Full-time RVing…are you suited?

The other night we were talking to friends who are thinking about going full timing.  As expected, the conversation included questions about the type of RV they wanted and should they sell their house. We guided the conversation to an even more important subject:  before looking for an RV or putting that For Sale sign on your house consider whether you are really suited to life on the road.  There are lots of considerations but I think these three are pretty important.

• Do you like each other, and I mean really like each other enough to exist together 24/7 in a very small space?  Traveling full time often involves spending most of your time and conversations with your partner.  GET and I  really do like each other and really like living together in a small space, however, once in awhile I have been known to suggest to him that he needs to get his lawn chair and take it to the beach for an attitude adjustment!  And he has been known to be needed somewhere for some unknown reason for a few minutes!  We also credit our success to having two TVs – one for sports and one for my home shows!
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• Do you need to be living close to your children/grandchildren?  Full-timing is traveling and you often don’t see your loved ones for months at a time. Is hosting family Christmas and holidays in your home a priority?  We dearly love our three children and four grand's and spending time with them, however we don’t feel we need to be underfoot most of the time.  Christmas may be the one time I sort of wish we still lived in a traditional house BUT we have managed to have memorable family Christmas’.  Several years here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca we hosted Christmas in the Suites with all of our family and included other full timing friends. We used one of the hospitality suites which the kids thought was very cool indeed! And last Christmas was spent at our son’s new home-changing of the guard?

Friends and family in the suites

 

Christmas in the Suites a few years ago:  Us, our three kids and their spouses, Sheila, the four grand’s and Dulee (little white Bichon)

• How about REALLY downsizing your “stuff”---your nice big workshop and tools, your wonderful sewing and craft room, even your clothes and shoes, YES your shoes? No question about it you will not have space for ALL of these in your RV BUT…one of our mottos is we have everything we ever had in a large home just not quite as much of it. (the shoes thing is a challenge for me!)  I still have my sewing machine and crafts area, we each have our own laptops and GET has all of the tools he needs/wants in the toolbox in the bed of our truck.

My craft/sewing supplies area-two cabinets and two drawers –quite sufficient!  Would love to share GET’s tool box but the truck is in the shop!

A few years after we started full timing I read an article which included a quiz to determine if you were suited to the lifestyle.  I only remember one of the questions.  Do you prefer to read magazines about:

1. RV maintenance
2. Hiking
3. Fashion

I answered #3, which they said indicated that I would not be suited!  Yes, I love fashion magazines and, after 22 years I would guess that I am quite suited to RV living!