Not sure

[Steve67t]

11 February 2021

Good Afternoon,

Hi, I'm Steve and this is all new to me.  I'm wanting to learn more before I make a decision to jump in or continue on the path I'm on now.  I do have a few questions and I'm sure the answers can be found on this site or by doing a search on the web.  I've been looking at vans, trucks and campers that you can drive and pull and not sure.  

Q1...how can I stay connected to the internet if I'm sitting somewhere isolated from the rest of the world?  I want to continue to work via the web.  How would I do that traveling?

Q2...do you recommend a home base?  

These are just 2 questions I have for now and want to see if I get anything back.

Steve

 

[ForestRoadSurfers]

Welcome!

Using the search on the upper right yields great responses
this is the first 'Internet" thread https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=41533&highlight=internet+on+the+road

Homebases are cool; my wife and I built our rig to find where our 'homebase' may be

 

[landyachtman]

Welcome 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.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[nature lover]

Welcome to the forum. One of the neat things for a lot of people if you don’t have to jump in with both feet. You can use whatever vehicle you have and with a minimum amount of equipment go camping for a while. See how you like it maybe expand in building a little van camper or a trailer. And then eventually you’ll find out if you want to go into it full-time. Most people find out they love it. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

 

[Sofisintown]

Q1...how can I stay connected to the internet if I'm sitting somewhere isolated from the rest of the world?  I want to continue to work via the web.  How would I do that traveling?

Q2...do you recommend a home base?  

These are just 2 questions I have for now and want to see if I get anything back.

Steve

Hi Steve, and welcome!

I'd say, travel around a bit in the vehicle you currently have to get a feel of what you like, what space  and items you need, and how much comfort you are willing to sacrifice to get further away from the beaten path.

About Q1:
If you want to keep working, you will have to camp in places that have cell phone signal, and there are numerous places where that can be done. You just tether your laptop to your phone, and use it to access the internet. Visible is one of the providers that have cheap plans with unlimited data. The speed depends on how good your signal is.

Q2:
If you can afford it, it is good to have a home base, where you can retreat if things get too hairy - like the past year. You can get some cheap land, or a small home somewhere where there is good signal for your phone.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Camper]

Welcome to the forum.....

If I had to start over, I'd begin by taking some weekend trips, then a week or two trip and go from there.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Steve are you a camper or rv type person? Done all this before?

if brand new I would take trips out first before you sell or leave your home.

if not new to all this, home base is 'iffy' on what you personally want. Our home is being sold. All gone, hit the road for full time freedom for as long as we want and if we get the home base bug later, we will buy new land/build or whatever in a new loved location. So you got alot of options on your personal choices on that one.

Internet. Free from a shop, restaurant, cg with internet available....etc.
Off your phone, hotspot
if you want to have something like Dish, Wingate, Directv set up to take with you, you can get internet thru that

 

[Steve67t]

Welcome to the forum. One of the neat things for a lot of people if you don’t have to jump in with both feet. You can use whatever vehicle you have and with a minimum amount of equipment go camping for a while. See how you like it maybe expand in building a little van camper or a trailer. And then eventually you’ll find out if you want to go into it full-time. Most people find out they love it. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

Thanks for your time to respond. I would like to continue to work as much as I can thru the internet. Because of the pandemic I've been teleworking every day and was just briefed that if and when we come back to the office, I might have to come back to work 2 days a month, but as long as I can get access to the mainframe computers it could be from anywhere I can get access.

 

[JasonMcD]

My thoughts:

As far as internet goes, there are a few apps that you can download that provide a map of accessible wifi locations near you. The one i use is called Instabridge. Its based on community shared passwords, and it comes in handy. Lowe's, Home Depot, and Burger King usually have reliable wifi connections, depending on your area. If you're not in an area that is close to wifi, but you have cell signal, you might want to look into getting a smart phone that allows you to create a HotSpot. Verizon seems to have the best coverage nationwide, although a little more pricey.

 

[user 423]

... you might want to look into getting a smart phone that allows you to create a HotSpot. Verizon seems to have the best coverage nationwide, although a little more pricey.

Verizon now has Visible that is only $40/mo. or less. I just recently switched to them and it's pretty good service, even out in the rural area where I'm staying now.

 

[Steve67t]

Thanks to everyone that responded. The first issue I have is fear. If I knew about this after coming home from deployment and loosing everything in the divorce, i wouldn't have bought my house. The fear of being homeless again is very frightening to me, but living alone in a 3 bedroom house is insanity in itself.

 

[Freelander]

I understand about living alone in a 3 bedroom house, I lost my wife of 21 years Nov, and I am looking at selling my house.

I started looking for a Class C after she went into the nursing home, so I would be prepared when she did pass away.

I found what I liked and bought it. Took a few weekend trips, and then a week long trip. And now I'm spending the winter in Arizona.

So far I have most of the issues straightened out, and will seriously look at selling house next year.

 

[JDub]

"The Park Bench" fear is an understandable one. Being faced with possible homelessness when you've been a law abiding, middle class, go to work come back and BBQ, cut the grass on the weekends type your whole life is at the top of the list for wake-you-up-in-cold-sweat scenarios for almost anyone. I think disbelief comes closely afterwards. I've seen it. One of the young troopers who worked for me before I retired 20 years ago just went through that scenario. He's obviously middle aged now but the same thing happened to him - divorce, lost everything, He's on disability (he's TRULY disabled - broke his back in a parachute jump - the doc's didn't even think he would walk again but he surprised them) It just kept getting worse. It keeps him from his (very in demand) trade. He was faced with packing his work trailer and just leaving since she got the house and everything else pretty much.

We (we're a small, close knit career field - retirees and all) did our best to help and after wandering, living in his trailer, and couch surfing for a few months he's settled down and started to put his life together again. Luckily he had a VA pension to help him through. He came out OK in the end and so will you. I'm with you and Freelander too, when my much younger wife of 14 years died, I was left with a 2100 ft house filled with memories and shadows. Home base is all it's ever going to be, a home again... Never. That's why I'm here annoying people on this forum!

Cheers!

 

[maki2]

There are a very large number of people who live full time in various types of RVs. You can sell your place, put the funds into a money market account and if you don't enjoy the life find a new home that is just the right size in a place you want to live.

Fear of change is very normal. Figure out what aspect of the change you are most frightened by and create a safety net for fall back.

 

[crofter]

Try going to this link, scroll down to the title "overcoming your fears". That is what helped me through that fear in the beginning. 

https://www.cheaprvliving.com/

They should really teach trauma survivors to visualize a van on the road and not a stone cottage. The van visualization works much better.
-crofter

 

[crofter]

Here is Bob's list of possible fears you could have when starting out to change your life, from above link.

Going broke, homeless and penniless
Being alone and lonely
Physical safety
Failure
I'm not good enough
What others think
The unknown
I'm too young

I also fear breakdowns and getting stuck somewhere where all the survival skills I have learned and practiced all my life will fail me and I will be dug out of the ice a thousand years hence by archaeologists. 

I did hear of an old lady in Wyoming who took a wrong turn, got stuck in the mud, and survived for 7 days on pear juice. It can happen. She was found in good shape by a search party, not archaeologists. So when the worst  happens to you, just survive it.
-crofter

 

[crofter]

Link to article with above survival story. 
-crofter

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/oct/08/stranded-83-year-old-lived-on-juice-frost/

 

[RoamerRV428]

unless this is a lifestyle you truly want and have a desire to 'roam free' your words of having alot of fear do catch here cause if it is just you in as wonky state, with a big unused home and divorce happening and more changes.....you might wanna just sell and buy a small home.....go tiny type home ya know. You have options. Just take your time and think about it before you jump. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Freelander]

Just take small steps at first.

These are good tips:

Going broke, homeless and penniless
Being alone and lonely
Physical safety
Failure
I'm not good enough
What others think
The unknown
I'm too young

Look at each one and think about how they will affect you.