I am afraid that I have become too comfortable in my new house without wheels. As some of you may remember, my husband and I inherited my father’s house when he passed away. We were full-time RVers and my husband gladly leapt at the chance to have a sticks-and-bricks again. Me, not so much. I was an avid RVer, out there living my dream. It was a bitter fight and, on some days, still is.
But not today. I am afraid I have become too comfortable. I must admit, this house living is easier than RV living. We each have lots of room. I can write this from a variety of places— the dining table, kitchen table, office or the living room, where I am now. Not just the tiny, cramped table in the RV. I can have my morning coffee on the screened porch without being on the lookout for rattlesnakes or sneaky coyotes. Also, having constant, reliable Wi-Fi is a major perk!
There is no challenge here unless it is running to get the garbage out to the street when I hear the trucks approaching. The washer is huge! The fridge is huge, too! The 50-gallon water heater feels like a never-ending supply. Don’t need to flush out the black tank—all I need to do is flush. When something breaks, a repair person is here within the day and it is fixed. There are literally hundreds of repair shops to choose from, eager for our business.
I have a big bathtub and a king-size bed with room on each side. Yesterday, we rode our bikes to the store for bananas. Everything is convenient. I have become too comfortable.
There isn’t the contest of trying to beat others out for the few choice campsites in a national or state park. No spending hours and hours planning the best route.
We do have our reservations for the heat of the summer in Minnesota though. I, like so many others, pressed the button to reserve campsites the very moment they opened. I was number 410 in the queue. It was a challenge. We have no reservations yet for the travel days, and I will admit that I dread the intensity of trying to find them.
I write the Campground Crowding column here on RVtravel.com and I know the angst that others are feeling, too, trying to get into the park of their choice. I also know the expense. It is cheaper living in this house than traveling in the RV. Yes, gone are the good ol’ days.
And yet, in all this comfort and convenience something is missing. Something major. I’m missing the sunrises and sunsets. The cool brisk mornings and evenings around the campfire. I’m missing seeing this most beautiful and diverse land and learning the history, turmoil, and survival in our museums, national parks, and military sites. I’m missing meeting new neighbors and constant change. I’m even missing the exposure to wild winds, ice storms, and awning-breaking rain.
The challenge is missing, and I am afraid I have become too comfortable.
##RVT1105
Thank you, Nanci! I briefly thought full-timing would be cool. But I read Gaylord Maxwell’s book on full-timing (bought in the last days of the RV Travel bookstore) and had second thoughts. After taking the test at the end of the book, it was confirmed that full-timing was not for me or DW. Taking four months to travel to, around, and back from Alaska every 5 or 6 years is as close to full-timing as I can get. Otherwise our trips are one month in length or less and no more frequent than once per month. Our sticks-and-bricks and Momma’s farm require regular attention. These are labors of love, but also on-going obligations.
I never was nor wanted to be a “full time Rver. We’re gone 6 months away one winter, then 5 months then 4. Over the years bought 3 different lots in an RV resort, but we preferred to be on the road 3000+ miles from home. one time coming through NM & Arizona we were driving through the god forsaken desert, windy, dusty I began thinking what the heck am I doing here. So far from home. Then remembering passing out in Hilton Head having a pace maker “installed” told I was good to go. But now I was getting the what ifs. What if my passing out had happened out here driving/towing 64’. What would have happened to my wife/possibly others if my MH had crashed. Even if it hadn’t crashed & I was able to stop no one would have been able to get to me in time leaving my wife alone. friends /family would have helped but what a mess & stress for her. So it’s time to leave RVing, after 4 MHs/2 trailers/a pop up vw. Thank God we love our home.
We never had any desire to full time, although we strongly considered living on the ocean for a year on a 35′ mini yacht. You can get a good used vessel for about the price of Prevost or Monaco diesel pusher, but you think campground prices are high…try renting a marina slip for a month and all that goes along with that! We dropped that idea and kept our home between the lakes, our fishin’ boat and TT to hang out in when so inclined. We’re not limited that way and have a secure home, or travel when we want. Not getting any younger!
I have the best of both worlds, a sticks n bricks and an RV. 6 months traveling and 6 months in my home. I know full time travel would not suit me but staying at home all year sounds dreadful!!!
I understand exactly how you feel. We had been full time traveling for three years when we moved in with my mom to take care of her. When she passed away we decided to buy out my siblings and move permanently into the house. I was also surprised to enjoy the comforts of having a house again. But we did miss the road and will be gone from the house for most of this year. But I’m looking forward to returning for the holidays.
I just recently bought a little fixer upper in Texas to give me a spot to winter in.. I’ve been full time for under 5 yrs…. I love the peace and quiet and not having neighbors closer than a football field away.. no dogs pooping around the trailer.. and right now I work camp in Maine for the summer.. best of 2 worlds 😊
As others have shared, there are plusses and minuses to both. We full-timed for 7 plus years, then found this wonderful 55+ RV Resort that has S&B homes attached. It has so many various clubs, activities, and social things going on that you immediately make friends and are involved – so much so, it’s hard to find the time to escape again in the RV! I do miss the long trips, the adventure of discovery, the surprises, etc. but not the long hours of searching for a campsite and watching the prices go up and up. We are getting older (ugh) and noticing that setting up and taking it down is harder and harder too. Still, not ready to “give it up” tho…not completely, anyway!
Thot’fully written Nanci! I think you are back to enjoying some of the comforts of living in a home and also having the option of traveling when and where you wish. What could be better? I think you will appreciate the motor home more now and just the same as you are now appreciating living in a home again. The motor home expenses will decrease with less but more enjoyable, use. Take care, may see you again in Mn this summer.
I think this is another personality-driven thing. I like my home space – cats, quilting, etc. – too much to give it up for full time RVing when my husband retires in a few years. My mother was the one who taught my dad to enjoy travel, but I’m like her – happy to get away, happy to get home.
I already have a whole raft of doctors, and work those in around our travels; I don’t want to jam it all into a couple of weeks at home now and again. We’re planners, so tend to set up trips for the year early-on. My husband has a predictable work schedule, so we can do that. We may get a little more spur of the moment once he retires, maybe not.
Good article. I think it gives you more enjoyment if you have a home base to fall back on. You can plan, you can dream, and you can go and enjoy. Escape the daily chores and explore the things you are interested in. It really helps to live a balanced life and maybe that next adventure will give us more meaning into how we live our lives.
Sooner or later you are going to come off the road.
We are getting older and soon it will be endless doctor visits. The aggravating aspect of not finding a camp site. The repairs of an rv and the lousy and expensive repairs. It was you could plan a trip and drive to your destination and never make a reservation. N ow you can ‘t even get near a place. Soon rv’ ing will be nothing but a memory
You make it sound like being comfortable at home is a bad thing. I’ve grown accustomed to comfort. At 77 I no longer want the ‘challenges’ I used to brush off with ease. So we’ve always kept our “sticks & bricks”, still travel extensively (sort of), and always look forward to coming home to our 1200 sq ft mansion. 😉 We just came off spending a year in our 30′ TT in Houston for medical reasons. We were so glad we had our trailer to live in for this time but even ‘gladder’ to come home to the ‘S & B’. Just gettin’ old, I guess.
We have lived in our motorhome for the most part of three years and I can’t imagine settling down in a brick and mortar home again. The conveniences you mention certainly have their perks. I’ll be anxious to hear about your first road trip after this time in your fathers house. God bless and safe travels.
Welcome Back To Reality!
Don’t think it will always be quick or cheap to get a repairman. Some just want easy jobs and charge excessively.
We too have resigned ourselves to sticks and vinyl. Unlike my late Dad I do not like mowing grass, he would spend hours “grooming” a lawn, me I start the mower and gladly park it 40 minutes later. We moved into our “new” home in March and are still unpacking, it was so much easier backing into a camping site, spend 45 minutes setting up, grab my glass of ice water, the lawn chair under the awning and enjoy.
I hear you. This is why we have kept our “sticks & bricks”. We love being on the road, but equally love being at home in our little personal forest. Why not both??
Exactly our thoughts. The security of the s&b home in our older age is very nice. We love travel but it is nice to also come to our second home.
Why not, at 85 I am finding it a bit more difficult to do the easy things around the campsite, And the days on the road are getting very long although I don’t drive any longer. I do like both, the RV and the S&B.
Understand completely. We normally travel in Spring and fall (Class B van) but this year health issues have kept us in the sticks and brick home. Stuck! Definitely miss the travel, meeting new folks, problems of higher costs, and finding a place (whether for a night or a week).
I’m with you! After 7 years full-time, as you know, we bought a house. We have settled on the perfect rig, we are currently traveling to Alaska, and we bought a house. My husband wanted to settle back into a sticks and bricks, I’m still not ready. So we have compromised. We will “settle” but I still get my travels. I just have to stay in a home for a few months at a time before I get to hit the road again. But I also understand his need to have a home again. Yes it’s much easier, and I do appreciate the ease of laundry! Long hot showers and having space. It’s the nomad in both of us that hears the road calling again. I’m going to treasure our adventures even more I think.
We are roughly six months living in an RV and roughly six months living in our stix & shingles of 30+ years. Sure the RV has maintenance, but a 117 year old house and yard has Maintenance!. Black tanks versus mowing and shoveling? Re-gooping seams versus scraping and painting? And honestly, I have less trouble finding a RV mobile repair tech than I have finding a house handyman to help with chores I can no longer safely do. It also costs much less to have an RV in storage than it does to do the same with a house.
After 30+ years in this neighborhood we have watched people come and go. But one thing hasn’t changed – we know our neighbors, but they all work and are busying playing catchup on weekends. Our social life as a seasonal occupant in an RV park is a couple order of magnitude richer.
We aren’t ready to give up the house, but thoroughly enjoy our time in our RV.