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Can I Do What You Are Doing?
We received permission from the people
asking us questions. If you have a question, please send us
an email:
Email@Laura-n-Sasha.com
July 2008: Can a Person do what we are
doing...But of course! Edited to take out the personal stuff
Hello Laura and Sasha:
I found your Web site and am glad you are sharing your story
about full time RVing.
I am a 48-year-old Colorado woman with no kids and lots of
chutzpah who's recently left her husband after six years of
marriage. (.... but I think it's helpful for you to know
this since I'm trying to figure out my options and you guys
are the full-time RV experts).
Last year, I left my husband because .... and bought a
vintage 21' 1970 single-axle travel trailer in excellent
shape. My reasoning was that I could .... live in the
trailer until I could get my life back together. (I live in
an exceedingly expensive real estate market .... but I kept
the trailer in case I needed a way out. .....
Together, we have a 7-acre horse-boarding business with two
houses, barn, horses, goats, dogs I love, sheep, etc. so
..... My trailer is still sitting on our property. All the
nearby RV/trailer parks are full except one, and that one is
$600/month for space rent and dogs are not allowed.
(Apartments here start at $1,000-plus a month.)
I'm trying to figure out if I really could live in a 21-foot
trailer, and after reading your site, I think I could. When
I was single, I lived in a 280-square-foot cabin for five
years, and I've lived on a 42' boat too. I have accumulated
tons of crap I don't really need, so I feel confident I
could whittle everything down like you guys did.
My trailer has a dinette, a bunk I can sleep in, a couch
along the back wall, a kitchen with stove, frig, oven and
some cabinets and a bath with shower, toilet and sink.
Although you can't tell by the way I'm writing, I am
a professional writer and editor, and currently work at a
college as a public information editor. I also work with a
small publishing house editing books, so I have plenty of
work in this area.
Can I do this? Should I do this? I'm a little nervous about
being a single woman essentially camping out in an RV park,
but I'm gutsy - I've been a river raft guide and a ski
instructor, so I can take care of myself. If I could set a
plan of working hard, living lean and socking money away, in
a year or two, I could be in a much better place. All this
is so overwhelming and daunting. I am glad I made the
decision ...., but yikes! This is scary. I'm thinking,
though, if I can do this, I could inspire other women to get
out of emotionally hurtful life situations and move forward.
So, that went on too long, but I would appreciate your
feedback.
Thanks so much if you choose to respond.
All the best,
Carrie (C2)
Our Response (Sasha went first and I
went second)
Hello Carrie,
Laura forwarded me your touching email. Thanks for taking
the time to write and sorry about your situation ...
I am at work now and can't write too much, but these are my
comments:
Can I do this?
From your email, I can say, He11 YES!
Should I do this?
See above, He11 YES! Your background seems to fit well and
you seem to have the right mindset.
The good news:
1.
You live in COLORADO. One of the most beautiful of all
states with tons of RV potential for campgrounds and
boondocking. I myself am a CSU grad '79 lived in Ft Collins
and then ski bummed in Summit County 79-84, and man do I
miss it.
2.
Cost of living high? Not compared to our (DC metro) area.
$600/month for a campsite? Try $850 with a long commute into
town. Nothing at all at ANY price near work around here. For
$1,000-plus a month around
here, you have to live with room mates, forget an apartment
at that price. So keep your perspective on this, could be
lots worse.
Sell your "Stuff", ditch the bad buy, and start a new life.
Best thing Laura and I ever did was to sell the house, our
stuff and make our plan to "retire" early. No regrets and we
are very happy.
cheers,
Sasha
Her Response to Sasha:
Hi Sasha: You just put a huge smile on my face. Thanks
for your insights. You are helping me more than you know. As
I move along here, I'll keep you posted on how I do.
I'm a CSU alum too!
My best to you and to Laura,
C2
My Response:
Hi Carrie,
First off, you can do whatever your mind sets you to
do, so it can be done, you just have to get your mind
around it.
That said, the most important aspect about going
full-time is financial. Lots of people try it out and
run out of money. Those that have a plan do not run out.
If you have moved out, is there any way that you can
get your money out of the house and business without
harming yourself? By “tons of crap” do you have this
with you or is it still at the house? Could you sell it
off?
The reason I ask is because getting a cushion before
you venture out is always a good idea, and right now,
you may be punishing yourself for his problems. He is
left with the house and the business while you sleep at
friends’ homes. That’s no good. If you can, get the
money that belongs to you.
If you can’t, then the job you have – is it a full time
job (40 hours or more?) Is it possible to work for the
campground for your site (like a workcamper) for a
certain amount of hours per week, and still do your
other jobs? Most workcampers work on weekends, so it
might work that way.
Otherwise, you might have to buckle up to the $600 a
month for a spot at the RV Park. Make sure it truly is
for RVs that move occasionally, not a place where no one
ever leaves. You want to be in a RV park, not a “Trailer
Park” only because that is not what you are. Plus the RV
is a different beast entirely, with RV techs usually
around and the hosts or managers of the park can help
you out and they know and understand RVs.
I always tell people to figure out their finances and
the book that I use is Your Money or Your Life. There is
a link on the home page (because that book did help us
get to where we are now) to buy the book. While the
numbers may be a little off, the
information
is what is important. It helps you take stock of your
life and your money.
Once you have figured out the money, it sounds as
though you would have no problem with the space. That is
another reason why people get out of full time RVing,
the space is too small. But if you are at friends’
homes, and the other places you’ve lived, I do not think
that space will be an issue for you. Your RV sounds big
(but we live small anyway
J)
to us, with lots of space to be comfortable in. One of
the things I would suggest is changing sides that you
sit on in the dinette, so that the cushions aren’t flat
on one side. Sasha and I do this – we kind of have sides
that we sit on, but occasionally change. Have not yet
had to replace the cushions!
You can always find room for stuff in an RV – we
actually don’t use some places in the Truck Camper
because we have our garage (the trailer). But a rule
that we have followed since day one is, if you bring
something new in, you have to take something old out.
This may be a shirt to a book – if you put too much in,
the RV will be too heavy and not safe.
I see that Sasha has also responded to your questions,
and I hope this has helped. Is it ok if I put the
questions on the website (not the personal stuff, and I
can take out your last name if you want) so that others
can learn from it too? Thanks,
Her Response to Me:
You guys are fantastic. Thank you so much
for your valuable advice! Wow.
The park I'm looking at is more of a permanent "trailer
park" - even the temporary RVs have extras permanently built
around them. There are only a few RV spaces, and the rest
are Park Model mobile homes and the like. Hmmm...what do you
think about that?
There is a resort with RV spots and cool cabins that will be
accepting longer-term people starting in Sept. for $700/mo.
Even though that's pricey, perhaps I should look into that.
And since I've put out the word to everyone I know, I have a
friend who has 11 acres that I could put my trailer on. He
says I have to get a permit but I could do it. What do you
think? I don't know about hookups, etc. Hmmm again...
I'm getting the
Your Money or Your Life Book
right now (I've
heard about it).
I really cannot convey to you what you and Sasha's good
words mean to me. Truly.
And yes, please put my questions on line. If we can help
someone else, how wonderful is that?
We'll be in touch.
Best, C2
OK NOW I think I am blushing - so many
nice words.
Even More
Questions and Answers: Part 3 |
