What am I even thinking?

[GenericHenchman]

First off,
Hello everyone.

I do not yet own a van, and not even sure where to start. To be honest-I'm somewhere on the fence about this and I guess I'm looking for some sort of guidance, advice, maybe even someone to scare me out of doing it if they think I'm not actually cut out for this. Honesty is appreciated.

I have for many years thought about the nomadic lifestyle. I think ever since I was a child, the call of the open road sort of resonated with me. But at the age of 28 (let's say 29 as it's-a-comin') I'm wondering if maybe it's too late for me to start. I've so far been a homebody, and though not particularly happy about it, I haven't had sufficient guts/resources to do anything about it. I'm not the ambitious sort, and I don't really care all that much about many of society's conventions. Much as I want to downsize, I am not exactly in an economic position to do it. I don't have a steady and regular job (my work is on-call so I never know when I'm working) and I haven't really completed college. Yes, it sounds like what I really want to do is run away from my problems. Maybe it really is that (I've considered it.) But maybe there's more. I look at my potential future, that even if I go back and finish school, get a regular job or whatever-that that's basically it. I don't want to just live my life paycheck to paycheck at some 9-5 where at any given moment I could just be sacked because it's more economical for someone else I haven't even met. Much of my life I basically lived by other people's rules or influence, and I really don't want this.

There are "socially conventional" things I do like and want. For one, I would definitely want to have a wife and kids. I also love my computers. [EDIT: Also I like the gym. I like weight-lifting and strength training. Is it even possible to become a bodybuilder while on the road?] But other than these things, nothing is really keeping me here where I am.

Point is, for those that took the plunge, how did it turn out? Did you have an easier time once you no longer had to pay the typical bills (obviously there are other expenses.) How easy/hard is it to develop a relationship or start a family when you're a nomad? Are some of the things I like basically just a sign that this sort of life might not be a good fit?

Looking for words of wisdom from those who know better than I.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard GH!
I think you have already found some of the keys to success !
It IS much cheaper to live in a van , etc. than the more traditional " home " .

It will be a good thing to find a wife that shares your desire for this life (much easier if your search is done among others that are living it too ).

You can find comparable tasks to weights while camping , lifting and carrying water jugs and firewood
just for starters...........or , hey a gym membership is popular among city stealth campers just for showering if nothing else !

Start taking short camping trips 1-2 days whenever you can to try it out to get a feel for the life.

Nobody can tell you whether you should do this except you !
What do you want to do ?

 

[cyndi]

GH! Welcome to the CRVL forums! It seems to me thatmost of the reasons you listed are valid reasons for living a mobile lifestyle. Except maybe the wife and kids. althoigh I do see families on the road, occasionally.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[ArtW]

Having a gym membership is a great idea
Here's another
Iron Woody bands
must expensive rubber bands you'll ever buy, but you can do near any exercise you want with them, by using a bit of ingenuity, and they are available in resistances probably beyond what most folks will ever need

 

[BlackNBlue]

Welcome!

I started this lifestyle semi-voluntarily, somewhat younger than you, and with similar qualms. In my case, I got laid off from a tech job whose disposable income went towards building a car (a station wagon with heavy window tint), and ended up living in that car for about a year, figuring things out as I went along. I also had a healthy bank account and minimal climate problems.

Nothing you've said raises any red flags that you should not try it. But you might consider (and share) the parts of your personality that relate to low-brow DIY ingenuity, mental flexibility, and general resilience. You may be psychologically prepared for a nomadic lifestyle, but if your habits are firmly entrenched in a modern Western sticks-n-bricks lifestyle... you've got as many things to unlearn as to learn.

Do you have an existing vehicle? Can you comfortably sleep in it? Are you in a climate where living semi-outdoors is a reasonable proposition for a few months? What's your current housing situation? Depending on those factors, you might dip your toes into the lifestyle, a weekend at a time, or for the summer. Spend a little money (under $500) on things like a campstove, window tint, foam mattress and sleeping bag, and go be nomadic as your whims dictate and your realities constrain. Based on my experience, if it works for you after a solid month and seems sustainable regarding employment and such, then it's for you and you might then consider doing it full-time and Properly (with better equipment, more space, insulation, aso.)

Relationships? People living in vehicles have a stigma in mainstream culture; no getting around that unless you're driving a $100k+ bus with a brand new luxury car in tow. It doesn't bother me as my taste in people (specifically significant others) is already well off mainstream. It may or may not be a factor for you.

Weightlifting? Well, weights do weigh a lot, so I wouldn't pack a full set of dumbells in a car. However, a gym membership is, as mentioned, an excellent auxiliary resource for vehicledwellers, for showers and for exercise alike.

 

[WriterMs]

There are several "younger" people like yourself who fulltime but plan their schedules around seasonal jobs -- like working at an Amazon shipping facility in the fall/winter and then working a job like a cashier at a National Park in the summer /warmer months.

One great example to look at is the blog called InterstellarOrchard.com -- she shows her income and expenses, etc., too.

I think the places she works usually provide a campground spot where she can even hook up to water and electricity, but read several of her posts on the subject to get a feel for that.

If you look at this forum's section on Money, you'll find many other seasonal jobs that welcome vandwellers.

 

[GenericHenchman]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Some questions that were asked, I'll answer.

Right now I do not own a car, or any vehicle. My housing situation is okay and I can afford to live where I do but not by much. Basically, every job I've had so far afforded me to pay for a month or two in advance, live nicely where I can go out and do things, you know actually live. I'd still save for "dry" months (even after paying in advance) which in my life has been less of a question of "if" but a question of "when."

I'm working on some licensing and certificates in order to improve this situation, but it all seems sort of moot considering it likely won't change much. I've worked for plenty of folks who either didn't pay on time, or would basically do everything they could to avoid paying their debts to me. That and the job's there one day, and isn't the next. Maybe it's different for people who have degrees and what not.

In terms of my ingenuity, or DIY skills-I'm not that confident in them. I've done a thing once in a blue moon, but most of it is extremely simple stuff so I wouldn't call myself a DIY guy. Most I've ever really done was jury-rig part of the toilet to stop it from constantly flushing until I had a repair guy come fix the thing, in six months. I figured out the mechanism and used, I kid you not, a paperclip to patch it up. Once put down insulation for someone's shed so I might understand the basic principle behind that. In terms of cooking, so long as I have a reliable skillet and some seasoning I could put something together, I make mean pancakes (I put syrup *in* the batter.) But besides those things, I wouldn't say I'm a mechanical guy. I remember doing some construction and was constantly being told how to do the thing I was doing, and I worked very slow. That was always the complaint, that I worked very slowly on these projects.

I live in New York, in the city (not Manhattan though) so it gets pretty hot in the summer, and you never really know how cold it gets in the winter.

I suppose when it comes tor relationships all I really care about is someone that's there, and that I get to raise my own kids. Besides that, I really don't care how unconventional that person is. I can get along with most folks and there are few deal breakers for me. In my past I've let a lot of things go (or tried to) because it sorta turned out that under the right conditions the stuff that bother others, may not quite bother me *as much.*

 

[steamjam1]

First off,
Hello everyone.

I do not yet own a van, and not even sure where to start. To be honest-I'm somewhere on the fence about this and I guess I'm looking for some sort of guidance, advice, maybe even someone to scare me out of doing it if they think I'm not actually cut out for this. Honesty is appreciated.

I have for many years thought about the nomadic lifestyle. I think ever since I was a child, the call of the open road sort of resonated with me. But at the age of 28 (let's say 29 as it's-a-comin') I'm wondering if maybe it's too late for me to start. I've so far been a homebody, and though not particularly happy about it, I haven't had sufficient guts/resources to do anything about it. I'm not the ambitious sort, and I don't really care all that much about many of society's conventions. Much as I want to downsize, I am not exactly in an economic position to do it. I don't have a steady and regular job (my work is on-call so I never know when I'm working) and I haven't really completed college. Yes, it sounds like what I really want to do is run away from my problems. Maybe it really is that (I've considered it.) But maybe there's more. I look at my potential future, that even if I go back and finish school, get a regular job or whatever-that that's basically it. I don't want to just live my life paycheck to paycheck at some 9-5 where at any given moment I could just be sacked because it's more economical for someone else I haven't even met. Much of my life I basically lived by other people's rules or influence, and I really don't want this.

There are "socially conventional" things I do like and want. For one, I would definitely want to have a wife and kids. I also love my computers. [EDIT: Also I like the gym. I like weight-lifting and strength training. Is it even possible to become a bodybuilder while on the road?] But other than these things, nothing is really keeping me here where I am.

Point is, for those that took the plunge, how did it turn out? Did you have an easier time once you no longer had to pay the typical bills (obviously there are other expenses.) How easy/hard is it to develop a relationship or start a family when you're a nomad? Are some of the things I like basically just a sign that this sort of life might not be a good fit?

Looking for words of wisdom from those who know better than I.

No. It doesn't sound like your running away from your problems. It sounds to me like your trying to take charge of your future.

 

[steamjam1]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Some questions that were asked, I'll answer.

Right now I do not own a car, or any vehicle. My housing situation is okay and I can afford to live where I do but not by much. Basically, every job I've had so far afforded me to pay for a month or two in advance, live nicely where I can go out and do things, you know actually live. I'd still save for "dry" months (even after paying in advance) which in my life has been less of a question of "if" but a question of "when."

I'm working on some licensing and certificates in order to improve this situation, but it all seems sort of moot considering it likely won't change much. I've worked for plenty of folks who either didn't pay on time, or would basically do everything they could to avoid paying their debts to me. That and the job's there one day, and isn't the next. Maybe it's different for people who have degrees and what not.

In terms of my ingenuity, or DIY skills-I'm not that confident in them. I've done a thing once in a blue moon, but most of it is extremely simple stuff so I wouldn't call myself a DIY guy. Most I've ever really done was jury-rig part of the toilet to stop it from constantly flushing until I had a repair guy come fix the thing, in six months. I figured out the mechanism and used, I kid you not, a paperclip to patch it up. Once put down insulation for someone's shed so I might understand the basic principle behind that. In terms of cooking, so long as I have a reliable skillet and some seasoning I could put something together, I make mean pancakes (I put syrup *in* the batter.) But besides those things, I wouldn't say I'm a mechanical guy. I remember doing some construction and was constantly being told how to do the thing I was doing, and I worked very slow. That was always the complaint, that I worked very slowly on these projects.

I live in New York, in the city (not Manhattan though) so it gets pretty hot in the summer, and you never really know how cold it gets in the winter.

I suppose when it comes tor relationships all I really care about is someone that's there, and that I get to raise my own kids. Besides that, I really don't care how unconventional that person is. I can get along with most folks and there are few deal breakers for me. In my past I've let a lot of things go (or tried to) because it sorta turned out that under the right conditions the stuff that bother others, may not quite bother me *as much.*

Barely squeaking by is no way to live. I feel alot of sympathy for all you Millennials. Your getting the short end of the economic stick. Having a degree means alot less then it useto when I was 20-something. Jobs that are only on-call, poor pay, with little chance of a prosperous future offers no chance to getting into whats left of the middle class. I always encourage peoples to go to university and get the education. I didn't go back until I was 34. I'm glad I did tho.

I think that merely having the desire to retake command of your life is a great first step in changing your circumstances. I didn't start living in a van until I was 40, and what got me started was asking myself a simple question:

"What am I willing to do to get where I want to be?"

 

[ArtW]

Uni today is wasting money, I tell younkers to first, figure out what they want to do (that pays ok and isn't a flooded field) then get the cheapest degree that'll be legitimate to go into that field (community college, online college, trade school)
Modern uni is a minefield for a young man to negotiate while paying way too much for a piece of paper
Most employers care more about job experience than about paper, let alone what school the paper came from, so long as you have the required schooling
If you're getting a lot of temp jobs, what fields are they in?
I never finished high School, so never had any job that wasn't hard work for little money, but I usually had steady work, and do to this day

 

[steamjam1]

Uni today is wasting money, I tell younkers to first, figure out what they want to do (that pays ok and isn't a flooded field) then get the cheapest degree that'll be legitimate to go into that field (community college, online college, trade school)
Modern uni is a minefield for a young man to negotiate while paying way too much for a piece of paper
Most employers care more about job experience than about paper, let alone what school the paper came from, so long as you have the required schooling
If you're getting a lot of temp jobs, what fields are they in?
I never finished high School, so never had any job that wasn't hard work for little money, but I usually had steady work, and do to this day

I don't think gong to University is a waste of money. Sure, I did get a degree and it didn't do anything for my career, and I got into alot of debt, BUT I'm still glad I went. I think intellectually its done nothing but good for me. It's given me a good foundation to keep learning and keep growing for the rest of my life through arts, history, and the rest of humanities.

It's also true that its been only my experience, and knowledge thats kept me employed through the last decade. No one cared about my degree, certificates, etc etc. What they saw is me being he "all-in-one" employee knowing how to pull levers, twist knobs, light things on fire, dig ditches, pull switches, and dodge pitches at the same time as managing a network while I take apart the company truck to make it run again. I think that for the foreseeable future, it won't be any specific skill/education that will advance your working life, instead its going to be how versatile you are as an employee regardless of your educational background.

 

[ArtW]

Uni today isn't like it was bitd, it's an intellectual echo chamber full of entitled people looking for a reason to be 'triggered' and if you are the trigger, goodbye education
Just look at the way ANY conservative speaker is received on the typical uni campus, protests, vandalism, intimidation tactics, even violence, just for having a different point of view
If you have any view other than the politically correct one, you will be shouted down, and reason and rational discourse is 'bullying'
IMO a degree that doesn't further your career is a waste of money, it has no tangible benefits, and the things you learned in Uni could have been learned for free on your own, without dropping thousands of dollars, you just wouldn't have a piece of paper 'proving' you're educated
we are however getting off topic, so let's call this a diference of opinion and leave it

 

[Cheli]

I haven't taken the plunge yet so I can't answer any of your questions from experience. But what I can say is, it's definitely not too late for you to start. If it's too late for you then why should I bother at 46? hahaha I think many people discover this lifestyle at a variety of ages, it just depends on what's going on in their life at that point and what they want to do about it.

I've done everything that I was taught to do in order to live the "normal American dream" of college, career, house blah blah blah and at 46, I wish I had done things differently from the beginning. I would have become a nomad a long time ago if I had known then what I know now.

Like others have already mentioned, try some weekend trips and see how it works out for you.

You just have to do what's in your heart and everything else will work out. If it's what you want, you will figure out how to make it work.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

A lot of your answers can only be answered by you. But one we can answer for you is that 29 is not too late to try anything new that you might be interested in doing. Neither is 39 for that matter.

My physical therapist gave me some good advice once. My girlfriend has been struggling with her career choice and is constantly wanting to change jobs but doesn't know where to turn and I was talking to my PT about it. She said if someone is struggling with deciding what to do for a living they should look to their childhood as it will almost always show a passion someone had as a young kid. My gf has always loved animals. Being around them, helping them, anything to do with animals makes her happy. As a kid she was always helping injured animals, she'd steal her brother's mice that he fed to his snake and release them. She went to college and got a biology degree. Then did nothing with it and fell into a career as a para legal and has been unhappy ever since. If she were to get a job helping animals I know she'd be happy. It's what she was meant to do. As a kid I was always into building things. Forts, picnic tables, adirondack chairs, projects around the house and absolutely loved shop class. it's no coincidence I got into cabinet making straight out of high school and have loved it ever since. So for anyone struggling with a career choice, look at what you did as a kid. When you are a kid you did what you liked and didn't have any doubts in your mind like when you become an adult. If something made you happy you did it, you didn't wonder what other people would think, you didn't worry your time could be better spent doing something else, you didn't have any preconceived notions on it. If you liked doing something you did it, end of story.

That same advice also made me realize why I have a love for traveling like I do, especially in vans. My dad owned a floor covering business and had a van. We took a few family vacations every year, usually camping. The night before every vacation I'd help clean my dads van top to bottom. We'd put all his tools in the shed, wash it inside and out, put an extra piece of carpet over the entire floor,put the loveseat from the house in the back for me and my brother to sit on and fill the back with the camping gear. I enjoyed the ride as much as I enjoyed the camping trip. That followed me right into adulthood. To this day, before any trip, I clean my truck inside and out. Love starting a trip with a spotless vehicle.

If you've been thinking about this lifestyle for a long time, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Even if it doesn't work out or it's not what you expect you'll have accomplished a few things. One, you will have traveled a bit and I can almost guarantee it will be a happy memory for the rest of your life and even more importantly you wont have any doubts down the road wondering what if I had tried living a mobile lifestyle. And all sorts of other potential plus's. Traveling around might land you in an area you like more than where you live now, might meet the girl of your dreams, job of your dreams, etc.

Keep us posted of your progress/decisions, travels, etc. It's a big awesome country we live in. Go see some of it!

 

[akrvbob]

Brilliant post Every Road leads Home!! Very, very wise!
Bob

 

[Patrick46]

Welcome to the board GH!

First, like many have already told you...AGE has NOTHING to do with living a mobile life. There's never the perfect time, other than the present, so you can start by simplifying your life and taking steps toward making it happen...if that's what you really want. (only YOU can answer that!)

but Second, I did get one red flag on your post that concerns me...
" I'm not the ambitious sort"

THAT in itself can and will kill this for you.

Living a mobile life is NOT easy! It takes ALOT of hard work, dedication, planning, and discipline to make it work.
You're definitely going to have to be ambitious about surviving and making money out on the road.
Being a young person like you are, you're not retired and have no pension to survive and live off of. YOU are going to have to figure out how you're gonna make ends meet while out traveling. If you don't take it seriously, and handle yourself with ambition, it's not going to work. Plain & Simple! (hey...you wanted honesty!!)

There are lots of great ways to make a living while out traveling, and we've got several threads on this forum dedicated to just that.

Raising a young family is a seriously tough gig all on it's own...but to do it while traveling, is gonna add a whole new dimension of difficulty to it. It 'can' be done, but it's gonna take even more hard work and ambition.

Best of luck to ya!!

Patrick in Oregon

 

[cherterr]

First off,
Hello everyone.

I do not yet own a van, and not even sure where to start. To be honest-I'm somewhere on the fence about this and I guess I'm looking for some sort of guidance, advice, maybe even someone to scare me out of doing it if they think I'm not actually cut out for this. Honesty is appreciated.

I have for many years thought about the nomadic lifestyle. I think ever since I was a child, the call of the open road sort of resonated with me. But at the age of 28 (let's say 29 as it's-a-comin') I'm wondering if maybe it's too late for me to start. I've so far been a homebody, and though not particularly happy about it, I haven't had sufficient guts/resources to do anything about it. I'm not the ambitious sort, and I don't really care all that much about many of society's conventions. Much as I want to downsize, I am not exactly in an economic position to do it. I don't have a steady and regular job (my work is on-call so I never know when I'm working) and I haven't really completed college. Yes, it sounds like what I really want to do is run away from my problems. Maybe it really is that (I've considered it.) But maybe there's more. I look at my potential future, that even if I go back and finish school, get a regular job or whatever-that that's basically it. I don't want to just live my life paycheck to paycheck at some 9-5 where at any given moment I could just be sacked because it's more economical for someone else I haven't even met. Much of my life I basically lived by other people's rules or influence, and I really don't want this.

There are "socially conventional" things I do like and want. For one, I would definitely want to have a wife and kids. I also love my computers. [EDIT: Also I like the gym. I like weight-lifting and strength training. Is it even possible to become a bodybuilder while on the road?] But other than these things, nothing is really keeping me here where I am.

Point is, for those that took the plunge, how did it turn out? Did you have an easier time once you no longer had to pay the typical bills (obviously there are other expenses.) How easy/hard is it to develop a relationship or start a family when you're a nomad? Are some of the things I like basically just a sign that this sort of life might not be a good fit?

Looking for words of wisdom from those who know better than I.

 
Well, boy.. ; (I'm gonna go all 'granny mamma' on you)

#1) Others have all offered good advice, and I agree with them.

#2) 29?? HA!  Why, you're still a wee young'un!   I'm 62 and for the last 3 years have been living in my RV.  (yeah, it's static, and I'm trying to build my 'Granny Cabin', but anyway...) You're NEVER too old.  It's all a mind set.

#3)  Sounds to me, right out of the gate your first priority is to FIND WORK you can do on the road, and get your finances in order (and get a vehicle of some sort that will work for you - you can always upgrade later!)  I think Bob has a really good article/ blog post about all that.  Go study!

#4) (I am gonna talk to you just like I told my own kids)  Your 'parts' are likely gonna be workin' for a looooooong time, unlike a woman's.  You can have kids WHEN YOU ARE STABLE in your own life/finances/relationship, etc.  (Here it comes 'son' "DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT drag someone else into your life ESPECIALLY an innocent child until YOU have YOUR act together."

Do I regret this info I told my kids (and that IS a direct quote, btw)?  No.  but... I don't have any grandkids either.  Oh well.  Sure beats havin a few that are not being raised in the best possible circumstances.  God knows there's plenty of those already out there; bless their little hearts.

(I'm really not mean, and I think you'll do great.  Just make up your mind and start DOING!)

We can all sit around and make excuses for what we wouldda/couldda/shouldda done.  But your life will look a lot better from your wheelchair in the nursing home if you DID what you LOVED.

"What am I willing to do to get where I want to be?"

OMG!! Stealing this!!  I see a big poster in my future.

 

[GenericHenchman]

Great responses guys, thanks very much.
Yes, priorities first (working on them, hopefully to some avail this time.)
I have very much to think about.

 

[VanKitten]

Welcome!

I want to pass to you the same advice I have always given my own "kids".

To really live you have to take the path less travelled. Do not get to the end of this journey and only have thoughts of "I could have....." "I should have...."

I have met far too many seniors who have only regrets. They don't regret what they did so much as what they didn't do. Their regrets are about the "safe" choices they made...the beaten path they took

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Uni today is wasting money, I tell younkers to first, figure out what they want to do (that pays ok and isn't a flooded field) then get the cheapest degree that'll be legitimate to go into that field (community college, online college, trade school)

That is way to open ended of a statement to be accurate. Blanket statements portray a one size fits all mentality and that's rarely the case.  An education from one of the more prestigious high priced universities can be a very good investment.  Some college majors will put you in very high paying career and there are connections that can be made in those universities that can't be found/made anywhere else. 

That being said college is most certainly not for everyone and high schools are starting to get away from pushing it on all their students like they did when I was in high school.  I was led to believe if I didn't go to college i'd be a washed up no good loser before my 25th birthday.  Luckily for me, I hated school so much I decided to go the non college route and it worked out quite well.  Worked my way up in the trades.....starting as a laborer and finishing as a project manager/estimator before becoming disabled. 

Just as college isn't for everyone neither are the trades.  Everyone has to take their own path that best fits them.  Always be careful of any advice that's one sided. Research the pros and cons and make an educated decision from there.