Hello from Illinois (for now)

Come on in and say hello.

Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Queen » Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:41 am

Hello all! We don't have our RV yet, but the planning stage is sure a lot of fun.

My honey and I (ages 52 and 50 respectively) are loooong time tent campers who have finally decided to call it quits, just got home from a camping trip to Michigan and we are DONE, no more rickety cots, no more nylon walls between us and the loud folks one site over, no more sitting huddled in the rain staring at the tent wall, no more walking forever to use a gross porta pot!! Onward to a private bathroom, solid walls, and a real bed!! :mrgreen:

However, our segue to RV life will be interrupted by a stint in Key West next Spring and Summer, we are putting our house on the market and heading South for a few months R&R. My honey's job is ending an I'm taking a leave of absence to go see if we want to relocate to KW, so we're looking at two scenarios after the house sells:

1. Move to Key West long term, settle in and live the island life while working until we drop (we could never afford to retire there). Buy and RV and head out workamping as long as our health holds out.

2. Enjoy our 3-6 month escape to KW, decide it's not for us long term, come back to IL and work while buying the RV in 2012 and hit the road. Workamp as needed and enjoy life on the road.

Anyhoo, great forum you have here, hope I can contribute in some small way.
~Mickie & Mary
User avatar
Queen
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:46 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Bethers » Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:17 am

Welcome!

You have some great choices there. I was 52 when I quit and headed out. Will be 59 (where do the years go) in a couple months. My intentions were to take a year off. Had never heard of workamping, etc when I started out. Enjoy your time in Key West and decide what's best for you. For 6 years now I keep telling myself I'm going to find the place I want to stay at (even if just either winter or summer) but haven't done so yet. Too many great choices and I keep finding more.

Glad to have you with us.
Beth
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
"He who treasures the small things in life has found the path to true happiness"
Image
User avatar
Bethers
 
Posts: 17806
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:00 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby OutandAbout » Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:05 pm

Welcome to our forum. You certainly sound like you have some adventurous decision making ahead of you. Don't worry about fitting in here, your love of RVing and future adventures will make it so. Linda
OutandAbout
 
Posts: 1818
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:51 pm

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby VickieP » Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:08 pm

Welcome to the forum!
VickieP
2014 Newmar Canyon Star 3911

Image
User avatar
VickieP
 
Posts: 6250
Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 10:41 pm
Location: Southwest Louisiana

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby sunshinecruiserTN » Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:07 pm

Wow, welcome Queen. I love your plans. I spent 3 months in KW my first yr of retirement and absolutely loved it. www.bluewaterkey.net always looks for work camper couples and the place is fabulous. You may want to check it out. That's the place I stayed and it was paradise but way expensive.

Best of luck to you.
Image
Live, Laugh, Love
TN/FL
User avatar
sunshinecruiserTN
 
Posts: 1247
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:37 pm
Location: Crossville, TN/Davenport, FL

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Queen » Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:17 pm

Wow, thanks for the wonderful welcome!! It's so nice to find a place by and for women, nothing against guys but sometimes I'd rather hear from gals when it comes to learning something new or sharing adventures.
~Mickie & Mary
User avatar
Queen
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:46 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Queen » Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:22 pm

Where are my manners?? sunshinecruiserTN - thanks so much for the link, what a beautiful place!! And not as expensive as Boyds!
~Mickie & Mary
User avatar
Queen
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:46 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby carold » Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:24 pm

Welcome from a native Floridian (well close, moved to Miami at 3 months). Love KW and the other keys as well. Carolyn stayed at a great place (took a look once as we drove by). We still winter in FL (Sarasota) and others are around the state as well. Possibly a GTG in the makings???? carold
User avatar
carold
 
Posts: 2311
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:05 am
Location: somewhere on the road

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby sharon » Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:29 pm

Welcome Queen! Sounds like you guys have a lot of life choices in the near future...best of luck!
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.

- Alex Levine

<><>
User avatar
sharon
 
Posts: 4386
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 8:04 pm
Location: SoCal

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby cpatinjones » Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:21 pm

Hi Queen,

Welcome to the forum.
Carolyn
35' Cougar 5th Wheel, F-250
Escapees, Good Sam, RVing Women
Image
Slept in my RV
User avatar
cpatinjones
 
Posts: 2956
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:17 pm
Location: Butte La Rose (Breaux Bridge), Louisiana

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby BirdbyBird » Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:41 pm

welcome aboard. Look forward to meeting you down the road. Will be following your adventures! :)
Tina and the furry companions...Lark, Audrey and Jane
User avatar
BirdbyBird
 
Posts: 8572
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:43 am
Location: Southwest Ohio

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Irmi » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:44 am

Welcome to the forum, Queen! I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures.
User avatar
Irmi
 
Posts: 3180
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:27 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Travelinana » Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:31 am

Welcome to both of you..We get excited over new friends. Your plans sound like fun... Good luck with your home sale and your subsequent decision on an RV.
Nancy & Rudy Image
Finding wealth in what you are and not what you have. Living with less is living well indeed.
~Gigi Galluzzo
User avatar
Travelinana
 
Posts: 1244
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 9:07 am
Location: N Central Arkansas

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby Queen » Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:22 am

Thank you again everyone, what a lovely group. My partner and I are known amongst our friends as alternately adventurous or crazy. :mrgreen: We tend to pack up and move off on occasion, trying out new places and scenery.

Mary (my partner) is an academic here at the University of Illinois, since she is contract faculty rather than tenure track her position is being cut in November. We anticipated this and planned extensively for it, we achieved "debt free" status in June and have been banking as much as we can in order to finance our Escape. We're hedging our bet slightly by me taking a leave of absence (it also allows us to keep out health insurance for the duration of the leave), but neither of us really see coming back to Central IL permanently. Life is too short to spend it planning for a retirement that may never come.
~Mickie & Mary
User avatar
Queen
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:46 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Hello from Illinois (for now)

Postby BirdbyBird » Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:27 am

....and many say that the biggest "regret" issue is not to have tried! GO for it! :)
Tina and the furry companions...Lark, Audrey and Jane
User avatar
BirdbyBird
 
Posts: 8572
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:43 am
Location: Southwest Ohio

Next

Return to Introduce Yourself

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests