Neva, you specifically asked ?women, going it alone? to respond. I don?t qualify, by that standard. I am male, half of a team, not alone. I spend quite a bit of time on this forum, doing the same thing you are doing - finding out about R.V. issues. I?m a newby to R.V.ing.
I have followed a number of your posts and have observed that you ask good questions. Your questions are well thought out, appropriate, direct to the point, and you have your objectives well in mind. When the answers are not clear, you are probing, to clear them up. All of that is good. Frankly, it shows more thought than most people, with respect to your planning.
So, even though you asked for female response, I am responding to your question. (It is the only question I am qualified to respond to, since I am new to R.V.ing. I am learning, here, just as you are, about the R.V. lifestyle.) I am supposed to be qualified in issues of personal security, and have enough ego to believe in it, myself.
So, to answer your question, directly, ?Women Full Timers - Is It Safe?? The direct answer is ?No!?
That said, it is probably safer, IMHO, than where and how you are living, now. I?d guess that you are living in what is called, here, ?a stick house.? Doesn?t matter. The hazards are the same. There is little for you to learn, about your personal security. You already know the issues - hazards. They are not different. They are the same.
Solutions are a bit different. In your stick house, if the neighborhood goes bad, you?re stuck. Or, you sell, and buy again, elsewhere, in a safer neighborhood. In an R.V. you start the engine and move, for what ever reason you choose, with little or no notice to anyone else. Obvious? Probably. But, it is a real difference.
Traveling? You have, no doubt, traveled in your car. The road issues are the same. If you wouldn?t stop there, in your car, don?t stop there in your R.V. If you have already stopped there, and you see something that makes you nervous, start the engine, and move on. Pick a better ?neighborhood? and stop, again.
?Bump in the night?? The R.V. is probably, generally, safer than a stick house. Response is the same, whatever response you would ordinarily make.
Have confidence in yourself. You have safely reached a status where you are looking at spending quite a bit of money, (savings, income, credit, or cash under the mattress) to buy and live in an R.V. You didn?t get there, being stupid or making unwise decisions. As I said, previously, you are asking good questions - capacity to plan well.
Your greatest hazard, I would guess, would be the ?Gold Digger? hazard. But then, getting to the state of success that you now enjoy, you have dealt with that before. Only difference is that you will be ?flying a flag.? You appear to be looking for one of the ?nicer? units, for your use and pleasure. It says ?Money!? ?Whoopee! Gotta meet that lady!? Use the judgement you have been using, apparently successfully.
On the other hand, almost four years ago, I met an attractive single lady, with a nice motorhome, living alone. Married her! What can I say? ;D ;D
Ray D