Trying to Figure this out

[OneLifeADV]

i love the nomad lifestyle, but im unsure if its truly for me..heres my story

im 29, disabled, and have been for over 15 years...currently i hate my living situation, life is dull, boring, and just flat sucky..not to mention depressing.

my only vehicle is my older BMW motorcycle,which is fitted with touring/adventure gear 

i volunteer at a horse rescue, and occasionally do mechanic work with a friend.

i want so bad, to go somewhere with good year round weather, i hate the cold..i want to be in a place with neat culture, instead of this redneck town of 4000 people i live in here in central missouri...and ive been trying to get away for 5 years now..and no such luck.

i want to fit in in life, ive been sheltered away for so long, im ashamed im on disability, everyone criticizes it, i cant help my problems, so i never speak of it...i wish i could work a 9-5 job, where im happy

now heres the kicker, i currently live in senior/disabled apartments, paying $217 a month for rent, on top of internet bill at $40, phone at $35, insurance at $30, and small misc things (netflix etc) at $20..after all paid, i still have a decent amount of money left over.

ive been preparing myself to try to live on the road, i sold alot of my things, i sleep on my couch now, no microwave, and just other "useless" things i just really didnt need...and used that money to put into my motorcycle and camping gear.

but heres whats stopping me.

1. rent is so cheap where i am
2. honestly, its scary
3. If i dont have a physical address, my disability goes down
4. my luck is not good, i tend to fail at things, so im afraid i will just end up where i started

ive came to the point of almost giving up, between depression and things, im just at a loss.

any help would be useful. 

also included a picture of my last camping trip last weekend

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Why not do both? Put some "bills" on vacation and hit the road...try it out first.

 

[OneLifeADV]

Why not do both? Put some "bills" on vacation and hit the road...try it out first.

not sure, i took a ride last night with the full moon to maybe help clear things, and i thought of doing that, i guess that would be the logical thing to do

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

OK, You're on disability, so I'm guessing you can't work.  You say if you have no permanent address, your disability payments will go down.  You hate where you are, but are not sure if the nomad's life is for you.

Does this need to be either-or?  Rather than go full bore nomadic, have you considered a semi-nomadic existence?

You could move somewhere far away from where you are and get disabled housing and benefits somewhere else.  If you're inland, you could move close to the sea.  If you're on plains, you could move to the mountains.  If you're in the woods, you could move to the desert.  Or vice versa.

Live in your new place for a year, or two, while exploring with your motorcycle, then pack up and move to somewhere else for a year or two.

 

[tripper]

Dude I traveled on a motorcycle for several years, it was a blast.  Keep your home base since it is so cheap and when you tire of cruising on the bike go home and relax.  I left on a two week motorcycle journey that lasted for years. The thing with motorcycle traveling is you eventually really want a nice home to go back to once you have ben on the road too long.

So keep the home, and travel as much as you like!

 

[TrainChaser]

Yes, it doesn't have to be all one choice or the other. Pick a direction that looks interesting and head out camping for a week or two. Short trips will show you what you need or don't need, if anything. In the back of your mind, you will know that if it doesn't work like you thought, you will have a home to go back to. That is a freedom that more desperate people don't have.

If you find that you really like it, you can make further decisions as you go, as you will have some experience to base your decision on .

If you find that a little more gear would make things easier/simpler/cheaper, you could get one of those little trailers for motorcycles. I see a lot of them in summer, here in WA, flying up and down the freeway (more on the coast). This could hold a decent tarp for relief from hot, sunny days, or give you more dry space if it's raining.

Just last week, I saw a guy with a GoldWing and a little trailer (probably coming back from the coast). He had a metal box attached to the back (where a second rider would normally sit) that had a fairly heavy wire-mesh top half. Stopping behind him at the light, I saw a little head pop up to see what was going on -- he had what looked like a Fox Terrier in the back.

Tip: camp cooking is a LOT cheaper than buying fast food. Just a plain Big Mac, large fries and a coffee = about $8. X 3 meals a day =$24 X 30 days = $720. If you had a little trailer, you could carry a cooler and some canned and packaged foods. Plus, you would need a small stove -- 2 kinds would be good, like a butane and a homemade rocket stove. The rocket stove is small and all you need is small sticks, smaller than your thumb; most camp areas have that kind of dry wood. The butane would be handy if you're in a burn-ban area or if there's no local fuel.

 

[OneLifeADV]

thanks guys for the tips, the more i think the better it sounds to just take it small, i was just about 2 weeks away from packing the bike, giving my apartment up and just hoping it works

maybe ill take a trip to flordia soon, not to far, but a good first taste

 

[roxie134]

Sounds to me, like you need to take a trip to the RTR in January!  You are still so young (lucky you!)  don't be in a gigantic hurry to make a decision.  Find some like-minded people to hook up with (should be able to find plenty here)  Take some long trips and see how you like living on the road for a long time  not just a long weekend.  If you have mechanical abilities you may be surprised what you could do for other "travelers"  you just may be able to find a way to make some good money!   Don't get depressed and do something crazy!  Maybe you can find a trustworthy friend so that you can still have a permanent address, if that isn't an option  keep your home base as others have stated , and try it out for a month here or a month there at different locations, different climates.  Have you ever thought of saving up and getting a mypod to pull with your bike.  Makes sleeping way more comfortable in bad weather.  God if I were as young as you I would be jumping up and down with all the possibilities ( but you have to get old to realize that sometimes)  Chill Out, slow down, it will all work out!  If you are good with horses and have that mechanical ability I can't  imagine you couldn't find some work out west if that is the direction you want to go! Oh my, your possibilities are endless!  We are trying to find a group to get together sometime before January to meet up and go to the RTR  together so if you feel like you need friends, you can probably hook up with a like minded group!

 

[akrvbob]

Don't let the address stop you, that's easily fixed. I suggest you "move" to Ajo Az and rent a spot at Coyote Howls RV Park for $600 for the entire year!! Yes, I said $600 for the year. That will give you a 100% legal address. It's too hot to be there in the summer but very pleasant in the winter. Or, you can join the tribe just north of you in the winter. In the summer, go north into the mountains and camp in the National Forests. If you don't want to go far you can go to Flagstaff and areas around it just 300 miles away and spend the summer there.

You have options.

 

[OneLifeADV]

im not sure how my bike will pull a trailer, its a small engine but it might do it ok..

i will for sure keep Ajo in my mind as well

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Hey OneLife, there are a few of us in Central Mo! I am still working a full time job, but haven't been home many weekends since putting a bed in my van!! I hope to be traveling by this time next year, so the short trips are helping me find what I can and can't do without! Enjoy your journey!!

 

[Txjaybird]

 Hello and Welcome.

I think a trial period for major life changes is a good thing.  We don't always have that option as life can throw some things at us that we aren't ready for.  In some apts.  where the rent is based on income and subsidized they have rules about how long you can be away and still be a resident.  I think it's BS myself.  

I too live in  a Elderly and Disabled section of my apt. complex.  I call it the "Old Bats and Old Farts" section...I can say that because I am one   

 I have a conversion van and a Aliner TT.  I plan to wander around closer to home to start out.  I also will not discuss my travel plans with anyone living in the complex.  What they don't know they can't tell    
  This is just me and how I feel about it.

Jewellann

 

[John61CT]

I agree with those say keep best of both worlds, that rent is less than many spend on beverages and between-meal snacks in a month.

While you're exploring geographically, see if you can also expand your thinking about generating some more income!

Just keep your current setup as a fallback, gives you the freedom to take a little more risks than you would if consequences of a mis-step was homelessness.

 

[lenny flank]

I'd think about keeping the address as a "home base" and doing extended trips out from there.

It's what plenty of "snowbirds" do all over the country.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

im not sure how my bike will pull a trailer

Not just your everyday motorcycle trailer, it's expandable & collapsable. Price is a bit steep however can give ideas for a do-it-yourself project.

Article to read: http://www.doityourselfrv.com/tiny-motorcycle-camper/

http://www.idahobedroll.com

https://www.facebook.com/papayolk

 

[GEAUX- PRIUS Cowboy]

I worked very hard as a laborer then moved into trucking. I was talking with another that is seeking disability after 20 years of surgeries. She held on to work as long as she could. The level of pain she lives with is staggering to me. I have damage thanks to a tornado and back knee surgery. When I was offered disability I took it.  The things I have done in my vocation have not only saved lives but it has saved millions of dollars money some insurance guy put in his hobby and I was told go GO F yourself when I wanted to know of the case . I know how hard life is without that money you walk from that housing it will cost you. Life as a nomad is going to get expensive when fuel prices start to rise again it has to becasue inflation is on us more now than ever you need to stock some foods. Rice 50 lbs can be bought $13 get some freeze it 3-5 days and have some food stores.  You need to have a few preps in I feel there will be a massive natural disaster that can challenge our entire existence.  

I worked my ass off but as many know in construction each time you transition the money you gain gets spent on your next job search. Not exactly a rat race more like a feast and feathers type of life. Folks see me today they think why isn't he working but the people that are with me all the time know I can't even watch a movie without having to get up due to the pain I experience. We don't talk about our pain and we don't ever discuss finances with people that are unable to understand your condition. You know they are going to walk away patting themselves on the back for saving the world and looking down on you for being such a parasite. 

At the RTR those condescending looks are not there. Partially because they know what it is like to lose some you can see what they lost others their loss is noticeable in a conversation. All of them seem to be coping either with the decline of health as age takes its toll or they deal with the bad hands given them. You can tell they are much like you people that would never steal or even litter. My best analagy of this group is IDK if you ever watched that christmas special Rudolph the red nose reindeeer. But in that Berly Ives special there was the land of the misfit toys and you got the feeling this is what the RTR is more about. 

I have mental issue too I can't hold a job too long I am shocked I have not flipped shit and walked away from disability the only reason I have not is my wife. I know this and I am not going to betray her I have rocky road now so what I need to tighten up and deal with it. I have had good jobs too one of them paid $120 K a year and I walked away from it. I would have killed that guy if I stayed there very difficult to walk from that sort of financial independence but if you are in prison you are not going to earn shit. The way I do things (frugal) $120 K could have built me a home that would have saved us so much money being both energy efficient and disaster resistant. Hind sight and those chances come once maybe 2x in a life time. For me once. It is why I keep my wit and finger on the pulse of the nomad life. RTR life is not a bad life it is way better than homeless but true homeless sleeping rough is not anything you want to experience. You think they dislike you now? 

Here is what you need to do see heelots just want a token show of appreciation. What you do is when you bring lunch always bring too much so you can share with people should they need or want. How so? Do so with quality items. Find cokes on sale buy them up and offer it ice cold at the best time they would deeply desire it. Timing is key . So be on the lookout you can get a lot of great brownie points for this but the game is you don't do this where you end up seeking their approval you do this where they see you as the leader. You do this and you will rule the day when the time comes. All for trinkets too. It is not about money but more about you paying attention to what will happen.

With that said many in the RTR are not on the wheel because they have options many of them got there by need and realized better to stay at this level and stack chips than to go into shelter live a shit life and blow their chips on that life. If you have shelter as you stated keep it. I too toured on a MC I have pulled off the road behind bushes and set camp if you are in a smokless camp you can do this. Today you have it made compared to the 1988-90 period when I did it. You have cell phone not just cell but SMART phone. That one single device with enough storage can hold what most needed an apartment to hold. We use to have records, photo albums , our record player was too huge , we had all this stuff we had to carry. Today you can carry the entire encyclopedia Britannica in your cell. 

Right now Amazon is doing a deal with their sales and are selling the Fire 7 and 8 for prices like 20 and 30 dollars. These devices can hold books in them and you can watch movies etc. You can recharge these using the sun if you have to? 

Another benefit is the PLNT planet fitness you can choose from over 1,300 locations in USA Canada and Puerto Rico. If you tour you will find that there is a PLNT along the route that you can drop in shower and get back on the road.You can either secure camp go shower or shower then get away from the population. 

I would not be sleeping on the ground these days. Wild hogs are everywhere Bears cougar I know there are folks that do it IDK I feel safer in my car. But I have done it however where I camped was always just outside the urban jungle. I was not quite in the city but not out in the country I was just off the interstate ?

If I had a living situation like that I would not walk away from it until I saved enough money to buy my life 2x over. Prices are rising inflation is taking it's grip and you need to find a way to make a game of your life. AGAME ? LIFE ? Yes you are in a game and how you play that game determines how much enjoyment you will get. Please I ask you to read the book possum living that young lady was in a televised interview with Merv Griffin he was doing his best to call her a lazy skank and she bowed up to a very powerful rich man that was much older than she. At her age that was monumental to be able to not only hold her own against him and shut his ass down but she was fully righteous in what she said. Their prospective is not the only one and to be presumptuous and say it is to me is a huge sin. 

I want to get on the road but I am not going alone as I have in the past. I want to share my life with somebody my wife is so near disability it is not funny she is just like that lady I chatted with she is holding on she wants to keep working and I understand why they think that is the only life but you and I know there is another life out there on the road one where you chase the weather where you see the balloons of Albuquerque NM (I have not yet) where you get to enjoy the sunset in the desert (done that) where you go for your morning walk in the perfect temp of the morning and the fresh air of the desert. Where you know what it is like to live on little and live a lot. Where you have good true friends that will not steal your stuff just because they can like my family does.(not my wife and daughter the savages I was raised with)


It is your life to be sure but know this we are not out on the plains riding unicorns that poop edible rainbows we share with the care bears. Life can and will get very hard out on the road if you are not prepared both mentally and psychically. I sleep my nights in a 4x4x8 camper because that is the best way to get my sleep the small area is much easier to remove heat. WE deal with more heat in S Louisiana. I am very fortunate I got on this debt free kick before my work ran out. So I went into disability with property I can live on . My home is in worse shape than peoples camps around here but know what it is my place and I am safe and secure. Know why ? Because I am reaching out and closer to sovereign living than most can. It is not glamorous but it does keep the heelots in their place. Heelots are the people that call the cops on a guy that is sleeping in his car minding his own business. Heelots work all the time and are so busy patting their self on the back they fail to see they are neglecting their relationship and children. Heelots blame somebody like you for having your problems and burden you with more issues they will act like they so sad he took his life when they as good as put the rope around your neck. 

I pass my time by going to thrift stores and this way I can do some things that don't cost me a lot and I can snipe the items people ask for me to look out for. I do my best to go for a walk each day 30 min on the tread mill at the gym it hurts a lot to do it but I am now diabetic I don't walk I am sure to die inside 5 I have got to get out there each day no matter how much it hurts and walk. My knee goes out so be it I lose it trying to make it. 

You are in MO ever try fishing? Not only do you get a hobby you also get FREE FOOD you use the fish guts to fertilize your crops. Do a little gardening that will help you some too again free food. There are foods you can buy in the grocery store that you can put in the dirt and it will grow. Ever cut celery ? That base rather than toss it put it in dirt it will grow. Green onions too. Try some possum living you can benefit from that book.

 

[OneLifeADV]

I worked very hard as a laborer then moved into trucking. I was talking with another that is seeking disability after 20 years of surgeries. She held on to work as long as she could. The level of pain she lives with is staggering to me. I have damage thanks to a tornado and back knee surgery. When I was offered disability I took it.  The things I have done in my vocation have not only saved lives but it has saved millions of dollars money some insurance guy put in his hobby and I was told go GO F yourself when I wanted to know of the case . I know how hard life is without that money you walk from that housing it will cost you. Life as a nomad is going to get expensive when fuel prices start to rise again it has to becasue inflation is on us more now than ever you need to stock some foods. Rice 50 lbs can be bought $13 get some freeze it 3-5 days and have some food stores.  You need to have a few preps in I feel there will be a massive natural disaster that can challenge our entire existence.  

I worked my ass off but as many know in construction each time you transition the money you gain gets spent on your next job search. Not exactly a rat race more like a feast and feathers type of life. Folks see me today they think why isn't he working but the people that are with me all the time know I can't even watch a movie without having to get up due to the pain I experience. We don't talk about our pain and we don't ever discuss finances with people that are unable to understand your condition. You know they are going to walk away patting themselves on the back for saving the world and looking down on you for being such a parasite. 

At the RTR those condescending looks are not there. Partially because they know what it is like to lose some you can see what they lost others their loss is noticeable in a conversation. All of them seem to be coping either with the decline of health as age takes its toll or they deal with the bad hands given them. You can tell they are much like you people that would never steal or even litter. My best analagy of this group is IDK if you ever watched that christmas special Rudolph the red nose reindeeer. But in that Berly Ives special there was the land of the misfit toys and you got the feeling this is what the RTR is more about. 

I have mental issue too I can't hold a job too long I am shocked I have not flipped shit and walked away from disability the only reason I have not is my wife. I know this and I am not going to betray her I have rocky road now so what I need to tighten up and deal with it. I have had good jobs too one of them paid $120 K a year and I walked away from it. I would have killed that guy if I stayed there very difficult to walk from that sort of financial independence but if you are in prison you are not going to earn shit. The way I do things (frugal) $120 K could have built me a home that would have saved us so much money being both energy efficient and disaster resistant. Hind sight and those chances come once maybe 2x in a life time. For me once. It is why I keep my wit and finger on the pulse of the nomad life. RTR life is not a bad life it is way better than homeless but true homeless sleeping rough is not anything you want to experience. You think they dislike you now? 

Here is what you need to do see heelots just want a token show of appreciation. What you do is when you bring lunch always bring too much so you can share with people should they need or want. How so? Do so with quality items. Find cokes on sale buy them up and offer it ice cold at the best time they would deeply desire it. Timing is key . So be on the lookout you can get a lot of great brownie points for this but the game is you don't do this where you end up seeking their approval you do this where they see you as the leader. You do this and you will rule the day when the time comes. All for trinkets too. It is not about money but more about you paying attention to what will happen.

With that said many in the RTR are not on the wheel because they have options many of them got there by need and realized better to stay at this level and stack chips than to go into shelter live a shit life and blow their chips on that life. If you have shelter as you stated keep it. I too toured on a MC I have pulled off the road behind bushes and set camp if you are in a smokless camp you can do this. Today you have it made compared to the 1988-90 period when I did it. You have cell phone not just cell but SMART phone. That one single device with enough storage can hold what most needed an apartment to hold. We use to have records, photo albums , our record player was too huge , we had all this stuff we had to carry. Today you can carry the entire encyclopedia Britannica in your cell. 

Right now Amazon is doing a deal with their sales and are selling the Fire 7 and 8 for prices like 20 and 30 dollars. These devices can hold books in them and you can watch movies etc. You can recharge these using the sun if you have to? 

Another benefit is the PLNT planet fitness you can choose from over 1,300 locations in USA Canada and Puerto Rico. If you tour you will find that there is a PLNT along the route that you can drop in shower and get back on the road.You can either secure camp go shower or shower then get away from the population. 

I would not be sleeping on the ground these days. Wild hogs are everywhere Bears cougar I know there are folks that do it IDK I feel safer in my car. But I have done it however where I camped was always just outside the urban jungle. I was not quite in the city but not out in the country I was just off the interstate ?

If I had a living situation like that I would not walk away from it until I saved enough money to buy my life 2x over. Prices are rising inflation is taking it's grip and you need to find a way to make a game of your life. AGAME ? LIFE ? Yes you are in a game and how you play that game determines how much enjoyment you will get. Please I ask you to read the book possum living that young lady was in a televised interview with Merv Griffin he was doing his best to call her a lazy skank and she bowed up to a very powerful rich man that was much older than she. At her age that was monumental to be able to not only hold her own against him and shut his ass down but she was fully righteous in what she said. Their prospective is not the only one and to be presumptuous and say it is to me is a huge sin. 

I want to get on the road but I am not going alone as I have in the past. I want to share my life with somebody my wife is so near disability it is not funny she is just like that lady I chatted with she is holding on she wants to keep working and I understand why they think that is the only life but you and I know there is another life out there on the road one where you chase the weather where you see the balloons of Albuquerque NM (I have not yet) where you get to enjoy the sunset in the desert (done that) where you go for your morning walk in the perfect temp of the morning and the fresh air of the desert. Where you know what it is like to live on little and live a lot. Where you have good true friends that will not steal your stuff just because they can like my family does.(not my wife and daughter the savages I was raised with)


It is your life to be sure but know this we are not out on the plains riding unicorns that poop edible rainbows we share with the care bears. Life can and will get very hard out on the road if you are not prepared both mentally and psychically. I sleep my nights in a 4x4x8 camper because that is the best way to get my sleep the small area is much easier to remove heat. WE deal with more heat in S Louisiana. I am very fortunate I got on this debt free kick before my work ran out. So I went into disability with property I can live on . My home is in worse shape than peoples camps around here but know what it is my place and I am safe and secure. Know why ? Because I am reaching out and closer to sovereign living than most can. It is not glamorous but it does keep the heelots in their place. Heelots are the people that call the cops on a guy that is sleeping in his car minding his own business. Heelots work all the time and are so busy patting their self on the back they fail to see they are neglecting their relationship and children. Heelots blame somebody like you for having your problems and burden you with more issues they will act like they so sad he took his life when they as good as put the rope around your neck. 

I pass my time by going to thrift stores and this way I can do some things that don't cost me a lot and I can snipe the items people ask for me to look out for. I do my best to go for a walk each day 30 min on the tread mill at the gym it hurts a lot to do it but I am now diabetic I don't walk I am sure to die inside 5 I have got to get out there each day no matter how much it hurts and walk. My knee goes out so be it I lose it trying to make it. 

You are in MO ever try fishing? Not only do you get a hobby you also get FREE FOOD you use the fish guts to fertilize your crops. Do a little gardening that will help you some too again free food. There are foods you can buy in the grocery store that you can put in the dirt and it will grow. Ever cut celery ? That base rather than toss it put it in dirt it will grow. Green onions too. Try some possum living you can benefit from that book.

now that is quite the information, thanks for that bit, its really gave me more insight...i thought about getting into trucking, i grew up around it, i know quite a bit, but i also know its getting rough on that, between new DOT laws and junk

sounds like we share the same mental issue(s)...hate to say this, but thats why ive been on disabilty, ive worked a few jobs, but simple things are hard for me to just get it right...im almost 30, and i get depressed at stupid things i cant seem to learn..

i legit thought of setting a hammock up in the trees and camping not far from a city or intersate, due to animals