Tips to Overcome the RV Blues
St. George, Utah, on a cold, blistery Fall day.
You might be asking yourself, what is she talking about? RV blues??? How could anyone have a problem with traveling anywhere and anytime you want? You will be surprised.
Sometimes when we change our lifestyle, whether it is a career change, family change (like adding a child to the family or a divorce), financial changes, moving to another state or country we may encounter problems that we did not expect:
Unmet expectations: We expected everything to be perfect, to go the way we assumed it would, but it did not.
Leaving the familiar: This is so hard! When you are used to a way of living, like in a house, friends, family and all of a sudden your life has changed, it could be hard to accept this change.
Routine change: You may have a routine you do each day, like getting ready for the day, making phone calls, checking social media, going to work, your kids coming home after school, but in a moment that could change and it can upset your life.
Sinks Canyon State Park, Lander, Wyoming - a must see!
I was going through all of these problems as part of a lifestyle change I did not expect. We sold our house, kicked the kids out (well, not literally, but you know what I mean), said goodbye to the pets (our daughter took them), sold or gave away most of our house furnishings (mostly gave, we lived frugally), and moved into a small space of 6 months. Talk about tough!
Fulltime rving is different than part time rving: you have a home to go back to. Some fulltime rvers do have a “home base,” whether it is a lot in a RV park they visit seasonally, bought land to put the RV on even if it is a part of the year, have a home to go back to whenever they feel like it, or a RV park they like to visit each year when the weather is good.
When we owned our pop-up camper, we were part time rvers, enjoying the delights of time away, but always returning to our house and reality. But when that changed, the part time was no longer valid and I had to learn, truly learn what life was like as a fulltime rver.
Living a life of a fulltime rver can mean freedom, independence, going where you want and when you want to, no longer a time sheet to fill out or something to clock into when you worked, if you are able to retire. It can be a dream and should be your dream, if you desire to travel someday. And it was our dream, a dream that proved to be challenging, but yet, we did not give up.
Waiting for the sun to set, Grand Tetons, Wyoming
Here are some tips that helped us and is still helping us as we navigate the sometimes murky waters of fulltime rving:
We did not give up. Sure, it is easy to sell everything and go back to living in a sticks and bricks, but for us, it is not feasible as everything is so expensive now and the thought of living in a dinky apartment was not thrilling or buying an overpriced house. So we did not give up.
Work camping. Something that was in the back of my head, but I sort of drug my feet toward it. The economy changed and prices shot up pretty quickly, so for us to continue to travel, we decided to give work camping a shot. Many people of variety of ages, especially retired, do work camping not just for the money, which is not much, but a safe place to stay, and many places to visit nearby. And yes, we visited a LOT of places!!!!
We were closer to home and I knew we would be back in the winter. Can we say hello Arizona and the heat of summer? We had to wait till Arizona cooled down so we could come back. I think the knowledge of being closer to home was a great deal of comfort I needed. Plus we got another work camping job in the winter in Arizona.
Staying in one place was a source of healing. We traveled too much when we first started out (yep, too much!) and I think that did not help with our finances. Looking back I wish we took our time. We had time! Plenty of time. And so do you. Just take your time, smell the roses and enjoy life. Life is too short to hurry up!
Spending time with our loved ones was a big boost to my mental health. They were all fine, especially the kids, and all my needless worrying was unfounded. Life goes on even if you are not in your home state.
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Wyoming
I have met people that embraced the fulltime rv lifestyle and seem to enjoy every aspect of it. Like they never have problems and wished they had done it years ago. But there are people like me, like you, that may not embrace it right away. It is an adjustment and it is ok to get frustrated, confused, sad, mad, any kind of emotion as this lifestyle can be challenging. Change is hard, I get it.
Learn to take a hold of the challenge of a new lifestyle, and do not let it define who you are. You define what the lifestyle is to you! You are a brave person for taking on a new, incredibly fun and challenging lifestyle. Dare to do it! And never look back!
I think that was a name of a Boston song - Never Look Back. But in all seriousness, you do you. You got this. If living a fulltime rv lifestyle is wonderful to you, I am so happy! But if not, think before you react. Give it time. If the fulltime rv lifestyle is NOT for you, you need to do what you need to do for you and any loved ones it may affect. It is okay. Living this type of lifestyle is not for everyone, but the travel can be fun, if you open yourself to it.
We are almost there! Thanks for hanging out with me. :) Here are links to the previous blogs about living the RV adventure (hate for you to miss out!):