We are thinking about selling our home and going full time RV. What are the pros and cons? Any regrets after you did?
Ginger
RVlivingfulltime.com says
Hi Ginger,
There is so much to say in response to your question. I can start by stating that we have no regrets whatsoever after going full time. As I mention in the “About” section of rvlivingfulltime.com, I have been full timing in an RV for more than 18 years. Before that I lived on a boat for more than 15 years.
There have been dozens of articles written on the subject of making the move from a “sticks and bricks” home to a home on wheels. The “Pros and Cons” that i list below are from my personal perspective.
Selling Your Home and Moving to an RV Full Time
The Pros
1.Change of Scenery –
Probably one of the biggest “Pros” for me is the ability to change scenery whenever I want. You can move to a warmer place in the winter and a cooler place in the summer. Get tired of your neighbors, want a change in scenery, just turn the key. It’s a real sense of freedom that is hard to get anywhere else.
2.Travel –
The romance of the open road can’t be beat as far as I am concerned. The adventure of not knowing what you will find as you travel, what you will see, who you will meet is really wonderful. To me, this is the most exciting part of being able to take your house with you on your travels. I love looking at different places, stopping along the road to have lunch over looking a beautiful gorge or at the snow-capped mountains.
3.Meeting new people –
Most fellow travelers, RVers, that you meet along the road in RV parks, or just at a store or gas station are amazing. Most people traveling are so happy that it shows in their demeanor and interest in sharing sights that they have experienced along the way. It is a great way to make new friends that you can keep in touch with as you both part ways but maybe to meet again.
4.Romance and Coziness –
For me and many others, there is something incredibly romantic about having all the comforts of home in a compact “tiny house” in the middle of no where on in a new location of any kind. Sitting outside at night having a cocktail, watching the stars, keeping warm with a blanket wrapped around you, planning for the next day’s adventures is an experience unlike any other.
5.Your Own Bed and Food –
Especially in these times of Covid 19, the advantage of sleeping in your own bed and having your own food is enormous. But even in normal times, knowing i can have our two dogs with us and not worrying about a dog sitter is very freeing. Staying in hotels lost its glitter for me along time ago.
6.The Simpler life –
In many ways, even in a big luxurious motorhome, living in an RV means you have opted for a simpler life. By its very nature, living in an RV means that you cannot surround yourself with much of the “stuff” that you would have in a house. Nature becomes more important and appreciation of much of its beauty really becomes part of your life. Less “stuff” to me is a very freeing thing, less to worry about, less to maintain and less to keep track of. Living in an RV makes it easier tune out the hustle and hassles of the everyday world.
The Cons
1.You can pretty much take all the above Pro reasons and turn them around to Cons if you are of a mind to do so.
2. Stuff –
Many people are attached to their possessions and get a great deal of pleasure owning things, touching them, maintaining them and keeping them close. Living in an RV means paring down dramatically. You cannot simply have all the stuff that you had before. I have see people towing gigantic trailers full of stuff behind their motorhomes, truly trying to keep their “stuff”. We have a motto, “buy a new shirt, give away an old one.”
3. Not a financial Investment –
An RV, no matter what kind of “good deal” you got, is NOT a good financial investment, period. It will depreciate the minute you drive it off the lot and will continue to do so each year. Even if you buy an old one and fix it up, you will not get your money back. Most RVers feel that the emotional investment in the life style more than makes up for this.
4. Learning How to Live in an RV –
There is a learning curve in moving into an RV. It does require a certain amount of dedication to the idea and willingness to learn the “ropes” so to speak. Those that simply buy an RV and head out without understanding how their new home “works” and the essentials of RV living are most certainly going to have issues and some uncomfortable moments. But there are lots and lots of resources available out there. There are tons of Facebook pages dedicated to RVs and lots of blogs like ours.
4.Family and Friends –
It is considerably more challenging keeping in touch with family and close friends when you are traveling and living on the road in an RV. There is no question about this. But you can FaceTime, chat and use countless other technologies to communicate with the ones that matter on even a daily basis.
5. Expense –
Usually living in an RV is really not less expensive than living in a house. In some cases it can be less expensive. We lived in the San Fransisco Bay Area in the East Bay in a beautiful little mobile home park in our motorhome. Over all, it was much less expensive than if we rented an apartment or house. But our situation, i feel, was unusual. In fact if you are traveling a lot, it can actually cost more. That being said, if you really live spartan, buy a cheap little travel trailer, and stay in one place in an inexpensive RV park or stay off the grid, you can live very cheaply.
I hope that the above lists will help further you along in your thought process. Please let me know if you have any other questions or thoughts on the subject.
Lee
Best regards,
RVlivingfulltime.com