Over the numerous years we have been RVing, 2 and a half years full timing, I have run into the situation of the OP many times. Too often, the dream of going full timing is not a mutual thing on the two bucket lists of the couple. Most of the time it is the man that wants to go roam the roads like a hippy of the 60s. But so often, it is only the man that gets to retire. The female partner still has the same jobs she has had for most of her adult life, especially if she has worked in the home and not an outside the home wage worker. She still has to do the shopping, the cleaning , the cooking, the laundry, etc. etc. and living in an RV just makes those tasks more difficult. Plus at times I have had guys tell me that their wives won't go golfing, fishing , hiking, etc with them once they are retired. They often expect their wife to go and play with them but somehow magically have dinner on the table at the regular time, the laundry done, etc.
I have done the cooking and the grocery shopping for most of the 40+ years my wife and I have been married and it is more difficult and takes longer to shop at a new grocery store for me. After 2 and a half years, we were sitting in a campground in Crystal River Florida, when the conversation came up as to why were we full timing it? Neither of us had a good answer, as we had found out that sitting around in campgrounds was not the part of RVing we most enjoyed. We liked the travel, seeing new sites, visiting new places and so forth. But like most full timers, after a year or so, most of the time was spent in a campground, watching the grass grow. Full time travel is very expensive. Now, some full timers are very happy with the life. I have noticed that people that have moved a lot of times in their work careers do much better as full timers, people in the military, construction workers that go from job to job, such as power plant turn arounds, or at refinery turn arounds. etc. The last year we were full time, we put 5,200 miles on the Class A we owned at that time. The day we decided to go back to stick house living, we went to a real estate office in Crystal River, was shown some homes and made an offer on one of them. Within a week we were in the process of moving into it. One of the best decisions we have ever made in both our opinions. The Class A was sold and we went back to a truck camper and then first year with it, we put almost 20,000 miles of travel on it. We like to be gone most of the summer from Florida and then we will take trips every month the rest of the year. We are much happier as we can travel and still have a home to return to from time to time.
Many of the people I know that call themselves, full timers, will have some permament abode somewhere, where they will spend a few months a year, seeing their doctors, dentists, attorneys, bankers, etc. but they don't count that place as a home. Lots of different ways to be a full timer, as it's all in your opinion what that term means. Several couples I know that are FTers, have an RV but also have a double wide or a park model, that they own somewhere. They use the RV in the summer time and when the cold of winter starts in, they head to Florida and live in their fixed trailer or park model. They love it.
My wife and I don't feel we have to do everything together. She loves cruise ships which I don't, so she and her sister will take off for a few weeks on the oceans. I will often take the RV somewhere solo, with my dog most often, and sometimes she will fly out to meet me for a few weeks. We try to get up to Alaska every couple of years, so sometimes she will only do one leg of the trip with me in the RV, and fly the other leg. It works for both of us.
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
