5 Reasons We Chose To FullTime RV
Although there are many reasons we chose to live in our RV, here are 5 reasons we chose to FullTime RV! Don’t get me wrong, this lifestyle certainly isn’t for everyone, but for us it was the perfect fit.
Reason 1: Get Back Into Nature
Deanna and I both grew up in fairly rural areas of New York and Indiana respectfully, so after living in some crowded sections of New York and Connecticut, it was time to move on to something new.
With cars and trains (mostly the trains) constantly passing by our home in Connecticut I felt like my personal bubble was being encroached upon. I know a lot of folks that are from larger communities probably just grow up being used to this, but I am used to hearing the crickets at night with possible a breeze loud enough to drown them out. To us, it was never the intention to stay in such a crowed area, it was just a temporary solution until we figured out what was best for us.
After much thought and consideration of possibilities, we concluded that the RV life would truly lead us in the direction that was calling to us and was perfect timing in our lives.
Reason 2: True Minimalism
In today’s society, talking about minimalism can often cause some eyes to be rolled or a lot of assumptions about the person can be immediately determined. However, in our experience, minimizing/downsizing our lifestyles was probably one of the healthiest things we could have done.
One of the main considerations of the RV life is picking the “rig” that best suits the lifestyle that you want to live. For many people, buying the biggest rig possible is the easiest way to transition from a house to the RV life. Deanna and I kind of took the opposite approach and went for the smallest rig that would logistically work for us at the time. This way, if we ever did need to get something slightly bigger whether that be for comfort or other reasons, having extra stuff would not be an issue.
The minimalist movement I believe is still growing throughout countries where materialism has seem to have taken over the vast majority of the population. The idea behind the minimalist movement is to only purchase things you truly need or items that truly make one happy. Finding items with more than one purpose certainly helps as well to reduce clutter and in the RV world, reducing weight.
Reason 3: Saving Money
Depending on where one is starting in life before seeking the RV lifestyle, the savings of money can be quite drastic. This was the case in our switch from living in the northeastern United States to a 200 sq ft house on wheels. Growing up in states where the cost of living is much more affordable, like my original home state of Indiana, the savings might not be so intense.
We went from paying nearly $2000 a month on rent at our house to around $800 a month on campgrounds. We saved up and bought our RV in cash so we didn’t have to worry about a RV payment along our travels in case things didn’t go quite as planned. No longer are utilities such as electricity, water, oil an issue, although we consider propane and gas for the truck our new utilities as they do need renewed.
The RV lifestyle is really kind of living the retired lifestyle before we actually retire. Not only are we living the life we want to live, but we are also saving money at a much quicker rate in order to retire at an early age as well than we would have been staying at our location in the northeast.
Reason 4: Adventures in New Places
Although Connecticut had a surprising amount of places to explore and hike in the surrounding area for such a small state, in 3 years we had pretty much exhausted most hikes. We also hit up many fun adventures in the Hudson Valley and neighboring states, but having that home base that tied us down, limited the radius we could go venture out each weekend.
Each year we tried to go on a few adventures that took us further away to see new places we had never seen before, but this usually involved quite a bit of savings and time. The RV lifestyle would enable us to have a mobile home base to live and work from while being able to hit up and adventure at places we may have never seen otherwise.
We move pretty much every single weekend to avoid impacting our remote jobs’ schedules which does cut down a little bit on exploring time, but is constantly giving us a new backyard. Rather than originally being a little afraid of change and spontaneity, we are now completely embracing it and I can’t really see myself living any other way currently.
Reason 5: Freedom
Sick and tired of people telling you how to live your life? Don’t like your neighbors constantly blasting music or disrupting your peace? Move. The RV lifestyle gives us the freedom to go/see/explore what we want to see and live next to who we want to live. We are no longer tied down to a specific location minus the occasional visits to retain residency and loosely fit society’s picture of normalcy.
Never in our lives have we felt more free to go as we please without being questioned or judged. Sure, not everyone will understand this lifestyle, and they honestly don’t have to. It isn’t for them to decide what you should do with your life, it is yours to live.
The freedom isn’t only pertaining to physical location, but to fiscal freedom, and in some cases emotional freedom. In RV life you can travel as little or as much as you want. You can travel from city to city or from desolate location to desolate location. The choice is truly yours based on how you budget and the logistics around your situation.
Summary:
These really are just 5 reasons Deanna and I thought of while we were going for a walk in a park in Loveland, CO. Not rehearsed, not brainstormed beforehand, just a very small list of reasons why we decided to pursue our dream. If you enjoy RVing, what are some of your reasons to get out there and explore? Is it an escape from the weekly grind at work, or a way to get back in touch with nature? What truly drives you to get up and take your mobile home out and about?
As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to let us know! I truly hope each and every one of you has the opportunity to follow your dreams and make them become a reality. Adventure On!
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Also be sure to check out Deanna’s food blog, The Harvest Skillet, when you get the chance! A lot of awesome and healthy recipes to use there!
Adventure On!
