pacheco]

I have simple answer to this query:

Life is short. No matter how much or how little money you make in your lifetime, you will never be able to buy yourself more time.

NP

 

[wayne49]

St Paul, MN to Redding, CA straight thru Christmas, 1969. Two drivers.
Late night/early morning near SLC, UT, in the headlights the tire tracks in the light snow looked like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing. Long legs and arms with skinny torsos.
I did 17 hours in one day, one time in 1969,on the same route going from CA back to MN in early summer. Checked into a motel. Every time I closed my eyes to get to sleep, I was on a moving strip of never ending pavement stretching out to the horizon.

 

[lenny flank]

Geez, I rarely drive more than four or five hours a day, no matter where I am going. I'm never in any hurry. Why torture myself?

 

[cyndi]

"... 40k in the South is doable, liveable enough.  Good bones, not needing major replacement..."

Until that tornado, hurricane, or flood destroyed your house.