What are Full Time benefits?

MagillaGorilla wrote:
Everywhere you are is everywhere you want to be.

In the beginning that is the way it is. But, as time goes on I think for most of us it goes "no matter where you are, that's where you are."

The FT lifestyle seem to die out at 1, 3, and 5 years. I do fully understand there are some that go into the teens, never met one that did it for 20 or more years though.

And yes, we do have a few good friends who are FT'ers for over 10 years with no thoughts about coming off the road. At least as long as they can afford it.

Everywhere you are is everywhere you want to be.

Not sure how to count when we became "full time" generally I count it from the day we replaced our NY driver's license with Texas licenses and registered to vote in Texas. Prior to that we had been traveling in the motorhome for longer and longer times, eventually we stayed away from our home base for 11 months and realized we did not need the upkeep of a large townhouse with all that meant, especially neighbors who were not always friendly.

We moved necessities and collectibles into an apartment that was 1/3 the size of the townhouse and declared that to be "expensive climate controlled storage" This past summer we spent two months there, July and September (August we traveled overseas). 2016 I expect we will be there part of July and part of August, maybe a bit of October too, and more overseas travel.

We consider ourselves full time. The apartment is a summer home! We have moved every couple of weeks or more often, except when visiting our children since 2011. We plan to stay put, sort of, at Jojoba Hills Escapees RV in SoCal for much of this winter. It remains to be seen how well we will do at staying put :)

I guess this is more of how then why. Why is because we enjoy the lifestyle and the people. We have friends across the country, some are RVers, and some are from our life before RV. We do make friends easily and we cling to old friends too.

Been full-timing for 10 years. I think Fiesta had the best response. Mine
is always "If you don't like your neighbors, you can move!"

Wife and I started full timing after I retired at age 62 and her 61 we full timed for 7 years. I had a heart attack so we bought a park model in a park and each summer we were in it for 6 months then back to the park model which wasn't enough time on the road for me. May of this year we sold the park model and at the age of 77 we're back to full timing and both of us are enjoying life more than ever. Each day in the park model I felt like I was in a rut doing the same thing each day. Its not for everyone one its a lifestyle that you like or not.

Not having to pay property taxes!

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm not a "full timer", but I do have an camper "Full Time!" (If that makes any sense).

Although each person makes their own choices in life for various reasons, for me, it would be very hard to become a full timer (maybe this answer is the opposite of what you were looking for).

I was 35 years old before I bought my first house. Before that I lived with my parents (not my house). I then rented 5 different houses (not my house). I then went into the Army for 6 years (definitely, none of those living quarters were my house), I then lived in rented houses again for another 6 years (again, not MY house). When I finally reached that point in life, I realized I had no sense of belonging ... anywhere.

Oh, my mother still lived in the same house I was raised in, and she's still there. But there was this great need to have a sense of "belonging" somewhere. So, my first home I bought was on a 2 acre lot, in the country, in SW Ohio. Lived there 3 years and finally felt like I had something to drop my anchor on. Well, things changed.

Moved back to Indiana and for the next 6 years rented again (not my house. very unhappy, no sense of belonging, I couldn't even put a picture on the wall without an act from Congress. Are you beginning to see the picture here?

The "real" RV full timers who own nothing but their camping rig are those who have settled into the opposite mind set where I've been for many, many years now. They do not NEED that sense of "belonging" anywhere. They don't NEED an anchor spot. Most likely, (I imagine if you did a poll on full timers, you'll find at one time in their lives they felt trapped, or enslaved to property, to than anchor, and it probably suffocated them). Some people are just meant to be "free". And those who full time on the road are those who have he greater need to enjoy that freedom, than to enjoy the constraints of an anchor.

There's nothing wrong with either lifestyle. We need them all to keep our culture a beautiful place to live for all of us. But I do definitely think if you are really going to enjoy the RV full timing experience, you really have to be a "free spirit". This has to be the number one trait needed.

Very well written comment. I enjoyed reading it and agree with you. Thanks for your post.

I guess the best I can relate to full timing is a response to an ad I recently read. The ad goes something like... my money, my rules. First thought that popped into my head was...but you forget, its my ball.
Independence and self reliance are a gratifing part of the adventure.

Freedom pure and simple. Stay a week or a day. Want to go to Alaska take 3 months and see a lot.
It's not for everyone but nothing is.

2cAmerica wrote:
... Please share a couple of factors which lead to your enjoyment of Full Timing...

We part timed (traveling) for about 6 years, took 2 years off (drove an SUV to a 5'ver we had south), now are back doing traveling once again. I missed the freedom it allowed us. If I pulled over and liked a location we would set down roots and fully explore the area. After awhile hitch itch would creep in, then we would move on till something caught our fancy.

A couple of nights ago was our first evening in the new rig for this winter season. I was telling the DW that I really liked our new setup, when she said "yes, it sure is low impact." I would never give up our S&B, but it sure is nice to take a "low impact" break from it also. Never thought of it like that before, but she is right when she called it "low impact."