What do you miss from home?

[Isaac-1]

Here is a simple question for you non-fulltimers out there. When you go on an RV trip for a week or a month or whatever what is it that you find yourself missing most from your sticks and bricks house? Is it space / elbow room, something you have at home, but can't bring with you on the road, something more abstract like being around friends or relatives, or something else?

For me there is a bit of the small space cabin fever that I start feeling after 3-4 weeks in our 28 ft coach, though that is not bad, and I could certainly be ok with the amount of space for somewhat longer, however the one thing I really miss is the ability to soak in a real bathtub. The shower in the RV is ok for a week or so, but after about 2 weeks I really find myself wishing to soak in a hot bath, and it is often the first thing I do when I get the free time after getting home.

Ike

 

[Western Slope]

Letting our large dogs outside in the morning at home within our 8 foot high fenced enclosed acres with no concerns other than an occasional skunk or bear.

 

[8Muddypaws]

Taking our dogs for a 1.5 mile walk twice a day.
My tech gear.
Electric guitar, midi gear, studio equipment.
Fast internet and streaming as much as we like.
Room.
Since we tow her car and I DON'T drive her car I miss driving.

 

[Old_Crow]

I may not qualify as I'm full time, but the one thing I miss as a life long tinkerer and toolaholic is my shop.

 

[Boat Bum]

My boat.

 

[winona]

My fenced yard. The rest I can live with.

 

[TheBar]

My wife can no longer go on longer walks which used to be a big part of our camping experience. I love to be outside. At home I stay busy with yard work but blowing leaves off my campsite is about the limit there. I started reading when camping but as I get older my eyes give out after a couple of hours. So as backwards as it sounds I actually miss being outdoors when camping.

 

[Skookum]

Our s&b is secluded from neighbors and we live in a forest, so I miss privacy. I miss my shop / tinkering / projects, and having separate spaces inside our home. I spend a lot of time alone - can you tell? 😎

This came to a head on a 2-month trip we took. Don't get me wrong, I love my other half. But he was frustrated with me because I was kind of moody and wasn't having a great time, after a few weeks. It was mecca for him. I just kind of wanted to be home after being on the road for a month and I was annoyed with having neighbors literally 10' from us ALL THE TIME, and I can't be outside without someone wanting to talk or get in my business.

 

[tlmgcamp]

I miss tinkering with stuff around the house. On our "big trip" for the year, I plan a minor upgrade for the rv. Last time it was a strip of led lights for the main storage area that goes full width under our bed. This year it will be a light in the outside kitchen

 

[DutchmenSport]

We do a lot of extended trips (1 to 3 months at a time). I've noticed, that the closer to end of the trip (if that be 1 month or 3 months), mentally I'm prepared to stay the duration. But when the end approaches, like ... the last 3 days, I'm really ready to return home.

I've asked myself "why" do I feel like this many times. And I think I've figured out some reasons.

First, we live in the country. We do have near by neighbors, but we do have a corn field for the front yard and a bean field for the back. It's quiet, dark, no traffic, and extremely peaceful. Sometimes, I just get sick and tired of "community living." That's why we purchased the house we are in, because it's solitude. Camping, there are always people around, and actually, people drive me nuts.

Next, the dogs. At home, we have a completely fenced property and completely surrounded by "Invisible Fence" (double protection with an actual fence and the electric dog fence). At home, the dogs can run free. At the campsite, they have to remain leashed.

Because we still own the house, there is also a responsibility to take care of it. My son and his 11 year old son live with us (actually, we deeded the house to him), but there are still thing I attend to in the house. I think I actually look forward to returning home so I can "tinker" with projects.

Returning back to the house also give me an open opportunity to wash the camper and dually truck, which is something much harder to do at the campground sitting.

Then, there are doctor appointments and veterinarian appointments. We schedule all our trips around doctor visits, procedures, and health needs. Do I look "forward" to returning home for these? No! But I know going home, I'm using the same doctors and medical services that has my life-long history.

Also, the old expressions says, "There no place like home." And that is true. Even though my wife and I continue living in the camper when we are "home" (which provides nice separations between us and our son), it's nice being back "home" where we have our roots. Our house is only 5 miles from where I was born and raised. This area is my "home". As fun and rewarding and exciting as it is to travel, and I've traveled all over the world (literally) over my life time, it's always a comfort to come back "home."

 

[Tom]

Our S&B retirement home is on the water and, looking out the window from my living room chair or my bedroom treadmill, is very relaxing. Also, we have a small fleet of boats behind the house, which makes it easy to get on the water for bass/sturgeon fishing, cruising around CA Delta sloughs, or visiting waterfront friends and neighbors. When we had the big boat moored behind the house, we could just hop aboard and visit San Francisco Bay, coastal towns such as Monterey, Santa Cruz & Morro Bay, or head down the coast to southern California or south of the border.

OTOH while at home, I miss the countless stream fishing opportunities accessible from our Wyoming lot.

DutchmenSport makes a really good point re medical facilities. My other half has looked at permanent homes near our WY lot, and I have a concern re medical facilities. We have very extensive/capable medical resources here in the SF Bay area. OTOH the small local hospital in Afton, WY has several satellite clinics, and a large cadre of doctors; But they all rotate in from SLC, St. George UT, or Jackson Hole, WY.

 

[Kirk]

To show the other side of this, I took an early retirement at 57 and we sold the house and went on the road in a 36' class A with no slides. We did a lot of volunteering for national wildlife refuges and national parks, as well as several state parks and assorted other places. There really was never that much that either of us missed from the stick & brick world but after 12 years my wife's health forced us from fulltime RVing. That has now been 10+ years and we both still miss life on the road. We miss the changing view from our windows, the new friends that we made and the constant stream of new experiences. I would go back immediately if I could.

I should add that we spent very little time in commercial RV parks and not a lot in public campgrounds as we lived for 3 or 4 months at most volunteering locations, and most of those had only 1 or 2 RV sites with the largest one having 8 sites.

 

[Patnsuzanne]

Like other posters, we live in the woods. That means when we’re camping, we often feel surrounded. Even though we’re camping, we’re never as isolated, quiet and private as we are at home. And of course, I miss my shop, DW misses her plants and we both miss the grandchildren. Most trips are a few weeks, but we have been out for a couple of months or more, and we’re both ready to get back home after the long ones.

 

[Tom]

... I took an early retirement at 57 ...

Why wait so long? We retired much earlier

 

[jackiemac]

I miss haggis and my friends 🥰

 

[Tom]

I miss haggis and my friends 🥰

And I miss laverbread and cockles.

 

[Professor David]

I relate to many of the previous posters regarding the ease of letting our dogs out in the fenced back yard at home. It's a hassle to take two large dogs (rough collie and english setter) out many times a day out on leads...and constantly having them on lead when hanging outside like around the campfire.

 

[Professor David]

I miss haggis

Do people really like haggis?

 

[whiteva]

Recently we visited friends in a large retirement community in South Fl. No cars in driveway are allowed to remain overnight, lots of golf carts, pond/lakes, 3 golf courses, lots of old wrinkled folks, ETC.

By late afternoon my DW stated "he could not survive here more than one day without his 15 acres, shop and lake".

My only reply was "the grass is really green" Thinking to myself all 10' X 10' of it. My Kubota would only roll about one swipe and be done and my shop was larger than the house and lot combined.

Nope.... I stay in the country and go camping with lots of good folks, well 98% are good. ( take the 2%ers with a grain of salt and laugh at their antics)

 

[Jayflight]

When traveling, Nothing.