Many people are enamored with the thought of a life on the
road. We’ve been called “hippies,” given
the label “free-spirited, homeschool family,” and of course heard many times the response of, “you are doing what?!” when we disclose that we live full
time in an RV. It does sound kind of
crazy, doesn’t it? Then there are others
who contact us seeking advice or those that may not quite understand our
strange need for travel, but simply cheer us on for boldly living our dream. We hear from families in many different
stages of planning their escape to a life on the road. And, surprisingly, they come from many
different backgrounds. Some are simply
intrigued by this lifestyle, while others are already planning their departure.
Regardless, I would say there’s a lot of
buzz and controversy surrounding the idea of taking your family on the road.
So whether you and your spouse are toying with the idea or
you have already started planning your escape, here are some things to think
about. What I can say about this
lifestyle, from seeing it firsthand for almost six months and also following
multiple blogs for years from other travelers, is that the full-time nomadic
travels will definitely be different for everyone. There are SO many variables. These variables
will either make you feel like you are rolling through your own dream come true
or could leave you ready to squeal the tires back home (if you haven’t sold it,
along with everything else, that is!).
Family Life- If
you are doing this with a family, it WILL be more complicated. (I hope I don’t burst your bubble.) However, it will most definitely challenge
your family in many ways, especially if you come from a very normal, routine
life with two parents working full time with kids in traditional school. Be ready for the change. On the bright side, it will also make your
experience much more rewarding as you learn together as a family and do this
thing called life together side by side. I think much of whether this experience will be negative
or positive depends on the age of your kids and how well you function together
as a family before you embark on this new way of life. We are
a close family, and always have been, but it isn’t always perfect harmony. Of course that being said, even a life at home
with normal routine wasn’t always perfect harmony, either. The difference is that you are together most
of your day and any issues that were apparent before will now become
magnified. So, how much cohesion you
have as a family, and in your marriage for that matter, is something to
seriously consider before embarking on this together 24/7 venture. As much as we did prepare, there was still a
rather sharp transition for us and each day we become much more adjusted than
even the day before. What we do love
about being together and traveling the country, is the fact that there is so
much less stress. Less to think about,
worry about and this stress has been replaced with so many more good moments
and memories together.
Roadschooling- If
you do have a family with school age children and you will be attempting
“roadschooling” for the first time—be prepared.
We have found managing homeschooling can be very tedious and time
consuming, especially if you haven’t done it before. Put this together with those of you who plan
to work on the road and it might get overwhelming. Once again, your experience will depend on your
relationship with your kids, how motivated they are to learn and how much they
enjoy testing your patience (and they will try testing your patience, I
promise). However, that being said, it
is also very rewarding helping your child grasps concepts and seeing them thrive,
which is the reason I think homeschooling is worthwhile.
Also, a life on the road gives your family endless
opportunities to learn outside of their usual core curriculum. You simply can’t put a price tag on seeing
your child’s eyes light up when they are learning hands-on through traveling. Every moment of the day is a learning
opportunity when you travel.
If you already homeschool your children, I doubt moving this
lifestyle to the road would even be a factor, much less an issue. Above all, know what you are getting yourself
(and your spouse) into, and it shouldn’t later come as a shock. For us, homeschooling has been the largest
obstacle. I think transitioning in
middle school has made it more difficult.
Regardless, our kids are both thriving and learning concepts they wouldn’t
have the opportunity to learn in a classroom setting. This firsthand learning has been the best
part and fun for the entire family.
To go further, Tom and I designed a point system for the
kids, where we ask questions about the things we have learned along our travels
and if they answer correctly or do volunteer reports on each state they can earn
points towards prizes. This method has
made learning even more fun and challenged the kids to show some
initiative. We, as parents, love it,
too!
Pace of Travel- Another
large factor is pace of travel. We have
found that it can be somewhat stressful to pack up and leave every couple of
days. It can also be difficult to plan your
travels so far ahead that you are running on deadlines. This type of travel is necessary at times, but
limits your ability to act spontaneously or enjoy the journey. After our unplanned trek up through Michigan
and around to Wisconsin the entire family felt ready to slow down and enjoy a
more relaxed way of travel for a few months at least.
Staying at least one week or longer is much
easier on everyone. The one to three
night stops can be much too stressful. It
takes much of the freedom and joy right out of the experience. We did that for the first five weeks and
quickly learned our lesson about planning too far in advance. Only travel with a deadline if absolutely
necessary. That’s my firsthand advice. We now travel like “locals” and we love
it. We don’t care how long it takes us
to see the country any longer and that has freed us to enjoy our journey.
Trip Routing- We
struggled with this aspect from the very beginning. Trying to decide how we were going to conquer
the entire U.S. while staying in shorts and flip flops and trying to do so
without taking up half our lifetime. The
problem? We wanted to see and do
EVERYTHING everywhere. We have recently
thrown that concept out the window, and would suggest you do, too. It is impossible and will lead to nothing but
frustration. Instead focus on seeing the
things you can while you are there and enjoying as much of the local flavor as
possible. We were convinced before we
hit the road that we could have our route planned out months in advance. That didn’t happen like planned and we are
thankful it didn’t. We changed our route
two major times within the first 3 months. We soon realized a little routing by
serendipity goes a long way. There were
times that we seemed to be somewhere we “didn’t plan” at exactly the right time
for something incredible to happen. When
we tentatively plan a route, we have an idea of a few major attractions we want
to see along the way, whether it be a beach, a mountain, an area attraction or
national park and then we start searching for campgrounds.
There are several methods we use to find campgrounds. One of our favorite options is PassportAmerica, which is a membership club that provides many campgrounds in each
state for 50% off the normal rate. This
has an annual fee of only $44! (Click on the link to find out more.) This has saved us around $1000 over five
months and most of the campground are nice and full hook-up. If you are a full-timer or even a weekender,
this is the ONE thing we would for sure recommend. We also enjoy staying at state parks or
national campgrounds. Many of them
provide large, private RV spots and lots of ways to enjoy nature, whether it be
hiking trails, biking trails, lakes or rivers.
We have recently started using Harvest Hosts, which is another
membership for $44 per year. This allows
you to stay for one night at a local winery, orchard, farm or museums.
The stay is free with your membership, the
views out your window can’t be beat and the only thing they ask is that you
support the local business, which we love doing anyway! Who doesn’t love picking their own apples,
buying a bottle of wine or supporting great local places? The last major resource we use is to find free
campsites. We use www.freecampsites.net and it gives
lists of places in each state that are free or $12 or less per night. We have found gems using this resource and to
think that they are free is unbelievable to me (we are working on a state by
state list of our favorites). The only
other way we have found great campgrounds is by our fellow RV community. We LOVE suggestions from people along the way,
whether it be for restaurants, places to visit or campgrounds. And, they haven’t disappointed us yet! So far, this process has worked out
exceptionally well for us.
Your Home on Wheels-
Outside the travelling aspect, your actual home will be less than 400 square
feet in most RVs and travel trailers. We
found that it took much longer to find the “one” than we originally
thought. It took us over a year of
searching to decide on a trailer that felt like home. We wanted a trailer that the whole family
loved and something that didn’t “feel” like we were living in a trailer. This is why we chose a new trailer that had a
very open floor plan and nice finishes. Living
space was extremely important to us, so we opted for a style that didn’t have
the traditional tiny RV couch and booth, but instead a large, mega lounge sofa
with removable tables and two full size bunks in the back for the kids to have
their own space. We knew as soon as we
stepped inside our new home that it was the right one for us. There are many differing opinions on which
manufacturer to choose along with size, tow ability, storage, etc. With so many factors to consider, it can be
rather overwhelming. Take everything
into consideration and make sure you find something that you know you can be
comfortable in as your “home.” It was
important to have our entire family feel good about the purchase that we made.
Budget for the Road-
We’ve talked about many aspects, but one of the largest obstacles to a life on
the road would be the obvious funding dilemma.
This is the one that many people can’t quite get their heads
around. There are millions of people on
the road and many of them are the stereotypical retired couple that can afford
to live this lifestyle due to their retired status. While you may feel it isn’t feasible for you
right now, I promise you it is completely and totally attainable. What it will take is dedication to planning
and much patience. We are living proof
of that. This question is asked of us
more often than any other and quite honestly was the biggest question we had
when we first entertained this idea ourselves.
Just as we had asked others in our planning stages, others are now
asking us the same question… “How do you financially do it?” And, without sounding like we are taking the
easy way out of this question, it really is going to be drastically different
depending on where you are in your life.
Huge factors vary from how much debt you may have to whether your job
can be mobile. It also depends on how
much you are able to save in the planning stages or what residual income you
might have from alternate sources.
What I do know is that living on the road can cost as much
or as little as you would like to spend.
We had an idea of what we “wanted” to spend and had a budget, just as we
did when we lived in our “stick home.”
While we choose to splurge some months, the key is to balance in a way
where it averages itself out. On this
journey I think people would be surprised what little we live off of and what
amazing things we can do. We never
deprive ourselves of fun. We are able to
live what I consider a luxurious and amazing life for MUCH less, probably
around $1,000 less, than we did when we had a mortgage and piles of bills. What is really cool about this is that most
places we stay have incredible views of lakes, mountains, places for us to
swim, kayak, play tennis, hike…in other words, built in entertainment. And now we actually have time to enjoy life
with our built in entertainment. It’s a
pretty sweet deal.
It is Not for
Everyone- Let’s be real, this lifestyle is not for everyone. If you are considering it, you will know
instantly whether you and your family should even attempt a life on the road. For those who have discovered this type of
life and took the gigantic step to make it happen, it can be such a beautiful
and rewarding way to live. Whether you
can do it for a few months at a time, a year or indefinitely, there is no way
to describe how it will impact you and your entire family. The things you’ll see, the moments you will
make are absolutely priceless. A nomadic
lifestyle can be whatever you make it.