Any of regret going fulltime Rving

Going full-time was a blessing for my wife and myself.

However, we have two couples which are good friends who talk to us all the time about going full-time. We really hope neither does.

One couple - the wife won't adapt to the lifestyle. She likes her big kitchen, she likes her church and her involvement in the church, and she likes occasional trips in the RV, but never wants to do laundry in a strange location on the road. Real picky about their clothing.

The other couple has a home they've worked on for 15 years that really belongs in magazines. And they spend a lot of time fine tuning the home and the grounds each year. They do make long RV trips - sometimes two or three months long. But they would never be happy without their home.

Both have 40's diesel pushers which are less than 6 years old. Both enjoy RVing, and both would be miserable as full-timers in our opinion.

For us it was an easy transition. The house sold quickly, sold most everything, stored a little more. No regrets!

The only thing that started to change for us was the fact that we were wintering in the same area in SW Florida each winter. During the winter we found that we don't really travel, but rather stay put in warm temperatures. We began to wonder if we should maybe purchase something in SW Florida for winter use instead of towing the fiver down here every winter.

That lead to looking at manufactured homes in parks, thinking we could spend very little and not worry about upkeep.

The results of that search convinced us that purchasing a stick and brick in SW Florida was just slightly more than getting a double-wide or manufactured home.

That decision lead us to calling a Realtor and looking at about 20 homes in the area. Put an offer in on one yesterday!

For the last two years as full timers we have loved every minute of it and never in our wildest dreams thought we would change that lifestyle in the near future. But now we will only be full timers from June through November, the rest of the time we will be lounging by the backyard pool!

korbe wrote:

DownTheAvenue wrote:
The biggest mistake is not having a workable exit plan. I think some folks want to fulltime so bad, they use all of their assets to buy the RV, then use it until it has depreciated to be worth almost nothing. Then reality sets in. They can no longer travel and are stuck. No money to buy a permanent residence, cannot afford to rent accommodations they would be comfortable in, and the RV is not practical to love in.

Yes, and many people who have posted above may be included in that group, but may just not realize it yet. My parents were.

absolutely, and you don't have to keep your home in the frozen North, find a more sensible location to have your fall back residence.
bumpy

I’ve been living in my RV for just over a year and a half. As far as the full-time lifestyle goes I’m still evolving. As a kid my family moved a lot so I don’t have any attachment to a specific geographical area that I call “home”. The closest I get to feeling at home is whenever I travel overseas I’m always glad to come home to the USA. I joke about it but I guess it’s true, wherever I’m parked is home. I do have an exit plan but I expect to execute it only after many years down the road :).

In 1992, my wife and I sold off most everything and hit the road in our truck camper with no plans. After six months, it was enough. I have fantasized about full timing again, but I do like a home base. Long, open ended trips, yes. Selling it all and moving into an RV again, probably not.

In 2004 we purchased a travel trailer and hit the road for a possible 5 years of full-time RV Lifestyle - it is now 2015 and we are still pursuing that Lifestyle .. we don't have room for hubby's Recliner is his only regret.

We are finishing up a stint of volunteering at an Oregon State Park, after this will take an extended trip to see family on the East Coast, and then ?

One step at a time ..

5 years and we love it. Someday we'll hang it up. Money from house sale is in the bank.

We left to full time while still owning a s&b. We rented it out because DH wanted "something to go back to." 6 months into life on the road, our tenant decided to move so we had to return to s&b. DH was happiest the day we sold it a month later. After 6 months on the road, he finally decided our home was where we were, not some tiny plot of land in some distant state that cost way more money than it was worth to us.

Do we have an exit plan? Absolutely. And because we have no ties to anywhere, we can settle anywhere we choose.

We full-timed for 16 years with absolutely no regrets. It's a wonderful lifestyle. We've seen more of this beautiful country than we ever imagined. We traveled constantly and volunteered sometimes.

We can't imagine having kept the house and going back to where we started. It's bitter cold there and we're now living in 80 deg. temps. :)

Big Redneck wrote:
When one sell there home to buy a big Motor Home to go full time could have made a mistake. I love my RV but never ever wanted to go full time. I need a home base. Maybe for some that ok but I don't think my wife would go for that. Now I want to travel out west this summer again for a month or so and that about it.

So why the question since you have already decided that it isn't for you? I am not sure I understand, do you think that fulltimers would agree with you that it was a bad idea? And those who decided against it usually wouldn't be posting in the Full-time RVing section.

Barb