A day in the life of a full-timer...

Like Marsha & Tim, we find ourselves yearning for the stick house after 6+ months in the coach. The extra space gives some freedom to do things that an RV tends to constrain.  Maybe its just a change of interiors and the ability to walk more than a few steps without bumping into one another.  There are things we miss, e.g. I like my big workshop and bench tools for remodeling projects and Nancy likes to garden.  And the 43 inch tv in the living room looks like a cinema screen after months of watching the smaller ones in the RV.  But after 5 months in the house we begin to yearn for a change of scene again, spoiled by the ability to move to a new venue periodically.

I have not retired yet.  We are close, having sold the house, the stuff and living in the MH.  Having summers off I can pretty well get the flavor of fulltime.  I am writing a book which I started 10 years ago and need to update.  Like all less than serious writers the book plays second fiddle to other things.  Visiting with neighbors is fun and I take particular joy in talking with other RVers, bemoaning the fuel prices and other RV related issues.  The computer is another obvious joy although if I am not careful it can take too much time.  Going over the rig is always fun if only to polish or clean.  Motorcycling has a place and I do enjoy going for a ride a couple times a week.  Bicycling rates high on my list of to do's and it is great exercise.  My other hobby is inline skating.  It is a sport that connects me to younger people and puts me in the moment.  I'll put on the inlines and go 15 or 20 miles.  No flats, mechanically easy and shocks folks when they discover I am an old guy.  Our biggest debate nowadays is where to go when we retire.  Moving to Yuma or to Harlingen for the winter and if we will retire in January or May next year.  Finally plotting our first journey, initially it was to Maine and then down the East Coast.  Fuel prices have given us pause to be determined later.  In any case we will see you out there.
Phil

Yes Margi wintering in Az is a lot of fun and like you mentioned we all had a great time. 

Bernie, If it gets too complicated we can always just leave the heat on and pay the propane bill.

Gary,

I'm already getting the bug to take off in the coach.  I have the house somewhat organized and things put away.  Like Nancy, I love to garden.  We have the final landscape plan, but can't plant until fall.  We don't like a lot of hot heat and Kernville is hot in the summer.  Not as hot as Yuma, but in the high 90s low 100s most of the summer season.  But they have beautiful Springs/Winters and Falls. 

Our initial plan was to stay here all summer and then take off for a few months in late August thru October.  I've mentioned to Tim a couple of times that maybe we should get out of the heat now and be home in the Sept/Oct time frame.  However, he's loving his wood working.  He is putting together cupboard storage shelving with doors; and a customized workshop from design to completion.  He's never had a 1000 sq ft garage to play in before.  So, we'll stay here and he can build things to his heart's content.  Then we when get home in the fall, he can start on the entertainment center for that new 52" LCD he rewarded himself with.  ;D

Marsha~

Carolann and I have been thinking along the lines of taking really good care of our antique house and waiting a few years until it gets some of its value back. I'm 56, she's 50. Then we will sell it, buy a small condo, cabin or even one of those "manufactured homes" in a senior community. From there we can see the country in the motorhome but always be able to return to a place where we can spend a little time two rooms apart.  Grin  I say that in jest because we learned when I was unemployed for nine months that we do quite well together 24/7 on limited funds. That's a very important thing to know and I suspect it's something else some married people haven't considered as they approach retirement and/or fulltiming.

And, Carson -- you should write that autobiography. Maybe nobody will buy it but I'll bet you have kids or other relatives that would treasure it when you're gone. I've been working on mine in a travelogue I started twelve years ago. I just write a bit whenever I'm on the road and make sure I include a lot of thoughts, philosophies and personal history and reflections that my sons and grandsons might find fascinating or at least worth reading. I never really knew my grandparents or even my parents that well. We assume kinship and never bother to ask questions.

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Dave, we're in the "long-termer" category, taking either numerous short trips or long trips (3 to 5 months) but coming home to a stick house.  I grew up in the Army and have the need to come home every now and then.  I love to travel, but not permanently.  We leave when we feel like it.  Some personalities want a stick house and others do not.  If you love to see neat scenery, visit museums, hike, fish, go four-wheeling, and generally see new things, then perhaps the fulltime lifestyle is for you.  OTOH, if you're not into "doing" these types of things, maybe it's not for you.  Also, if you're a couple, it has to suit both of you.  Based on people we've known, your wife can't live your dream for you.  If both of you share the dream, you'll be much happier as fulltimers.

Carson, one of my husband's older cousins was encouraged by her mother to keep a diary from a very young age.  It was eventually typed and put into a formal "booklet."  As yet it hasn't been published, but I've read it and it was fascinating to learn about the various family members and about day-to-day life during, for example, the Depression.  I told her son that even if he doesn't formally publish the volume he should, at the very least, make sure it gets into the genealogy section of the local library.  They'd love something like that because it's a first-hand account of life in that area during a particular era and it's also about one of the families that settled the area.  When I was in library school we had to read The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini who was an Italian artisan during the Renaissance.  The reason this book is so important historically is his day-to-day account of life during that time. (He also had a gigantic ego which also makes it interesting to read.)  Writing a book can be all-consuming, but if it's something you want to do, why not?  And I agree with what someone else said - even though the family may not be close now, children do have a way of wanting to learn things when they're older.  This is epitomized by the children who have been adopted and want to learn about their birth parents.  Even if it never gets formally published, it may be fulfilling for you to do, so go for it!

ArdraF

Phil, I envy your inline skating hobby. I fell off a roof nearly twenty years ago and am lucky to walk. Don't have the flexibility or strength I'd need for skating but it sounds like a blast.

ArdraF,

Carolann and I are in complete agreement about the extent of our future part-time life on the road. Like you, we'd both like a place for a long pitstop, a place to call home and, as you pointed out, a place to stay when we weary of the road or physically can't handle it anymore. I imagine our plans will adjust one way and then another as I approach and eventually achieve retirement and as we put more miles behind us. Doesn't matter, really. Home is wherever we are together and having a dream to pursue is what keeps us hopping out of bed each morning.

Dave

hank you Ardra,
    I fully understand what you are saying. I wish now that I could read the diaries of my forefathers/mothers, but there are no such manuscripts. I have an original "Family Tree" document dating back to the 1600's, what do I do with that? (A library suitable is on the other side of the planet).

  On my own writing, once I do that, I am very torn on the caliber of opinionated text that may come out. Like many families, there are good and bad sides to discuss. I am lucky that not one of my relatives have anything to hide, criminally, mentally or worse. Yet, the people in my lifetime can be categorized, according to my beliefs, as odd, weird, uncaring, loving, extraordinary kind, out of the mainstream etc. etc. etc.

    To write an autobiography by being politically correct (don't offend anyone) will end up being a fiction story.

    Seems to me that the only person who would admire/enjoy my composition would be me.

How does one get around that little problem. I personally feel that I have no enemies, but then who knows.

  Maybe the answer would be be to put the manuscript in a safe; Open only after the passing of this little fuzzball. ;D

    In the meantime I'll keep on smiling.

Your family tree info would be a treasure for anyone in the family doing research.  Even though there may not be anybody interested now there may be in the future.  I would recommend keeping it and include it in your will or such.  If it become lost that information it contains may be lost forever.

However, he's loving his wood working.

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Tim is a man after my own heart!  I recall back in 94 when we bought our little place out in the forest and I put in a 12x24 building exclusively for my workshop. I was in heaven! Now I wish it had been 24x24!

Carson, if you can't think of anyone who might want that family tree, don't just toss it.  As Ron says, genealogists love things like that.  Even if it isn't perfect, it might help someone, someday, get pointed in the right directions.  There's always the LDS library in Salt Lake City.  They have a treasure trove that most of us interested in such things use.  My own mother contributed some items to it.  Another one of my friends is a museum curator and she said she wishes we could all be packrats based on a mansion they just finished inventorying.  She said it was absolutely wonderful to find old letters and such.  Realistically, of course, we all have to ditch "stuff" but be selective in where you ditch it to!

ArdraF 

If given to the LDS Genealogical Library many folks would get good use from it.

Ron said:

...  Sam & I plan to stay here in MT over the winter this year. ...

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Ouch.  What about the grandkids?  :'(

It seems like there are two topcs being discussed here.  One topic is full-timing and the second is what you intend to do during retirement.  MArsha and I really enjoy traveling and particularly traveling without a fixed schedule.  We also enjoy working on projects and hobbies some which can be accomplished in the MH and some not.  Fortunately we have been able to find balance and be able to travel, see what we want to see and visit family, but also return to a home base where we have room to spread out.  BTW I do enjoy having a big garage for the first time with plenty of room for tools and storage.  Also with new home there are plenty of projects to keep me busy.

I have found with retirement that my time slips away even faster because I get over involved in different projects and events.  When I worked I was plenty busy but because work was so demanding and I shunned everything else.  Now that I am retired (this year anyhow..next year who knows?) I think I have lots of time so I over commit.  After several years I have now learned to only commit to something that doesn't have a schedule...that includes all the new home projects...tim

KodiakRV said:

Ouch.  What about the grandkids?   :'(

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We will see how that goes.  Currently the grand kids, and their parents, plan to visit here next summer.  The oldest one is set on going fishing with grandpa.  By summer the youngest may want to too.

carson said:

   On my own writing, once I do that, I am very torn on the caliber of opinionated text that may come out. Like many families, there are good and bad sides to discuss. I am lucky that not one of my relatives have anything to hide, criminally, mentally or worse. Yet, the people in my lifetime can be categorized, according to my beliefs, as odd, weird, uncaring, loving, extraordinary kind, out of the mainstream etc. etc. etc.

    To write an autobiography by being politically correct (don't offend anyone) will end up being a fiction story.

    Seems to me that the only person who would admire/enjoy my composition would be me.

How does one get around that little problem. I personally feel that I have no enemies, but then who knows.

   Maybe the answer would be be to put the manuscript in a safe; Open only after the passing of this little fuzzball. ;D

    In the meantime I'll keep on smiling.

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Try to write the biography as honestly and objectively as you can and let the chips fall where they may.  In my own case the death of one grandmother is not pretty and is very sad but that is what happened so the family should know.  It was a well kept secret till I got her death certificate and started asking questions.  It doesn't hurt anyone but explains a lot of family dynamices from the 1920s thorugh the 1990s when the last of the insiders died.  I now understand them and why we moved and a lot of other things.  Mow how did a young man from MN go to the Phillipine Islands and marry a girl from Ohio in 1906??  VBG

Dave:

When we started RVing, we had never been camping, never had time to travel much, other than between duty stations while Fred served.  We ended in Maine where his family lived, bought a very old, very run down stick house and spent the next 20 some years of our lives trying to put it back together, while raising our kids.  We were nearing retirement age, and I kept wondering what to do with the rest of our lives.  We sort of "fell" into RVing by a small fluke.  (Fred will swear it was coercion on my part)  ;D 

We bought an old run down RV.  We went to an Elderhostel in Salt Lake City.  From there to Tacoma, WA to visit a daughter whose husband was stationed at Ft. Lewis.  From there went to Vancouver, WA to visit our son, who was stationed at Portland CG station.  We had determined before leaving home, that we would spend the winter someplace WARM.  Again, another weird thing happened and we ended up in Quartzsite, AZ for the winter.  We ended up spending about 7 or more winters in that area, only because so many of the forum people started coming there to join us, and we seemed to have a good time there.  We got into some off-roading, joined the local gem club, visited the vendors that congregate there by the hundreds during the winter.  Anyway, the 2nd year into our RVing lifestyle, we had a fellow offer to buy our house.  We didn't think we should sell just yet, but kept mulling it over that whole summer, since this fellow kept coming back trying to wear us down.  It was a big house, and several acres, and we finally decided that this opportunity might not come along soon again.  So we did agreed to sell it, but not before the next summer.  The guy was agreeable to that.  That's what we did and that's when we went full-timing.

Our experience was a bit different than some of the others, as Fred's mom was still living back in Maine as were three more of our kids.  So, every summer we ventured back, trying to find a different route each time, and trying to see things on our path.  We would then hunker down for about 4 months in Maine before slowly heading back to the AZ desert.  We did this for about 9 years.  We considered at the time that we had the best of both worlds.

When health problems started to become an issue, we decided to look for a place where we would be happy to stay, should the need arrive, both winter and summer.  We found that place and had a small house built in a retirement complex.  This has served us well in the past few years when we both had serious health problems.  Since they have been resolved and are resolving, we are happy to be back on the road again.  Though we will probably now only fly back to Maine for family visits (fuel prices have squashed any further travel that far) we are still content to get away for the summer months.  We are now up in Washington State for the summer months, visiting our son, and will go back to our AZ home in the fall sometime.  In the meantime, we have no fears leaving for so long a stretch, as our home is in a gated complex with security each night.  So we can go for extended periods of time without worrying about break-ins, etc.  Our computer is also equipped with a quasi security video and we can see a part of our living room and watch our home TV there, and know that everything there is still functioning.   

Anyway, for us, those ten or more years were wonderful times on the road, and while no longer full-timing, our part-timing is just as adventuresome, if on a shorter basis.  This has worked for us, and we are both quite happy with the arrangement.  Life has a way of dictating what you can and cannot do anyway. 

As for amusement on the road, the sun has finally come out in all its glory, the temps have warmed up and we went beach combing this morning.  The tall ships are in town and we'll go to see them tomorrow.  Our son is arranging a special Fourth of July outing for us, and life is good! 

Daisy

As others have said having a contingency plan in case full timing isn't for both of you is a must. We started this with a plan to full time for a year or two until we decided where to settle down in retirement. We still have personal possessions stored for the day we do purchase another home. We are now beginning year four and discussing plans for next summer which will be the beginning of year five so it has worked for us so far. Like most of the fulltimers here we have started settling down in warmer climes (AZ) for 3-4 months in the winter but the rest of the time we have been on the move. We still have a long wish list for areas to see so it has not become boring for us yet.

What has been appealing to us the past three years has been the absence of worrying about a home left behind and not having to looking forward to spending the first month back home trying to get everything shipshape again. Traveling has also been a wonderful opportunity to visit old friends and relatives we haven't seen for years.

When my dad had health problems last fall we simply spent six weeks parked in Florida to offer a helping hand when it was needed.

Jeff..you make an excellent point.  Our last home was an older home that needed a lot of attention plus lots of trees and landscaping, an aging well and horses so.  Evrytime we traveled we worried about what could go wrong or dreaded returning to days of yardwork, fixing damage from horses, etc.  We elected to relocate to a small community where everyone knows evryone so our home is pretty safe.  Also we built new so maintenance should be minimal for several years and we are trying to put in a maintenance free yard. We downsized our house and so far most of our yard is concrete.  The rest of the yard is dirt and roundup does a good job for now.  Ideally we can leave for several months and not worry.  That's the plan anyhow.  Also our son is only a few blocks awat and we can let him worry for a change...tim

Daisy, Jeff and Tim -- I see a theme developing here: contingency planning. Makes perfect sense.

Carolann and I are trying to drastically reduce the amount of stuff we've managed to accumulate over the years. Most of it we really have no use for but it's surprising how comforting plain, old STUFF can be. You just get used to seeing certain things for years and then the idea of selling it for a quarter in a yard sale is tough to swallow. I have a collection of neon beer signs that used to hang in our bar/rec room when we had one. Now they just sit in the garage gathering dust and occasionally breaking. I recently sold two or three of them really cheap and it hurt. I still have about thirty left! It's just STUFF and I want to be free of it but each of those signs has a story, a time and place that goes with it.

Scaling back a life isn't easy, is it?

When my parents downsized, they hired some women that specialized in garage and estate sales.  My parents put out in the garage everything they wanted to sell then left for the day.  The women organized the items, handled the sales, and when my parents returned, they were handed the case proceeds.

When we went full time, we did our own garage sale.  Although there were 3 of us handling the sale, the merchandise was in both the garage and condo and we lost some to plain theft.  I don't know how much money we lost as a result but it certainly was less than if we had let professionals handle the sale.

Pros are also better at getting fair value for the items and nostalgia doesn't enter into the sale.