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[CTCBE]

I am a total wannabe as well.  I am no where near ready to make this change, but I want to start researching it and figure out as much as possible as soon as possible.  Ya'll would crack up if you saw me sitting on my bed in a bedroom larger than the RV or trailer I'd likely end up with, the floor piled with no fewer than 9 laundry baskets of clean wash waiting to be put away by the laundry putting away fairy that just never shows up for some reason.  The happiest moments of my life (kids aside) have been when I've been traveling, living out of a tent or back pack.  DH and I have already agreed that this is our retirement plan.  He just turned 40 so that is a ways away.  Our kids are 4.5 and nearly 7 and are "dual schooled" right now with Clonlara and a magnet school a half hour from home.  Most likely we'll transition them out of school next year anyway.  Most of what I do could be done anywhere (birth work, fitness, even my adjunct position!).  And for sure our biggest expenses would be so much less if we downsized in a major way.  Anyone here own a campsite that they stay at seasonally?  How does mail work for everyone (I know snail mail is so passe, but there are times I use it!)?  If you don't mind me being here, I would love to be able to just soak in this reality, good bad and indifferent.  I need some inspiration and some reality checks about now!

Thank you!!

[fresh_veggie]

Hi!  I'm Lisa, and currently a wannabe :)  BF and I have no kids yet, just 2 big dogs...currently, he owns a restaurant that he is tied to for 2 or so more years.  He owns a 30 ft trailer that he pulls with his truck.  We'd like to hit the road in summer of '14, and we're just saving up until then.  I'm going to school for massage therapy that also includes shiatsu, reiki, energy healing, and different types of massage.  We'd love to head up to Alaska our first trip (stop in Seattle for a bit on the way) and just go from there.  I could work at a spa, he has loads of managing experience (used to work for Crystal Cruise Lines as a director of a ship).  We figure if others do it, why can't we?  We're currently figuring out how much we need to save up to hit the road worry-free...we're shooting for 20k but that's giving ourselves a lot of room.  I have a new car to pay off (my Subaru Outback...LOVE it).  So we'll still work while on the road, just have some cushion and not worry about maintenance and what-not.  

Glad to be here!

[trekkingirl]

welcome wannabes!

[lmnopxz]

Hey Guys!

Im Taryn.  New to the whole mothering website and thought of even being one. :)

Almost seventeen weeks pregnant right now.

My boyfriend and I were previously full time travelers before conceiving.  Not in an RV though, in a car.  We bought a large van and were in the process of converting it into a camper conversion when we found out the wonderful news that I was carrying life!  At the time our means of traveling had been busking.  (He is a knife juggler and I play a bit of guitar).  Not really an income I feel comfortable with raising a family on.  So now we are renting a house, and saving money figuring out what our next move is. 

I know we would both love to convert back into traveling.  Were pretty much destined to do so... but money is still something to figure out.  Right now we are both just working in the food industry.  Definitely trying to figure out a transient income.

Already enjoying the group and reading through what everyone else has to say!

<3

[lanamommyphd07]

Hi all! 

I'm a professor for an online university, and my DD is 5. We have a white golden retriever pup with us. We travel full time in a Tahoe pulling a 25' Keystone Zeppelin. For this winter, we are renting a "real" house as our unit is just not all that comfy in 0 degree weather and we had a rare opportunity for DD to attend a perfect school for kinder, but we'll be back on the road in May. In the spring, I'll be working on converting the couch (it's a fold-down thing that might hold a kid, but not that great as a sleeping area) in the slide into something more table-ish. This last year, the dog basically teethed on it, but we really didn't use the couch much so it must go. I really, really missed having a kitchen table, even with all the picnic tables available. It will be neat to see some other fulltiming families here! I'm curious if anyone is unschooling also?

[trekkingirl]

I homeschool my 5 year old and 9 year old but traditional style not unschool. Welcome!

[lanamommyphd07]

Hey Trekinggirl! Are you in an RV park or someplace else? Did you take the rig on the road yet?

[trekkingirl]

we're at the moose, it's a private club but they are international. I haven't done any long travel as I have a timeclock kind of job and so does DH. We are mainly fulltiming while we are in the process of purchasing our first home. Easier said than done in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have put about 30 offers out so far. Usually there are about 15-20 competing offers per house and we haven't got lucky yet. It's been months. I'm hoping our luck will change in 2013! We have been fulltiming since October 2011. family of 5

[Jodyraedoula]

Hello

We are a family of 6 and will be living full time in our rv at the end of this month. The hubby and I decied to take a job across countery and sale our home saleing homes is slow and I do not want to be a home owner of two homes acrose two states. my hubby does not want to rent a home in a high rent city..  to to the trailer park we go.. We have a 5th wheel that we are custoumizing a great deal.  we have added a loft queen size bed to the toy houler part of the tt and we will add a frezzer in the back along with shelfs to make a pantery.  We have downsized a great deal over the month and sold most all we can.  the things i'm looking forward to is living in a small space will take less time to clean and being close to faimly..  I"M exceted to start this part of our lifes we have had dad travling more then 90% of the time for work this new job he will be only be travling 30% or less. I can not speell to save my life and I'm sorry for that i make reading what i say very hard at times.. I can not wait to read the rest of the info on here and hear any tips you all may have! 
 

[trekkingirl]

welcome Jody!

[lanamommyphd07]

Hi Jody! It sounds pretty exciting! We're in a friend's driveway this week and then off to Nebraska to help another friend with a home reno while we squat with our rig! It's awesome to have a few free places to stay before we head over the Rockies.....$$$$$$$!

[WyldWoodsWombyn]

Hi folks!

We're wannabes (for now) as well. Really wanting to homestead part-time during the warm season on our land, and then travel south the rest of the year. Wondering what the legalities are of bringing our unschooled kiddos on the road, and how legal it is to "boondock" in Canada. 

Love this little community. Rad!

[trekkingirl]

welcome to MDC wyld

I wish this group was more active, any fulltimers feelin chatty?????????????

[mamarhu]

Hello, all.

I am joining here as a hasbeen/wannabe. The first 5 years of ElderSon's life, we lived aboard a 36 foot sailboat, mainly in the Caribbean. Not an RV, but many similarities: very small living space, off the grid, moving around. I have also made several cross-country trips (up to 8 months) in a converted Greyhound bus, with my younger kids, the Dumplings. Unschooling! I also drove a city bus in Seattle, so I am comfortable with the driving-a-large-vehicle aspect of life on the road. I have always been pretty minimalist, so living without lots of excess stuff comes naturally to me.

That was the hasbeen part. The wannabe part is that I am coming up on retirement age. I absolutely love my current job, and am happy to stay put as long as the Dumplings need me (my youngest are 16 & 17), and while my Mom is alive (she is 94!). I figure in around 5 or 10 years max, I will have the freedom to make another major lifestyle change. I am seriously looking into buying a used school bus now, and remodeling it into an RV/home. Gradually, as I have the time and money. I am excited about planning and designing it to exactly meet my needs and style. I would welcome any resources about that process. Links, books, whatever? Although I have some experience with carpentry, plumbing, car repair, and more, I know I will need some help, or at least guidance. I don't have the strength or stamina I once had to do it all myself.

My dream is to travel - US, Canada, Central America, and South America. Maybe ending up in Argentina when I get too old to travel. But I will bring my house with me! Currently, I am qualified to teach English as a Second Language, and I am tutoring locally, very part time. As I get closer to this project, I hope to work into online English tutoring, as a portable income source.
 

I am happy to have found you folks, for advice and to share enthusiasm for a unique lifestyle.

[trekkingirl]

welcome 

this group hasn't been real active lately but I sure could use the community.

I'm glad you're here.

[lanamommyphd07]

hey Trek! You still hanging out in the park waiting for the house? We are in Nebraska now with the rig, but I had to bop down to CO to go to a conference last week with just the vehicle and kid and dog, and then we were delayed for a return by the weather...so a 4 day trip turned into almost 2 weeks! Good thing I had the number for someone who could pull the plug on the rig at the squat spot. Last thing I needed was to pull no-see-um electricity while we were gone. At least the fridge will still go off the propane tanks as I think my kid would lose her mind if we lost the recent batch of banana berry pops.

Our last drive, with full tanks (poopsicles and such), ran us a dollar a mile in gas. Ouch!!

The nice part about unschooling/RVing is the flexibility....and as it turns out the most challenging thing so far has been finding a dependable internet connection. So far, I've used a variety of mobile devices and a lot of wifi systems at RV parks, but have been wanting to take the cheap route and not pay park fees (holy cow it's expensive). I just hooked up the Verizon jetpack and so far it's been functioning in the middle of nowhere.

[trekkingirl]

Yeah still waiting on a house living at the moose. Moose Intl is a great way to avoid overpriced park fees. I had the verizon jetpack for a long time then the guy that runs the place here told me that everyone just uses their WIFI. Saves me $50 a month and I can stream videos now. With verizon it used up all my air time if I streamed video. With no cable TV we really need to stream video simply out of bordom. I'm thinking about unschooling. We've been doing independent study through a public school and my DD gets to deal with STAR testing next week. Baby's awake, gotta go.

[lanamommyphd07]

I hear you on the streaming video! We're at 50% with 5 days to go, so on that last couple of days it's gonna be showtime. Whoohooo says the kid who loves to stream off pbskids. We killed Netflix, and DD is just now getting used to no video...sometimes we get the "I just want a show!!" but we have our hands full here with all kinds of projects and spring is coming..so I hope the video need subsides for both of us. While we were travelling, a friend introduced me to Shameless and I got hooked! So I bought the dvd set. I'll just resell it once I'm finished with it, and I suppose I should look into a couple of dvds for dd at the local thrift or something. There's a tv on the property here, but it doesn't really catch anything, so I suppose I could also hook up a used vcr and grab a bunch of 50 cent tapes for her to see too.

[trekkingirl]

yeah I watch shameless too. It's actually one of the only programs I make sure to make some time for without the kids. They just had the finale of season three. It wasn't as "over the top" as I thought it would be. Did you see it?

[WyldWoodsWombyn]

Hey Trek, is Moose International LGBTQ*-friendly?