Debating on FT RV Life

[AQRS88]

Hey there. Me and the wife are trying to see if anybody out their has experience with FT RV with 2 young kids (8 and 6mos) as a young family. We are familiar with domicile (thinking FL) and leaning on FL Christian Home schooling. We feel going to campgrounds with amenities would allow the kids to "recline the mind" vs the everyday hustle and begging to have fun going outside but can't because we are restricted at the house. Anybody wanna share your experience?

[hamm2018]

We have been full time for 4 years and have seen/met numerous full-time families with small kids. We met a couple in Mayport Naval Station, and they had a baby the day before we left the base. That family was also a full-time family, living in the same type of rig as our rig.
We met a full-time family in Williamsburg, Va. and they had 4 kids, but the youngest was around 6 and that was a couple of years ago.

My wife and I are in our mid-60's, so we don't have kids we us.

[TXiceman]

No kids here but we full timed for 10 years and met a few folks with kids that were home schooled. One big problem they had was access to the internet for the school lessons. Very few campgrounds have sufficient WiFi for streaming. I would suggest you look at Starlink for satellite internet connection. The problem with star link is the initial equipment cost and the high monthly fees.

Campgrounds with amenities will cost you more. Staying monthly will reduce your costs considerably versus daily or weekly rates. I think you will find that RVing is not as cheap as you may be led to believe. Research the cost carefully. Some areas have full amenity campsites costing over $1200 (and higher) per month plus electricity.

One thing we learned in our total of almost 40 years of RVing was to keep things uncluttered and put things away when not in use. You have to teach the kids that they have to put up toys, games, etc. when they are finished with the item. The same rule applies to mom and pop.

Good luck on the road.

[DutchmenSport]

We're way beyond school age children of our own, but over the last 38 years of our marriage we've run into many, many RVing families that full time. We've seen them in fifth wheels, motor homes, and travel trailers of all sizes. Everyone we've met and talked to were extremely happy with their choice of full timing and home schooling their children. Somehow, they all work out the details and get their lives into a routine. The most important part is to engage the services of a good and trustworthy home school organization that supports and has no concerns about travel. However, the down-side is, home schooling does take discipline on the part of the parents and for some, this was harder than anything, because they themselves were not very disciplined. Usually, the "school" responsibility falls on the wife, or adult female figure in the family. But the lifestyle does take shape, and after the first year, everyone seems to get into the swing of it and it becomes a "life style" rather than an "experiment" (IF) it can be done or not. So, the number 1 thing we've heard from folks is to be patient and keep after it. (Yes, we've had some pretty interesting talks).

We know several families that home school (not RVers), and every one of them says it's the only way!

You can do it! Countless others have done it and are quite successful. Take it one step at a time. I think in today's environment and with today's technology (computers and the internet), it's even easier than ever. Everyone learned a lot of things when Covid hit and almost every kid in the country was sent home rather than coming into buildings and they all experienced e-learning. That also opened the way for new innovations.

Your biggest challenge today if you travel, will be keeping an internet connection. I think, after that, the rest will be a marvelous experience for you and your family.

Good luck! Happy camping!

[Bigceasar]

What about the children making and keeping friends? Joining organized activities such as sports? Having private space as they grow older?
RV parks are generally not the best place for children to just be let out to roam freely. You won’t get to know the neighbors. Rigs constantly coming and going are a hazard.
What about your employment, insurance and preparation for the future? An RV is a lousy investment compared to home ownership. Constantly traveling means you won’t be able to develop doctor, dentist or veterinarian relationships.
A lot depends on your situation. If you and your spouse make great incomes and have careers that allow working from the road, with all the issues that entails, it could work out. If your plan is just making ends meet, finding temporary jobs along the way, and hoping for the best, do yourself and your children a big favor and drop that plan like a hot potato.

[twogypsies]

Here's the site where you need to get involved. Also, just do a Google for 'fulltime families' and YouTubes and many other references appear. There are many that are doing it successfully.

https://www.fulltimefamilies.com/

[DutchmenSport]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

What about the children making and keeping friends? Joining organized activities such as sports? Having private space as they grow older?
... You won’t get to know the neighbors. Rigs constantly coming ...
employment, insurance and preparation for the future? ... lousy investment ... Constantly traveling... doctor, dentist or veterinarian relationships.
A lot depends on your situation. If you and your spouse make great incomes and have careers that allow working from the road, with all the issues that entails, it could work out. ....

I think full timing with children is really no different than full timing as a retired couple.

I agree, the first area of business is steady financial income. But that is true for anyone full timing. Not knowing the OP's situation, we can just trust that they have this covered. Before I retired (January 2022), my wife and I both worked from home full time in Information Technology in computer code software development. As long as we had an internet connection, we could could work from anywhere in the world (literally, but not logically). Many times, our respective companies and our first line supervisors had no clue where we were physically "parked" on any given day. It was a fantastic experience and the view out the "office window" was beyond spectacular every single day. To have children experience the same thing is beyond measure for them.

For many folks, thinking outside the box is an impossibility. Unfortunately, far too many folks have been conditioned into believing and accepting and accept dependency on government provided resources and the government's brainwashing. The public school systems all across the USA are about as corrupt and vial as it gets, pushing agendas, ideas, and philosophies that teach the kids to hate themselves, to hate their parents, and to hate any type of authority that has any type of morality at all.

Folks who RV, and especially those who RV full time are truly a different breed of people. These are the self-thinkers, the self-sufficient, those who are willing to take a bit of a risk, a bit of a chance, to challenge their own comfort levels, and to not be a sheep and follow the dictates of a corrupt and perverted system, with expected "norms" of society who are also equally as brainwashed.

No, just the opposite. RVing full time "kids" actually thrive. Family units are always much closer, kids feel MORE secure because they have parents that actually pay attention to them, establish rules, and teach them responsibility, faith, and "true" respect for others.

Yes, RVing families live a transient, nomadic life style and people come and go daily in their worlds. But as I've listened and talked to other full time families, these families somehow find each other and somehow form a knitted group. Kids do make friendships and folks do keep in touch with each other, and families do reconnect at different locations and parks.

Sometimes, full timing RVing families do eventually drop out of the lifestyle and finally return to a stick and brick way of life. When they do, it's always for the right reasons, not because their adventures were a failure.

The one thing I've seen and witnessed from RVing full time families is the fact, I've not seen any unhappy or miserable kids, or any kids that feel they are missing anything by being anchored down in one location. Just the opposite, I've seen the kids thriving, happy, excited, and very well mannered, respectful, and polite.

Circling back to the "basics" of RVing full time, establishing medical care for people and pets, banking, place of residence, mail, and insurances for vehicles and life-health is no different with or without kids. These things do need to be worked out before hitting the road.... with kids or without kids for anyone full timing. We can only surmise the original poster has a plan to cover these things and thinking every aspect through. If not, here is the place to ask those questions, get advise, and make decisions that will bring satisfaction. In the end, the original poster may feel all of this is really just too much and may scrub the entire idea of full timing with kids and home schooling. And then again, they may feel quite comfortable.

I do know, those I've talked to, both the kids and the parents, love this type of lifestyle.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSpor

For many folks, thinking outside the box is an impossibility. .......


Folks who RV, and especially those who RV full time are truly a different breed of people. These are the self-thinkers, the self-sufficient, those who are willing to take a bit of a risk, a bit of a chance, to challenge their own comfort levels, and to not be a sheep and follow the dictates of a corrupt and perverted system, with expected "norms" of society who are also equally as brainwashed.

No, just the opposite. RVing full time "kids" actually thrive. Family units are always much closer, kids feel MORE secure because they have parents that actually pay attention to them, establish rules, and teach them responsibility, faith, and "true" respect for others.

Yes, RVing families live a transient, nomadic life style and people come and go daily in their worlds. But as I've listened and talked to other full time families, these families somehow find each other and somehow form a knitted group. Kids do make friendships and folks do keep in touch with each other, and families do reconnect at different locations and parks.



The one thing I've seen and witnessed from RVing full time families is the fact, I've not seen any unhappy or miserable kids, or any kids that feel they are missing anything by being anchored down in one location. Just the opposite, I've seen the kids thriving, happy, excited, and very well mannered, respectful, and polite.

Very good observations. We have found it to be true, also. Home-schooled children who travel the country have a great learning experience and they do very well in college.

[Old-Biscuit]

We Ftd for 7 yrs after we retired.......no kids just the 2 of us and it was fantastic life style

As a Kid that moved frequently, went to different schools, always the 'new' kid, never had a friend for more then 2 yrs it was tough socially but because of my parents it was more of an adventure then a hardship

If OP have the means.........stable source of income, plans for future etc then why not.

[AQRS88]

We are banking in Tmo 5G Hotspot and Verizon Hotspot and leaning on a Starlink for work and the kids entertainment

[AQRS88]

Yes. Lovely post. I believe ULTIMATELY the kids are gonna be happy. We have everything semi planned out. Won't be going every 2wks to something new. We are looking at seasonal campgrounds with full hookups so we can have some form of stability.

[DutchmenSport]

Originally Posted by AQRS88

... We are looking at seasonal campgrounds...stability.

The kids will thrive especially if they match up with some other kids.

When I was 11 years old, my parents decided to park their 1963 Phoenix travel trailer in a seasonal campground. It was a very primative campground. No electricity, only a hand pump for water for the entire campground, and pit toilets. My parents would schedule trips (they square danced) and we'd travel from Philadephia, to Florida, to Texas for those national square dance conventions. When the trip was over, Dad parked the camper back at the same spot.

This went on for the next 4 years. I remember vividly our first day at that campground, there were 6 other boys at that campground, some a bit younger than me and some a bit older. On that first day we formed a friendship that's lasted to this day. I'm now 68 years old.

I don't see them very much any more as we've scattered all over the world, one disappeared completely many years ago, and we're all older now. But we still relish those 4 years of being kids, swimming in the river, climbing trees, fishing-fishing-and more fishing, discussing the mysteries of girls, and trying to sneak cigarettes off our parents. (we did a few times, never got caught, but it wasn't anything like what we thought it would be like ... I still remember..... "Yuck! cough, cough, cough. I just don't "get it?" Do you?)

[FLJOE]

Our full timing experience has been much different than what the OP is asking about. As with most couples we retired, sold everything, and started traveling.

I will say over the past 10 years or so we have noticed more and more younger couples full timing. I'm not talking about young couples just living in stationary RVs, I'm talking about younger couples working remotely out of RVs and traveling around the country. Some have been traveling nurses and some have had other computer based jobs. I suspect the ones with children are providing them with an exceptional learning experience!

[AQRS88]

Yes. We are trying to get remote employment currently or worse case scenario Uber/lyft (which I do now) until then but ultimately will have income streaming in. The fact that the kids can break out of the 7-3 school structure and just be kids and have the freedom to say "hey let's go to xyz" and with a little planning we can make it happen. The wife is just debating on how will the kids fair when they get older. Maybe going on vacations where their is a airbnb Involed. Or worse cause rent a house for a set period of time (which I wouldn't want to do). But just trying to get some feedback on how would the kids feel during the RV life