Fulltime or Not Fulltime? That is the question.

[Kalen Vavla]

Fulltime sailing sounds really peaceful. Thanks for sharing that. It sounds like the grands take up a lot of your time. Enjoy them while you can. They will be grown before you know it.

[Kalen Vavla]

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

We have been FT for 3 years. The first 6 months we were selling the house and preparing for retirement. The transition went as well as we could have hoped for. By the time we retired we divested out of nearly everything that wouldn't fit in the MY except for a small collection of items we are keeping with family.

It has been an exciting time since then. We don't work camp and don't anticipate we will but that could change under the right conditions. So far we have spent 4-5 months during the winter in warm places in both TX and FL. We had also planed to spend 2-3 months back "home" in central IL with family but the first summer we spent over 5 months helping Sandee's family work through the passing of her mom.

We had envisioned more travel time but we have found that being stationary for a couple months at a time isn't all bad either. However, we have a massive amount of miles planned from July through early October if unplanned events don't intervene.

In the end, we are very happy with our choice and how we have learned to adapt to situations as they present themselves.

Sorry for your loss. That can really trough a person off balance. I am glad you are enjoying Fulltime. If you could have retired earlier; would you have started fulltiming then?

[Kalen Vavla]

Originally Posted by Nickdalzell1

Except for the fact it's an rv campground that is open year round, not a mobile home park. There's a difference and full timers according to a few rv magazines come in two flavors: movers and parkers. In either example, one lives their life in either a travel trailer or motor home.

we are movers. We stayed in an RV park for a week because we were both too sick to drive. that was too long. we could not wait to get down the road. Thanks for the feedback.

[Kalen Vavla]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

We never considered full timing. We do however escape the central NY torturous winters and head south in our MH. The weather basically sucks in CNY for more than half the year so we are gone more than at the sticks and bricks.

I have to say that after 6+ months in the MH we are more than ready to get back to the house. I would suggest to anyone thinking of full timing that before going all or nothing, try an extended stay in your MH and keep the house if you can afford both.

Thanks for the feedback. I thought it was normal to jump into fulltime because we did it and my parents did it. I didn't realize that some people choose to stay Part time, Most time, Any time, or Some time. Thanks.

[Kalen Vavla]

Originally Posted by lonfu

Went full time in end of 2001, traveled north America. 2008 wife decided to enroll daughter in highschool. Got board so I built a house to live in out in the middle of the Mohave desert. Took me 3 years, I work slow, built it out of steel rather than stucco and wood.


I found that most cites are the same, a series of different "quality" strip malls with suburban housing surrounding a central downtown. There are always a few exceptions, but not many on this continent. After a couple of years I found myself avoiding the cities to see the rural areas and meeting the rural folks. Now I often wonder why so many folks live in such tiny expensive areas and don't like to talk to each other. (cities) I discovered that cities only want you to visit them if you stay in their over priced hotels and eat in their expensive restaurants. Should you park on one of their highly prized gilded streets to go for a walk to tour the city, you can expect serious repercussions. Now I just avoid them. I was really disappointed with all the concrete condo's along the Atlantic coast that limits ones access to the beach, it is ugly. It did help me understand why Cali limited their beach construction. In the beginning I stayed in RV parks, later I boondocked a majority of the time. I only stayed in parks when I couldn't find dump sites.


I full timed to see this great country and continent that we live in and on. I drove 120k miles. Saw many great things, many amazing things, many sad things but most of all met many amazing different people. (except in the unfriendly cities)


I still have my coach and travel every chance I get, usually 4 to 6 months a year.

I agree about the cities. They are quite unfriendly. I can say there is a technique to Urban Camping that few actually practice. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate the feedback.

[Kalen Vavla]

Originally Posted by dix39

We considered it after retiring back in the late 90s and decided it wasn't for us. I have too many hobbies and projects that I enjoy and my wife didn't want to give up our life here. Also, most of what we enjoy doing is within a few hours of where we live, as is most of our family.

We decided to keep the house and travel when we wanted too, which we have done and continue to do. We're both very happy with that decision. We're usually gone up to 3 months of the year.

We also traveled with an RV pretty extensively before retiring, so that part wouldn't have been anything new. Also, we don't care much about staying in developed campgrounds.

IMHO, full timing isn't for everyone, but some folks seem to love it.

Steve

Thanks for the feedback. I am happy that you have been able to enjoy your MH and your travels. They always make good stories; don't they?

[Kalen Vavla]

Thank you all for sharing your stories and perspective with me. I think I now have a clearer understanding of the situation.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by Kalen Vavla

Sorry for your loss. That can really trough a person off balance. I am glad you are enjoying Fulltime. If you could have retired earlier; would you have started fulltiming then?

Thank you for your thoughts.

Our decision to go FT was not a long one. What started as a part time plan quickly morphed into FT on the first summer we owned our first MH. That was only a year ahead of our planned retirement. A few years prior we had decided we would not want to stay in IL and originally thought about the Austin, TX area but as retirement grew closer we felt the need to explore other options. That led us to our first MH and after a summer we were hooked and upgraded to our current MH.

Knowing what we do now we would have worked harder to prepare ourselves for an earlier retirement. If our first MH would have been satisfactory we could have retired earlier but upgrading to the DSDP forced us to work about a year longer. We are happy with our DSDP and working the extra year was worth it to us. During that year we took what we learned from the first MH and used that knowledge to make some upgrades to our DSDP. We replaced the RV refer with a residential, added stacked Washer & dryer, upgraded the satellite TV dish and other odds & ends. We also planned for the next year's upgrades including an all new tile floor, new shades and some more odds and ends.

Since then we think we found a place we would consider making "home" in the Lakeland, FL area but we aren't ready to come off the road so that will wait until later. We really hope that our plans for this year and the following spring & summer can work out un-interupted by major events. But, if we have events that makes us adapt, adapt we will.

The biggest thing we have found is that attitude is 90% of the solution to most problems. As long as our attitude supports our goals to do more wandering, we won't be in to much of a hurry to make serious plans to end the journey.

[twogypsies]

We were 'downsized' from our jobs in our early 50's. We had never heard of full-timing but we liked to camp. We bought a 27' travel trailer and spent 5 months in it and traveling. We talked to many full-timers in the parks and didn't find one that had misgivings. On the long drive home we said "we've lived with the bare necessities for 5 months and didn't miss a thing in the big house on a lake...let's sell it all and go full-timing and travel". We felt we were too young to just sit in one spot and we wanted to see this awesome country of ours. We also didn't want to go through another harsh winter. That was in April. By August everything was sold and we took off.

We've never for a minute regretted our 16 years of full-timing...awesome experience and met many new friends over and over again during our travels.

[jpharley]

We love the full timing (8 years) lifestyle and have no plans to stop for a long time unless health issues intervene. I have had 3 surgeries, the last a total knee replacement and recovery was easy in an RV. We visit the kids and grandkids at least once a year but they lead busy lives and even when we are in their area, they are so busy that we only see them a couple of times. I guess because we were a career military family, that moving around and being far away from family became second nature. So far, the only place we have found that we would like settle back into a traditional house is Alaska. Love that place and we may just do it when the time comes.

[FORTRIDER]

We hope to start full timing this year. We sold our motorcycle dealership in early 2015, did the house chores for a bit, and took off for 5 months in an older DP to get the feel. Loved it, other than being in N GA during the winter. This year we purchased a new to us coach that we plan to live in and travel for at least several years or however long the road calls.
The DW has traveled the US extensively on a motorcycle in her earlier years, camping mostly in a tent and loved it. She spent one summer traveling all 48 states in a time when there was no cell phones or internet.
We have a lovely home in a great location, overlooks the N side of RMNP at 8000 ft. elevation. But the taxes, house chores, winters have persuaded us to sell this year and see our beautiful country before it is too late for us.
Yes it will be hard to give up the S&B. Both of us just turned 60, but we want to see more before it is too late in life.

[lonfu]

I can say, the only thing I missed when I was full time was having a shop to make repairs, build cabinets and generally get into all kinds of trouble.

[HD4Mark]

One thing I would miss being full time is having a "go to" repair shop for the MH. Near the sticks and bricks house we found a mom and pop diesel truck shop that I think we can trust. Wonderful NY has yearly motor vehicle inspections and the MH needs to have a "heavy truck" inspection. They always get us in quickly and have done some minor repairs for what I would call cheap compared to some other work we have had done.

Also any service that might take a week or more, well who cares, I will be home, call me when it's done.

For routine maintenance it's nice to have the MH parked next to our garage where all my tools are.

[SpaceNorman]

We've had our coach for about 14 months now ... during that time we've spent roughly 140 nights in it. Like many, job demands have been the biggest factor limiting how much we've been able to travel. My wife retired in January ... and I've been fortunate enough to work out an arrangement with my management that allows me to travel at will, working remotely as we do. We've got firm plans in place that will have us on the road for at least 7 of the next 12 months (a 3 month trip to Arizona starting in September, and a 4+ month excursion to Florida starting in January). Between now and September, we'll see numerous 4-5 day "local" trips to destinations throughout lower Michigan.

My preference would be to sell our house and go full time for some period of time. However, my wife simply isn't ready to give up the "sticks and bricks" just yet. While we've both known that we'd be "downsizing" and moving out of our current home in retirement - she's just not quite ready to do it now. In our discussions on the topic - it's become pretty clear to me that it's NOT the house itself, but rather the idea of home that she's clinging to. "Home" is where our kids have been, "home" is near her sister and of course our friends and family. I'm convinced it's just a matter of time before she comes around. Changes being made by others that are near and dear to her are starting to mess with the picture of what "home" is in her head. Our oldest son is transferring to a new position in Scottsdale, AZ. Three of her closest friends who recently retired have all announced plans to move to their chosen retirement spots. The reasons that my DW feels we need to keep our house for - are moving away from her. As we travel more (farther afield and for longer durations) - I'm confident that she'll join me in the realization selling the house, earmarking the cash (we own our home outright) for our "exit plan" and taking advantage of the opportunity to "full time" for some period of time makes economic sense for us. She just needs to come to the realization that she's not giving up anything ... but is instead gaining freedom and flexibility .... in her own time.