Did I just get talked out of fulltiming? [Feedback wanted]

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come west, young man, come west, where the wind blows free, and the wild cactus bloom, and there is beauty around every curve of the road.  Where you can see 50 miles in every direction, and explore the hidden treasures that abound here.
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Oh, Daisy, I love your way with words !

 
Here's a cost saving idea for you.  Your "friend" says you can see the entire country in one or two months so rent a MH for one month and go see 1/2 of the country.  Then if it's enjoyable rent another MH for one more month and see the rest of the country.  This will be less costly than buying something that your friend says you'll only use for two months.

JerryF
 
You need to read some of the threads on this site by people who come here from Europe and other countries.  Many think they'll come for, say, six weeks, see the entire country, and return home.  The funny thing is, some keep extending their visas and pretty soon their six weeks has extended to a year and a half.  Many return home, only to return later to see everything they've missed - because this is a huge country with a LOT to see and experience!

Are you sure your friend doesn't want to go to Europe herself and perhaps is angling to have you as a travel partner?  We traveled all over the world, including Europe, and still love RVing HERE in the good old U.S. of A.  Your friend doesn't have a clue!

ArdraF
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies. Pretty much confirms what I was thinking all along ever since I got the idea. I've done a lot of business travel over the years and if you've ever done that, you would understand how her vision fits. You only see the same airports, hotels, and see the same things on the drive to the local skyscraper you came to visit. That's pretty much what she described. So it did ring a bell and got me thinking a little.

I am going to do the eurail trip. It looks really interesting. If I had to pick what my favorite hobby is, it's people. Meeting people and making new friends. I think this would be a great way to do it and explore some diverse cultures at the same time. Just need to figure out how it works into my plans. Looking forward to doing the same across this great country as well.

I talked with my daughter tonight and asked if she would be interested in doing it with me, she wanted to leave tomorrow. (That's only because she didn't pay for this semesters tuition, I did. Little stinker.) Definitely at the top of the list for this summer though.

I'm going to drive on, my shopping burnout break is over and I'm going to hit the bricks for the final round. Got my want list, armed with the tons of help all of you have given me, I'm pretty confident it won't take long to find what I'm looking for.

There's no way I'd take that lunch date with me. (I lost a bet with her, cost me lunch) Nice gal and all, but I thinks she's got tunnel vision and can't see the real picture. Glad I don't have that problem.

Thanks again for your replies.
 
I think it was Gary (RV Roamr) who just a few days ago referred to "The Blind Men And The Elephant".  I couldn't remember the details of that so I did a internet search and found the original poem.  Certainly, the friend referred to here sees the subject of full timing in the same light as theses blind men saw the elephant. 

Just in case anyone might be interested I have pasted the poem here.


It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
 
Hi - My husband and I are just beginning to make our plans to fulltime - we also plan to workamp as well. I am careful about who I discuss my plans with. Many people I know always see the glass half empty. I guess you need to explore why YOU personally want to fulltime. Really? -  only a month to see this great land of ours? Depends on what you want to do, I suppose. I haven't even fully explored the state  I've lived in for 30 years.
Maybe you need a trial run, before you actually plan to fulltime. Good luck to you!
Ei
 
Hi RoadMack,

It's important to note that fulltime RVing is a lifestyle not a vacation. We still have to do laundry, change the oil, clean the 'house' but we get to do those things from where we choose in between terrific traveling, making friends, experiencing the local culture, food, etc.

I think it would be a safe bet to say every fulltimer that's been on the road a while has stopped somewhere for a few days and found the area so engaging that their stay turned into a month or more.

Like you noted, business travel takes you to the Marriott, Applebees, and other places that remain the same across the country. RVing allows you into the nooks and crannies. Since you have not already purchased an RV I strongly recommend considering a camper - TT/MH/5'er that will meet your traveling needs. Wanna tour the tiny two-lanes...make sure you and your RV are comfortable in those situations. Be aware of RV size restrictions in many state and federal parks. While the larger motorhomes are very livable they may not fit in some "off the beaten track" destinations. Just something to consider.   

A couple months in Europe is a memory making vacation?fulltime RVing is a memory making lifestyle. Both excellent but very different.

Happy and safe travels,

Evanne
 
RoadMack said:
Thanks to everyone for your replies. Pretty much confirms what I was thinking all along ever since I got the idea. I've done a lot of business travel over the years and if you've ever done that, you would understand how her vision fits. You only see the same airports, hotels, and see the same things on the drive to the local skyscraper you came to visit. That's pretty much what she described. So it did ring a bell and got me thinking a little.
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I think that typical business travel, where you follow an itinerary set by your boss (or customers), stay in hotels where your travel dept. can negotiate a good corporate rate because nobody with any sense will stay there, etc., staying typically in suburban areas because that's where the business is --- that should be enough to cure anyone of traveling.

There are also tourist traps that have a certain sameness over time and miles.

On the other hand there's a lot of natural beauty out there and wider differences in locale and culture, depending on what you want.  I think one of the central limitations of the RV lifestyle is that it is difficult to stay in urban locations in an RV, which means that there are certain kinds of trips that don't work, but there's still a lot of America to see.

I am going to do the eurail trip. It looks really interesting. If I had to pick what my favorite hobby is, it's people. Meeting people and making new friends. I think this would be a great way to do it and explore some diverse cultures at the same time. Just need to figure out how it works into my plans. Looking forward to doing the same across this great country as well.
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Having been there I think the thing to keep in mind is that Europe is a big place too, though not as big as America.  The Eurail sorts of trips emphasize travel with relatively little time spent in any one place.  It takes a couple of months to see Spain, and you won't get that.  On the other hand Europe too has its share of artless suburbs, but the tour won't stop there.  So you can be fooled into thinking that it's someplace it isn't.

I talked with my daughter tonight and asked if she would be interested in doing it with me, she wanted to leave tomorrow. (That's only because she didn't pay for this semesters tuition, I did. Little stinker.) Definitely at the top of the list for this summer though.

I'm going to drive on, my shopping burnout break is over and I'm going to hit the bricks for the final round. Got my want list, armed with the tons of help all of you have given me, I'm pretty confident it won't take long to find what I'm looking for.

There's no way I'd take that lunch date with me. (I lost a bet with her, cost me lunch) Nice gal and all, but I thinks she's got tunnel vision and can't see the real picture. Glad I don't have that problem.
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You see what you want to see.

Takes all kinds to make a world.

 
George,

Thanks for sharing the elephant tale.  Heard it years ago and forgot about it.  It truly does explain why we look at things the way we do.

ArdraF
 
Again, thanks for the replies. Great story George. I got one of my own to add, posted it here. http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=29398.0

"Babushka",  a 79 year old Russian woman told me that story. Found another version on the web and posted it.
 
I have lived in New Mexico for over 40 years.  For quite a while, I spent at least 2 weeks of every month doing the business travel routine and one morning I woke up and could not remember which city I was visiting... so I opened the drawer by the bed and looked at the phone book to locate myself; that was the point where I decided implement a plan to make some major changes in my life.  OTOH, living in NM, several of us took the time to take motorcycle trips around the state, using off-road motorcycles, and managed to get 2 or 3 of these trips completed every year for many, many years so I've been places in this "land of enchantment" that few, if any, humans have ever been and I've been places in this country that gillions of humans go every day.  Guess which one I remember and look forward to revisiting?  I appreciate fine architecture, art, design, poetry, prose, lectures, science, movies and interesting people as much as anyone and an expensive dinner at a famous resturant is a treat but if there is a travel rut, I would say that this is one of the largest... tours of Europe, Greece, Machu Pichu; with stops at nice hotels, dinners at nice resturants; cruises of all sorts... you probably know the list better than I do.  There is a "sameness" about almost anything if you look for it... I mean we are all on the same planet and there are 7-8 Billion of us.  Even RV travel is primarily limited to paved hiways and there are so many more miles of dirt/gravel roads to be explored, then there are the trails... if you are physically able to walk long distances, those "tours" are unlimited and relatively unknown.  The existing network of paved roads that has been built is practically endless so the RV mode of exploration is very popular and the diversity of the places on this network is staggering.  The people you will meet in the RV "network" are, for the most part, really cool.  Certainly each person is different, even though there are billions of us.  I have no idea what you are going to do but if I were you I'd follow the path that attracts you and your partner if you have one.  Advice, even this paragraph, is sometimes helpful but it's the person you see in the mirror each morning that makes the decisions.  There is a path for you, some would say you are on it...
 
[quote author=Chet18013]Broken link???[/quote]

Kinda. He edited out the content of that message, so one of the staff removed it.
 
While it may be true that a ten mile squares often contain that list of mundane places, it's the things missing from those squares or the OTHER things in those squares of the country that make traveling them so interesting. 
Many have alluded to this but to me the BEST reason to full time or even partially full time is the FREEDOM.  Freedom to move if your neighbor is annoying, to have no neighbors at all, to go in luxury or rough it, to stay inside and cuddle or check out your new 10 mile square, and on and on.  What's so great about the RV lifestyle is that you really don't have to choose between settling down and moving around.  You can KEEP your stick house for when you get that domestic call and when the call of the wild howls you can go out again.  Or you can get domestic in an RV if you desire. 
I did my full timing when I was in my thirties and now operate an RV Park but look forward to the day when I can return to FREEDOM.
 
If you never go anywhere, you'll keep seeing the same 10 square miles every day. If you travel in an RV, you may see a lot of the same stuff but it'll be a different 10 square miles every time you move. Even fast food restaurants can look different in different locations with different architecture.

Wendy
 
Wendy said:
Even fast food restaurants can look different in different locations with different architecture.
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You are so right! Being from California I was shocked when I went into McDonald's to order ice-tea in the South.., and it was almost like syrup it was so full of sugar. It was delicious, but not what I was expecting. Here in California Iced-tea does not have sugar in it. I told the worker I wanted no sugar and he said, "Oh, we do have diabetic iced-tea." It was funny.

The US is huge and I don't believe you could ever see everything new and interesting in a lifetime.., but you could experience a lot different cultures and physical wonders.
 
no matter what your age you will not live long enough to see all of the USA.

every 10 square miles is different, get out and see as much as you can.





Bob
 
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