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New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 12:21 am
by SophieLucia
Hi, my name is Tracie. I just bought a 36' Damon Intruder that I plan on living in full-time once I get rid of my house. I am single and will be living with my two crazy dogs. I have several hobbies and will also be working in the MH which is why I bought a bigger rig, it is a bit intimidating to drive but I figure I will get used to it. I am now looking for the perfect toad, wishing for a Jeep Wrangler. I am currently unemployed thanks to my evil boss
. I have two children, mostly grown, 20 (married with a new baby) and 25, it is going to be hard to leave them but I know they will be fine, there is always Skype and FaceTime.
I am not old enough to retire so I will be working on the road. I think I can make it work but won't know till I try it. I am full of anxiety tinged with moments of real terror, and am getting more moments of excitement. I will be looking for support and advice, not the negativity some of my family members have been freely sharing with me.
I look forward to meeting you all via this great forum.
Thanks-Tracie
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 5:27 am
by Gentleladybear
Welcome to the forum. You will be fine. You can go where the jobs are and enjoy yourself while you are doing that. I just sold my house and going fulltime, so do understand what you are going through. I am on my final leg of clearing my house and closing so it is exciting.
Good luck to you and hope to meet you on the road.
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:35 am
by tlsmith
Hi Tracie, I as well stiil work, I have a 31 ft Itasca Winnebaggo, brand new to this motorhome stuff, I am trying to do the same and understand your feelings, I have them to, you are very brave to just get out there cold turkey and get-r-done, I want to do that, you will be fine, I pray for you bussiness to just boom, you will be successful, do you have any ideas where to start.... well good travels and hope to see you on the road, we will keep in touch
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:38 am
by rvgrammy1953
Welcome...and yes, you'll get the hang of all this....
Jump in any time and ask away with your questions.....we're always willing to give advice and ideas, even if you don't want them...but that's the beauty of us....we're crazy, caring, and love photos...
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:46 am
by IrishIroamed
Hi Tracie - welcome to the - you've come to the right place. Some have been doing the full-time & working thing for a while, so they will have good ideas for you.
Have fun!
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:04 am
by retiredhappy
Hi and Welcome, Tracie. One way to cut your RVing expenses is by workkamping. You can work for just your space and electric which would allow you time for other work or you can work for your space, electric and money. I did that for three years. I would pick an area I wanted to stay in for three months or longer and then start emailing or calling RV parks in that area asking if they needed workkampers. The work consists mostly of working the office checking people in and selling their stuff and/or cleaning the bathrooms and cabins. I did both and would recommend the office unless you like dealing with total slobs who, I hope, don't leave their home bathrooms the way they do when someone else is doing the cleaning. There is also a magazine called "Workamper News" - requires a subscription. I had just as much luck calling/emailing parks as using the News. If you're planning on selling stuff from your motor home just remember that most parks won't allow "businesses" in them.
Good luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:28 am
by MelissaD
Hoosier Welcome
There are also seasonal/part time jobs that you can do. There are a few ladies on here that do that and they can tell you the pro's and con's of that.
Point is if you want it you can probably figure out a way to make it happen. Just need to figure out the priorities in your life and proceed from there.
As for people being slobs. I watched the staff clean out a few cabins on Monday morning. Looked like they had a frat party in there, 3 55 gal bags full of trash from one weekend. These are small 1 bedroom cabin's with a loft for a couple of kids, maybe 400 sqft.
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 1:14 pm
by Redwahine
Welcome to the forum. I'm new to RVing as well. Lots of great info and support from this group
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:27 pm
by BirdbyBird
Welcome to the forum. And,yes, it can be done. Not knowing what sort of job/s you are looking for it is hard to say where and how to find them. Besides the work kamping stuff there is also seasonal retail...and/or jobs dependent on tourists.... in season. How much money is enough? Only you can figure out your budget and needs. We all have different interpretations of "enough." Most of us that have been traveling for awhile have met folks that get by on very little. Life is full of choices.
Depending upon your education level and/or particular skill sets and employment history, will give you more choices. In general, you will find that good dependable workers are still appreciated.
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 5:47 pm
by BayouLady
Tracie, welcome to the forum and new lifestyle.
Bonnie
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:59 pm
by BarbaraRose
Welcome Tracie! Where do you currently live? Do you have any pets you will be traveling with?
Don't pay attention to the nay-sayers. They are probably just jealous that they don't have the guts to do the same thing! Just follow your heart and your dream! You will find lots of support and encouragement on here!
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:56 pm
by WickedLady
Welcome from WA state. You can do this.
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:53 pm
by Bethers
Welcome. I started out doing just as you want to in 2005. Well, I actually started out just taking a year to travel, then decided there had to be a way to keep doing it - so started workamping and also had a small internet business. I live "on the cheap" but am happy, very happy and so glad I did it. Did I wonder if it would work? Yep, and I sometimes still do. But so far, I can't imagine any other life. So, Yes, YOU can do this! And I hope you love it as much as I do.
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:49 am
by SophieLucia
Thank you to everyone who replied, lots of encouragement. I am currently in Washington State near Tacoma. I have been working in healthcare management and I am so burned out. I do have a medical coding background, there are a few jobs that are remote so that is what I am hoping to do for work, but who knows. I will at least be debt free that will be a big help.
I have a tendency to overthink, which can be translated into my mind goes to the worst case scenarios that I can come up with such as penniless, living under a bridge
. I am working on going for the positive and reading what others have posted on this forum helps.
I have looked at Workamper news and will continue to explore that as we'll. Well here is to new possibilities!
Thanks
Tracie
Re: New to RV'ing and going full-time
Posted:
Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:20 am
by tlsmith
good for you, my thoughts are with you