Complete newbie with big dreams

[TarheelBornGal]

Hello!

This is my first post in this forum -- glad to have found you. My husband and I have been attracted to the RV lifestyle for years but are starting to get very serious about it, despite the fact that we've never set foot in an RV before. We love traveling, hiking, biking, kayaking, birding, walking, and we have a very energetic four-year old Boston Terrier, whom we want to be able to take along with us on our travels. It seems that RVing would be perfect for us.

We are in a unique position as over the past few years we downsized from a 4 BR house with a 3-car garage, sold the vast majority of our stuff, and only have a small amount of household items stored at my mother's house. We did all this in preparation for moving aboard our sailboat, but when we got close to doing that, I chickened out. I didn't think we had enough sailing/boating experience to go cruising, and I didn't think that living in a small boat with our dog would work out for a variety of reasons. Since I was about to retire and we wanted to live in a warmer climate, we decided to buy an ocean-front condo in Belize instead. We bought the condo in July of 2010 and moved down here full time in August. 2011. We love the condo and the beach, but we now realize that living in a resort is not for us, and we're too limited in where we can go here, being on an island. We have traveled the mainland and absolutely LOVE our explorations, but we can't take our dog with us when we travel here. We have come to realize that we really want to travel full-time while we are still relatively young (58 and 51), fit and healthy.

So, this brings us back to the RV. As soon as we can sell our condo, our plan is to move back to the US (North Carolina, where we're from) and rent for awhile until we can find a Class C motorhome (we're thinking 28-30') that suits us, then take off and see the US (and maybe Canada and Mexico as well, eventually) for as long as it suits us. We've been reading tons of RV blogs and are very excited about joining in on the fun. We would like to visit as many state and national parks as we can and indulge in all our favorite activities and interests.

I guess that's enough for a first post. Looking forward to being a member of this forum!

Emily

[Bethers]

Hi and Welcome, Emily. Glad to have you with us. I'm about to start year 8 fulltiming in a small Class C - just one person, my 22 footer is fine for me - and I can't imagine stopping. I think you will enjoy it. (Oh, I had never liked camping, and had never spent a night in an rv before purchasing mine - bought it and quit my job and went full time - yes, I am a little crazy).

Hope you are able to realize those big dreams. Post here - ask questions, read threads, start threads, etc. Lots of women doing this lots of different ways -

And I've always thought I'd love to spend a year in Belize - so you've already lived one of my possible dreams.

[BarbaraRose]

Welcome Emily! You've come to the right place! Lots of women with lots of experience on here, so feel free to ask questions. Would love to see a pic of your dog!

[TarheelBornGal]

Thanks for the nice welcomes, Beth and BarbaraRose. I'm excited about joining in on the discussions here.

I will try to post a photo of Paisley here:

We don't have any children, so she is our pride and joy (and is not spoiled a bit!)

Thanks!
Emily

[AlmostThere]

Welcome, Emily! Glad you found us and am excited for you as you get settled back in the US and start RV shopping.
Love your furbaby, too!

[BirdbyBird]

Welcome aboard...... hope that the condo sells smoothly and that you can proceed back to the states and continue your adventures of a different sort. Enjoy the research and shopping for just the right rig for what you want. We all have decisions for what we chose and/or what sort of rig we dream about. See and get inside as many as you can, ask as many questions as you can and use your imaginations.....the rig shopping is all just part of the journey to more adventures. Glad that you found us and hope to meet you down the road and here on the forum as you share your thoughts, questions, PICTURES, opinions and laughter.....

[avalen]

welcome
hope your condo sells quickly for you
Your Boston is a beauty, looks like my Dottie I had many years ago. I've had two
over the years but now have Italian Greyhounds. Their not spoiled either

[Travelinana]

Welcome Emily to the forum. Good luck with selling your Condo and coming back to the states to start your next adventure. No doubt you've caught on to the photo posting...something a few of us haven't quite mastered

[TarheelBornGal]

Enjoy the research and shopping for just the right rig for what you want. We all have decisions for what we chose and/or what sort of rig we dream about. See and get inside as many as you can, ask as many questions as you can and use your imaginations.....the rig shopping is all just part of the journey to more adventures.

Great advice! I'm wondering where is the appropriate sub-forum to post rig questions here? I've seen the forum for showing off your rig, but what about those of us who are looking and have questions or want opinions on various things about rigs we might be considering? I didn't see an obvious place to post these sorts of queries. I am already looking at various makes and models online since I can't look at any in person yet, and of course I'm already coming up with some questions.

Thanks!
Emily

[mtngal]

Welcome Emily! Hope your condo sells quickly! Those kinds of general questions are fine here; just start a new thread.
You can count on an array of thoughtful answers from this group!

[sharon]

Yeah, what Tina (birdbybird) said....You have questions?? Well, we have answers, and if we don't have an answer we have plenty of opinions!! Welcome from not so sunny today SoCal and good luck on your sale and search. Use your imagination when looking....we've all made mods on ours, so let your imagination fly!

[Sandersmr]

Hi there - sounds like you've already started living the adventure. Good luck on getting started with the next chapter.

[cpatinjones]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

[TarheelBornGal]

Super -- thanks! Have started a new thread with a few preliminary rig questions.

Thanks again for the warm welcome. I can already tell this is a supportive and friendly place to hang out!

Emily

[WickedLady]

Hello, Emily, and welcome to this forum. Have fun shopping for your RV.