Leaving Illinois, going full time.

[Moving-on]

Hello all, new member here. My wife and I have had an interesting year. Its a long story, but the point is after being burglarized and loosing alot of possessions we decided there was no time like now to just finish what the thieves started, finish selling things, and hit the road. We already had a flagstaff 8528ikws 5th wheel, which we spent 2 months in instead of going home. That ended Christmas morning on the second day of 8 degrees. Our fresh water line from the tank to the pump finally froze up, forcing us to go back home. While there was some discomfort, it was nice to go that cold while not on the road. We learned a lot about what the rig can take. We have family in TX, and soon Wyoming. Both are rural with water/power/sewer. And friends in illinois with the same. I'm winding down on selling whats left, and the house will go next. Then we plan to travel between the family locations, and sight see in between. We'll have a bit of a cusion after the sale of our "dream home", and plan to work, as is needed and convenient along the way. We can stay "free" at either location for as long as needed to recoup. I'm up for advice, well wishes, and somebody looking for a beautiful house in rural illinois. I have future plans for solar (I'm an electrician), and a mini split. But think I'm going to leave well enough alone for now. With maybe just a battery upgrade and a decent inverter. Fire away..

[dcason]

We have been traveling in rv for 4-6 months per year (usually two different trips) for the past 10? years. This September we will be selling house (before then) and moving into our 24 foot rv (which may change when on the road but we will see). We are giving away, selling our STUFF. Eventually we will move a county over to be near kids/grandkids. But for NOW, we are hitting the BLM lands and national forests HARD....which is what we usually do...rarely do we pay for campsites....frugal. There is a LOT of places in the this country to see...don't limit yourselves to relatives. Relatives have their merit but....
Hubby was not really on board when I announced I was selling the house and moving and invited him to come with me (LOL...he is the driver/me the navigator). Within a few weeks, he was with me and had formulated plans on how to get rid of all the tools and what he would keep...tough for the DIY man! I tried this once before but this time it is for health reasons...I need a dry climate desparately. We will eventually settle again in NY but for now just visit our kids in NY and AZ.
Donna

[2g_s]

Your first plan is where to domicile. Since you're in the 40's then Florida is the best place to get medical insurance. That doesn't mean you have to stay in Florida. You need to register there and get a Florida mail forwarding address. You'll be voting using your Florida address.

[2lazy4U]

Best wishes on your new adventure. My advice is to NOT buy much for now, but to wait and buy stuff as you need it. I've been full-time and then part-time off and on for many years, and I tend to want to have everything I might need at hand, then never use most of it and then get tired of shuffling it all around and downsize, then go through it all again after awhile. It's a security mindset, but you won't need most of what you think you will, Don't carry too much stuff, it will just get in the way. Have fun and don't overthink it.

[Moving-on]

coolmom42 wrote:
I do have a couple of cautionary financial notes:

First of all make sure that you will not have to pay capital gains on the sales profit on your home. I don't know what the limit is in your state, but in some it's lower than the Federal limit. The Federal limit is $500k profit on a couple.

Without the RV option, you would immediately be re-investing your home $$ in another home. At some point, you will be past RVing and want a traditional home. But if you have spent a big whack of your home profits, you won't have $$ on hand to buy another one. You also can't sink those profits into a RV/truck combo, because those are DEPRECIATING assets. The smart thing is to invest most of your home sale funds in something fairly conservative, but with some growth, so you will be able to keep up with home prices and buy one when you need it. Something like a conservative growth mutual fund is a good option. I've read of a few people being caught with nowhere to go and it's not pretty.

Another big consideration is medical insurance. It's not trivial. One option is a health-share ministry, the drawback being that it won't cover pre-existing conditions for a year.

Sounds like you have a great plan and ability to earn a living almost anywhere you go.

Thanks. We believe we have the tax situation under control. We're liquidating 2 trucks to finance one newer used 3/4 ton. Something that has already depreciated enough to take the pain out of it. But worth enough to sell well when we want to go a different direction. For health insurance, we're probably going to go with a catastrophic plan, since neither of us have any chronic or preexisting conditions or ongoing medications. My family won't leave us with no place to go, while that isn't my "plan", it is a contingency. And an economic catastrophe big enough to wipe out either direction i could go would be big enough, I'd have other problems. We plan to modify or cease our plan if we dip below x dollars in savings. And give up the idea entirely at x dollars. I think about 75 to 80% of whaT I've planned will probably go out the window with the realities of the road. But as long as I have x in savings, I can always start over somewhere else. I'm also buying things I may need, but are easy to store and transport now, while I still have income. Like a 60 gallon soft tank for boondocking. I caught it on deep discount, so the investment was low, but the savings compared to having to buy one on the road when needed at full market price is huge..

[Rice]

wanderingaimlessly wrote:
South Dakota does have one odd positive, no annual inspection on your truck emmissions or otherwise, Texas will allow you 30 days after returning to the state before its required.

If you self-certify that your vehicle is out of state when you renew the registration, you have 3 days, not 30 days, to get it inspected after returning to the state.

[philh]

your experience is exactly the one I didn't want to live... so, we sold B&M before heading out for weeks on end.

Our landing base is a park model in a campground in the middle of nowhere, with security and a gate. Perfect solution, no, but it beats where the house was located. I can travel and be secure in knowing our stuff is relatively safe.

[GDS-3950BH]

Moving-on wrote:
Folks. Please, I didn't come here to talk about what I could have done differently.

You came to the wrong place then LOL.

[coolmom42]

I do have a couple of cautionary financial notes:

First of all make sure that you will not have to pay capital gains on the sales profit on your home. I don't know what the limit is in your state, but in some it's lower than the Federal limit. The Federal limit is $500k profit on a couple.

Without the RV option, you would immediately be re-investing your home $$ in another home. At some point, you will be past RVing and want a traditional home. But if you have spent a big whack of your home profits, you won't have $$ on hand to buy another one. You also can't sink those profits into a RV/truck combo, because those are DEPRECIATING assets. The smart thing is to invest most of your home sale funds in something fairly conservative, but with some growth, so you will be able to keep up with home prices and buy one when you need it. Something like a conservative growth mutual fund is a good option. I've read of a few people being caught with nowhere to go and it's not pretty.

Another big consideration is medical insurance. It's not trivial. One option is a health-share ministry, the drawback being that it won't cover pre-existing conditions for a year.

Sounds like you have a great plan and ability to earn a living almost anywhere you go.

[Moving-on]

We may not be too far apart..

[wiskeyVI]

I live in the same type of area her in S.Illinois. We plan on spending winters in AZ or TX...Hopefully next winter now,,,,

[Bill_Satellite]

FL is much less expensive to register your vehicles and no inspections are required. We chose TX before FL was available but should likely move to FL for the savings. You do not have to pay the FL sales tax to register it in FL if you have owned it for more than 6 months. Of course, no State sales tax and I believe they have removed the personal tax on savings (or something) as I have not checked in years.

[Moving-on]

My wife found one near porter,/humble but I don't know the name. I'll have to ask her about it. They offered mail forwarding, and help setting up a domicile.

Yep, escapees was it..

[wanderingaimles]

Then look hard at Escapees, mail forwarding, domicile change assistance, membership gets discounts at some campgrounds including some they own.

[Moving-on]

Thanks! Very helpful. The plan was to use tx. I hadn't thought about inspections, since we don't have them here. And no Medicare. We're mid 40s