Still thinking about it.

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Shay

New member
Joined
Mar 22, 2021
Messages
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Location
California & England
Hello everyone. My name is Shay and I'm thinking about living as a nomad. I've thought about it for 25 years and even bought a 40ft deisel pusher bus back in 2005. My then husband and I gutted it and laid plywood floors , but never had the time or money to finish the remodel so when he got tired of "dragging the ball and chain around" in 2011, he gave it away. Sadly, it's been sitting in a field being used as storage ever since. Such a shame. What a great bus! So much potential! Anyway, I think I'd be too frightened to try and manage that big of a bus all on my own now that my he and I are divorced.   In 2018, after 28 years apart, I reunited with my first husband in the UK.  Together, we spent 2 incredibly months technically "homeless"  while living in a tent at a campsite. When we were finally able to rent a flat, I didn't want to leave the tent! Living so close to nature, and so simplistically, filled me with a joy and a peace unlike any other. Currently, I live in Northern California from mid-November to mid-May, then in England for the rest of the year. This will be the third year living bicontinental. Visa issues keep me from living in the UK year round, and now the potentail for mandated vaccine passports may make this my last trip over the pond. (I'm opting not to take the vaccine). Hence, I think I may finally be ready to take the plunge and move into a van, or a cab-over, or whatever I can afford (which isn't much at all) and try living the life of a nomad full time. I teach English as a second language online so as long as I have good wifi, I have a decent enough income to get buy. Basically, I just wanted to say "hi" to everybody, introduce myself a bit, and see if I can begin to get a feel for the community over the next six months while I decide for sure what I want to do. If you have any encouragement or words of wisdom I'd realy love to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post. Much love, peace, and health to you all. Shalom!
 

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Welcome Shay 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.
 
Take a look at tnttt.com in the "foamies" forum for something cheap and easy.
 
assuming you have legal title, what if you found someone who was really mechanically inclined and made them the following offer - fix the vehicle so that it is functional and useful and I will let you use it for a period of time representing 70% of the mutually agreed fair market rental value against the hard fix costs but then it reverts back to me.
 
I used to rebuild inboard boat motors over winter with the understanding the owner paid for the parts and allowed me to test it for the entire following season upon which I would return it after being paid to winterize it. Got to run some really nice boats every summer and the owner got a fully proven rebuild!
 
ahh, life will drag you into where you need and want to be. online teacher is fab for income on the road so that is a big plus.

just do it. do what you want. forget past history ya know and LOOK truly forward to what will make you happy, you do just that and you find your path easily :) best of luck in what you want and moving forward!
 
So you have an online source of income. Do you have a functional vehicle now? If so, you have everything you need already. take a few camping trips, figure out how best to travel in the vehicle you already have, and then just go. If you decide you don't like it after all, you are out very little. If you decide you love it, you'll have saved on rent, will be that much closer to being able to buy a "better" vehicle, and will have a clearer idea of what that "better" vehicle will look like.

Also, remember HOWA - Homes on Wheels Alliance. You might well qualify for help from them.
 
Hello Shay, and welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have the right experience to become a successful nomad. I wish you well hope you find what you’re looking for.
 
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