RVish living in N America vs. backpacking in S.E. Asia

[[email protected]]

Context of my posts to come...

age: 63
sex: male
most important factors: freedom and economy
biggest fears: getting encumbered with a vehicle and over-paying for a 'mobile' lifestyle
competition option: live out of a suitcase in India, Vietnam etc
advantages of Canada/USA RVing:  language, cultural familiarity, NATURE, emergency medical care (Canada especially - insured)
disadvantages of same: high cost of petrol, hook-ups, high cost of insurance, no mechanical ability (maintenance & repair of vehicle)
advantages of RV living overseas: mobility plus lower cost
disadvantages of RV living in Canada/USA: Big Brother (don't like being tracked with driver's licenses etc)

My vision of RV: living is something out of the 1960s - picking up hitchhikers for conversation, freedom of the open road, maximum personal freedom. I am not sure that living in Patriot Act USA or PC Canada will allow this, so returning to being on the road in developing Asia might be more suitable. Never the less the sound of birds and brook, sleeping under the stars etc is difficult to accomplish in Thailand, so... it's a measured choice. 

A friend who owned a brute of an RV  advised me that in Canada at least, it's cheaper to stay in motels and take buses than to RV. That might no longer be the case. I see RVing as a luxury lifestyle not suitable for the truly indigent living off geezer's welfare.

 

[shadowmoss]

Have you ever been outside of North America for any length of time? An alternative might be to go to India/Thailand/other places overseas for some period of time, say 6 months or so, and see how you like it. If it doesn't work for you, come back and buy a van and put a bed in the back, pack some cooking stuff and hit the road here for 6 months. Then decide if either works for you or if you think of something else to do.

 

[lenny flank]

Were it me, if I had the opportunity, I'd visit every exotic overseas place that I could get to. The US will still be here when you get back.

 

[[email protected]]

> Have you ever been outside of North America for any length of time?  

YES. Half of my adult life I lived and worked in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan etc.

> An alternative might be to go to India/Thailand/other places overseas for some period of time, say 6 months or so, and see how you like it.  

This way I also keep health insurance and other geezer income.

>If it doesn't work for you, come back and buy a van and put a bed in the back, pack some cooking stuff and hit the road here for 6 months.  Then decide if either works for you or if you think of something else to do.

Exactly my default plan. But Canada and even USA seem obscenely expensive compared to India, where I can get a 30% discount on India rail that is already affordbable. In Saigon I can get an AC guesthouse room for $15. In Phnom Penh I can eat out for under $5. Again, living on the road in any comfort seems to be a luxury lifestyle here. And doing the same in India etc has a while other set of problems. I have tried being mobile in USA. While house-sitting for a friend in SACTO two summers ago I took a three-day road trip to see what I thought of lavender harvesting and processing into essential oils (trading my labour for product). I managed to park my vehicle somewhere among truckers but I always that I was unwelcome in town as a transient. What's more when I went to a seaside California State Park campsite I was shocked at the price: $25+ just for a space. 

I am a bit of a healthfood nut, foodie and also pesco-vegetarian who loves to cook. Since some countries (e.g. Bangladesh) are not at all suitable in what is available in restaurants I solve this by making foraging, shopping and cooking into an adventure. I travel with a portable stove, go meet the ladies in the local produce market and haggle for some veggies. Then I go 'home' to my guesthouse to make something out of what I bought that day. I eat much better this way, though it is time-consuming. However, there are some countries (e.g. Singapore) where it is much better value to eat out in food courts because groceries are costly. And other places (e.g. India) where it makes more sense to eat out because the local dishes take a long time or well-spiced and you'd be esconed in your guesthouse all day making capatis and dhal. You can even eat on the street in Mumbai and not get sick - though it might take you a few trips for your belly to accommodate the local bacteria.

 

[lenny flank]

> I have tried being mobile in USA. While house-sitting for a friend in SACTO two summers ago I took a three-day road trip to see what I thought of lavender harvesting and processing into essential oils (trading my labour for product). I managed to park my vehicle somewhere among truckers but I always that I was unwelcome in town as a transient. What's more when I went to a seaside California State Park campsite I was shocked at the price: $25+ just for a space. 


I travel all around the country and spend less than $1000/month (and that includes a lot of luxuries like eating out every day and visiting a LOT of museums, zoos, parks, etc etc etc).

California is rough on vehicle-dwellers. (It's a mecca for homeless people, and they don't like it.) The rest of the country, mostly, is not so rough.

 

[DLTooley]

How likely are you to need serious and/or regular healthcare and are you covered overseas at all?

 

[[email protected]]

How likely are you to need serious and/or regular healthcare and are you covered overseas at all?

Are you adressing this question to me or the other poster?

 

[Weight]

Do you think the authorities in SE Asia will ignore you and not track you more than in America above Mexico? Advantage of NA, not likely to be killed by leftest or right-wing para-military.

 

[[email protected]]

Do you think the authorities in SE Asia will ignore you and not track you more than in America above Mexico? Advantage of NA, not likely to be killed by leftest or right-wing para-military.

In my experience, yes. As a tourist I am pretty much ignored. Once they see I am not doing anything illegal anyway! SIM cards of foreigners are tracked in Cambodia and perhaps in Vietnam too. India, (excuse is the risk of jihadi terrorism, which of course is real) has its own issues, especially in border or even remote (e.g. tribal) areas. 
Let me think, have I ever been at risk for personal safety by criminals or the armed State? Hmm, assaulted by a druggie in Vancouver, stealth robbed in Phillipines twice, but never had any problems with government except when as a journalist I criticized public policy in Thailand. But law enforcement and politicians lie everywhere.

But, yes, USA/Canada are safer, generally. For the moment this anyway...

Customs and immigration is always worst in North America. China, Japan etc is a breeze by comparison. In many ways I feel more of a freeman in countries that are communist or other dictatorships. Cuba has a deliberate policy of leaving tourists alone unless you're suspected of doing something horrible. The only place I was ever truly threatened was in a dodgy neighbourhood in Addis Ababa. So USA/Canada are a mixed bag -- mostly good though.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

Not sure what the purpose of the original post is/was. But let's play along with some thoughts.

There are people living the mobile lifestyle on limited pensions here in the US. Appears to be more limited in Canada for free places to camp, gas much more expensive. Where does all that tax on gas money go?

Do they have the freedom to fully enjoy life?
Depends upon their attitude but they're certainly limited by a budget. Free camping areas, which generally limited to BLM/ USF in the West is plentiful. Not sure how those in the East do it, if at all. Most we see, on this forum and YouTube, are touring the Southwest in the winter for mild weather, everywhere else in the spring summer fall. Living on the road, gypsy style, all thanks to cheap available gas/food/RVs and creative living. As well, the general safety, trust, high standard of life and health Care system/quality can't be beat, arguably imho. Things which we take for granted, until one goes to a poor, foreign SE Asia, country. But then the OP knows all that.

Cheap international travel and living. Sounds glorious doesn't it, from your own experiences. Maybe ideal for you. So why the post?
But is that where one wishes to live, love and die? A transient Foreigner? Yes, you will always be a foreigner over there, but thank God for a favorable exchange rate making it all possible. Allowing you to be bourgeoise and fortunate, yet always a target to the less fortunate with no morals or scruples. A reality of their survival.
As we age, our perspectives and needs change. We are more frail. Everything can kill you easily in SE Asia; the air, water, food, insects, animals, locals, cheap public transport, etc... But it can be cheap to live, rent a tuktuk or scooter, public transportation pass, you can be fairly mobile. But driving in those mad cap road systems with their insanity, life appears to be really cheap there. Or one would think so with the accepted carelessness, indifference, sheer pandamonium of it all. I know, I watched it all on Top Gear. Lol.
Many have come back, Paradise turned into a hot, hell hole, reported by many. Yet there are expats, supposedly living the life, in many tropical/ mild climates all over the world. To each his own. Expat Mike should weigh in here, as he has done it all, and returned home, no doubt enriched from his experiences.

Nothing is perfect, always compromises as OP has mentioned. There is no free ride, even if cheaper due to currency exchange. You are paying a price somewhere, someway, somehow. And Big brother is everywhere now, more so than ever due to cheap technology.

What makes you happy and are willing to pay with your precious time?
Is home where the heart is?

 

[lenny flank]

 Not sure how those in the East do it, if at all. 

We do it just fine, actually.  Three years on the road and never had any problem finding a place to spend the night, from coast to coast and border to border.
The Southwest is nice and all, but it is only a small portion of the USA.  It's a big big country and I wanna see ALL of it.
Currently in Virginia for the Battle of Manassas re-enactment this weekend.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

Is that how most in the East do it, Walmart?
Never a problem coast to coast? Should post a thread on how you do it. Or maybe start a very successful YouTube channel so we can follow your escapades and learn from your success.

Asphalt urban camping isn't everyones cup of tea.
As commented to me by someone recently, Walmart overnight parking can be very ghetto. I've seen a bucket of waste left there. But the price is right says Barker! Hate the saying but applies here, you get what you pay for. Lol.

Thank you Sam Walmart, bastion of consumerism, allowing us to ride your coattails. Or more specfically, sleep on them.

 

[lenny flank]

I can't speak for others, but I overnight in Walmarts and Cracker Barrels almost exclusively. Because I choose my locations carefully (I don't go to places where we are actively not wanted) and take proper steps to stay stealthy, I usually stay two to four weeks in each city--long enough to see all the sites--before moving on to the next one.

Never had any real problems with anyone. Had a cop check me out once because someone had reported "somebody breaking into a car" in the lot; had a security guy move me out because the Walmart had just changed managers and no longer allowed vans to park overnight (he pointed me to a nearby parking lot instead). I'm sure the security dudes (where they exist) notice me after a while and know I am there, but since I don't make a PITA of myself, they don't bother me. And Sam Walton's family gets my money for a little while.

Never had a problem of any sort in a Cracker Barrel lot. Usually there are other vans or RVs parked there with me. I like their meatloaf.

EDIT:
>Should post a thread on how you do it


The bottom line is pretty simple--don't do anything to attract attention to yourself or the vehicle. Nobody can object to your presence if they do not know you are there. As for specifics.... well ..... anyone who needs to ask how to do it, probably isn't ready to do it. I prefer not to have a bunch of newbies trying it, failing at it, and causing more trouble for the rest of us.

 

[[email protected]]

> Not sure what the purpose of the original post is/was.

I like to 'stir the pot'. I enjoy getting people (including myself) to examine why they are doing something versus alternatives. Forums tend to be populated, naturally, by fans of the lifestyle that the forum is dedicated to. I like to come in and express contrariwise opinions and experiences.

> But let's play along with some thoughts.

Thank you, I appreciate your generosity of time, seriously.

> There are people living the mobile lifestyle on limited pensions here in the US. Appears to be more limited in Canada for free places to camp, gas much more expensive. Where does all that tax on gas money go?

National debt, our biggest expense.

> Do they have the freedom to fully enjoy life?

I can only judge my own situation.

> Depends upon their attitude but they're certainly limited by a budget. Free camping areas, which generally limited to BLM/ USF in the West is plentiful. Not sure how those in the East do it, if at all. Most we see, on this forum and YouTube, are touring the Southwest in the winter for mild weather,

As indeed I intend to *if* I RV or similar. I have spent so many years living and working in tropical (hot and humid) places, I want to enjoy somewhere hot and dry. Like so many people in BC, we get tired of the rain?

> everywhere else in the spring summer fall.

Yet, speaking for only myself of course, I feel no urge to see the changing of the seasons. I loved Gulf Coast of Texas, upcountry Lousiaiana and Florida - parts of which are pretty wet. The only thing I have a low tolerance for are mosquitoes.

> Living on the road, gypsy style, all thanks to cheap available gas/food/RVs and creative living.

Actually, the more I read of this forum, most RVers sound middle-class with savings.

> As well, the general safety, trust, high standard of life and health Care system/quality can't be beat, arguably imho. Things which we take for granted, until one goes to a poor, foreign SE Asia, country. But then the OP knows all that.

Indeed you are correct. I left Cambodia because my mother is dying in slow motion from dementia and it was time to spend a few years here doing the right thing. But also because so many of my friends died there. Little things can kill you in the third world. Like a motorcycle ride or an incompetent doctor.

> Cheap international travel and living. Sounds glorious doesn't it, from your own experiences. Maybe ideal for you. So why the post?

Because I am considering spending six months in North America every year starting in two years. I might settle in with a garden or I might hit the road here. Undecided. Carefully done, holes up in one place might be cheaper.

> But is that where one wishes to live, love and die? A transient Foreigner?

there are pluses and minuses to being a transient foreigner. My 85 year-old friend said he won;t return to Canada because it is no longer the country he left (a whole discussion in itself). Mind you, he owns property in Sattahip.

> Yes, you will always be a foreigner over there, but thank God for a favorable exchange rate making it all possible. Allowing you to be bourgeoise and fortunate, yet always a target to the less fortunate with no morals or scruples. A reality of their survival.

Correct.

> As we age, our perspectives and needs change.

Agreed.

> We are more frail. Everything can kill you easily in SE Asia; the air, water, food, insects, animals, locals, cheap public transport, etc...

Absolutely, I survived getting hot by a bus in Dhaka.

> But it can be cheap to live,

I disagree with you on one point. *Is* not 'can be', at least everywhere except Singapore.

> rent a tuktuk or scooter, public transportation pass, you can be fairly mobile.

Very much so. There is no need to own a vehicle in Phnom Penh or Sai Gon.

> But driving in those  mad cap road systems with their insanity, life appears to be really cheap there.

Vietnam has one of the highest road fatalities rates in the world.

> Or one would think so with the accepted carelessness, indifference, sheer pandamonium of it all. I know, I watched it all on Top Gear.

Good show in 1995.

> Lol.
Many have come back, Paradise turned into a hot, hell hole, reported by many. Yet there are expats, supposedly living the life, in many tropical/ mild climates all over the world. To each his own. Expat Mike should weigh in here, as he has done it all, and returned home, no doubt enriched from his experiences.

some countries we will always be the foreigner. Thailand is one of them. Some people like it that way. Malaysia is different. I have good friends there (not big on the government and its relationship with the official religion though).

> Nothing is perfect, always compromises as OP has mentioned. There is no free ride, even if cheaper due to currency exchange. You are paying a price somewhere, someway, somehow.

true.

> And Big brother is everywhere now, more so than ever due to cheap technology.

I was shocked last year in China to see how much freedom US citizens have by comparison. But maybe not...

> What makes you happy and are willing to pay with your precious time?
Is home where the heart is?

Yes

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome oknonew 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