My wife and I did this with a 1985 20 ft Toyota RV. This one is newer and better than ours but for the same price. We quit the rat race and worked 3 day weeks at Denny's restaurants. They always let us park overnights out back. On days off, it was off on new adventures every week. Made more than enough money in 3 days per week to pay all expenses and put some money away.
Considering this upon retirement where I’ll have enough money rolling in from selling everything off so I can just cruise and not worry about any work.
We're now both retired and thinking to do this again. These things fit in double parking spaces at shopping centers. Don't bother parking in campgrounds. You'll get about 16 mpg at the actual speed limit. Imagine going everywhere and seeing everything in America. Best of all possible options.
I've gone thru a quadruple by-pass and a whole lot more. But my motto is: "Live Till Ya Die". I've lived a long time and seen a lot of America. All's well that ends well, and I intend to end well.
Invest in real estate. Take tax deduction against your personal income. Have so much money, you can live a good life, raise great children, and give freely.
Makes sense when your young. I've seen real estate go upand down and see opportunities, but in retirement now, just want to enjoy life with the wife.
But when the opportunities appear, please do the Real Estate thing.
Six years ago, my wife and I bought an abandoned house with a cabin and a shed on five acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, paying only $40,000. New roof, floors and drywall, we sold it 4 years later for $225,000. Sweet. And now, back in Florida, we own a home with no mortgage thanks to that sale and are itching for new adventures. RV living works for us.
I do live in central Florida right now. My five white kids are all grown and my grandkids too. Now imagine getting one of these barely used old Toyota motorhomes for $8k-15k. Fuck buying another home. And if or when we do this for the second time, bye bye Florida. Hello wide open spaces.
And you can do this while raising up the kids. You'll be free and they'll avoid all the crap of modern living. No schools, no vaccinations at all, and let them develop their natural abilities in a kind of freedom Americans just don't know. They'll be like gods.
But when the opportunities appear, please do the Real Estate thing.
Already kind of am. I'm an appraiser. Advantage for me is I have a lot of data and a lot of knowledge on market trends and whatnot.
Average fee where I'm at is about $675. If I do 15 appraisals a month, which the average basic appraisal takes about a day to do, then I'm looking at $120k a year. In 2019, even before the market got super hot in 2021-2023, about 20% (a bit more actually) of appraisers made $150k+. Another 25-30% made over $100k.
Pair that with making my own schedule, being self employed, and having a pretty chill job all things considered....
Yeah, I'll be alright.
I'm only 24, and still in training, but I'll be done by probably the first week of February.
The plan is, thank God for my parents, that once I'm done training I'm gonna buy a new truck which will be about $30k after trading in my current vehicle and making a down payment. Could be below that, really.
I'll need it for my job, especially doing land appraisals, so hey. Thinking of going for a Chevy Colorado. It's small enough I can still whip around, which I like, but it's still big enough to have plenty of utility. Fits me, really.
SO, I'll have that truck and my parents are buying the land behind us to put up a metal building. Part of it will be living quarters for me, the rest will be shop area. They're not saying how big, we're not there yet, but I'm quietly hoping for anything in the 700-1000 sqft range. I'll take whatever though. Hell, I was in a dorm in college for 4 years and I was content.
Then basically until I'm about 27-28 I'm going to be paying off student loans, $80k total, and my truck, about $25-$30k total.
Making $120k a year before taxes, this is more than doable.
THEN, I'm going to do a stupid and buy a $70k corvette, just the stingray, I don't need the performance model... All while saving up for a house. My ideal is something in the $300k-$400k range. In Oklahoma, that's about 2500 square feet with vaulted ceilings, nice stuff. Think like this:
Annnd that's in Tulsa. It'd be cheaper by a bit outside of it. If I can build some monstrosity like that and have my truck paid off, a nice corvette, and that...
Hell, I'd be done living by about 30-35. I'd have done everything I set out to do, apart from having a family but fuck that shit lmfao. No way I'm willingly subjecting myself and everything I own to some temperamental "American" (whatever that means anymore lol) "woman* that can rip away half and more of my life at the drop of a hat.
Great post! I hope others here read this and consider doing what you do. My grandson-in-law is training to do this in Tampa Bay. Sounds like a wonderful life and you are my hero. Shoulda done appraisal myself, dang it.
I hope others here read this and consider doing what you do.
Only thing is it's really hard to break into, especially nowadays. A lot of urban appraisers are struggling with work because the way the market is. I'm rural, so I have something great called "job security". A lot of urban guys HATE doing land appraisals, which are actually my favorite, and they also hate driving more than 5 minutes for comps, which I also enjoy because I get to listen to music. I remember one night back in August I literally drove for 5 hours getting comp pictures in a city about 30 miles away. Then we were up in Osage County all day long not too long ago. If you've ever heard of the Drummonds, or The Pioneer Woman on Food Network, that's where they have all their land. Small empire, more like.
Not to mention with AI coming around, they can't apply an algorithm to rural property. Even small towns. Way too many variables.
My grandson-in-law is training to do this in Tampa Bay.
If he's getting work now, he'll be doing totally fine when things normalize, which they already seem to be starting to. The Fed's next moves will be interesting and may provide a boost.
Sounds like a wonderful life
It's pretty good man. I get to my mentor's place at 10:00 and work from about 5-7 that evening. But we'll jabber about whatever for at least an hour or two each day, and we average around 15-20 each month. Pretty cushy schedule. And he isn't even the most efficient. We do some extra stuff that's really unnecessary, he just likes to do it a certain way because it's how he's always done it. I'll be even more efficient when I am by myself. Which means more $$$. Annnnd Fannie Mae is releasing a new form type to replace basically all of the major forms out there. 1004's, UAD's, Manufactured Homes, all of 'em. It's actually a dynamic form that will adapt as you enter in data. Don't have to worry about picking the correct form type or second guessing yourself on "Should I include this page?" or anything like that.
It's WAY easier to read and just even look at too. I love it. Seriously, go Google a 1004 URAR form now, then google "new URAR appeaisal report" and Fannie Mae has a pdf that shows what it looks like. So much cleaner and logical.
I wouldn't doubt they're eyeballing AI integration with reporting too, which is actually good. Older appraisers are bitching about how it will kill fees and the profession, but they've got it all wrong. Appraising will turn into a profession much like a plumber. You don't pay the plumber $300 to come in and twist a valve and be done in 5 minutes, you pay him for the expertise, knowledge, and training behind him knowing it just takes five minutes and some pliers to unfuck yer shit. AI is just a data spitter. It doesn't think, necessarily. Appraisers will be the human eye double checking the AI as it assists in report writing and will make us more efficient, thus allowing us to get more work done faster annnd make more $$$!
The inner German in me is very excited. Efficiency. Das ist gut! 😃
and you are my hero
😶 nononononononononononono 😶
I am a guy. No hero here. Just an asshole. Asshole. Not hero. You got the h, o, and e right but that spells hoe and I ain't got time for any but one for killing the occasional pygmy rattler.
Shoulda done appraisal myself, dang it.
Life is weird. I just get really lucky for no reason, I've decided. Someone's looking out for me. Just... There's been a lot of things in life that sort of work out when they shouldn't normally. Or I wouldn't think, anyway.
I was set on being an optometrist in high school. That field is kinda dying in a way, so I switched to dentistry. Broke my hand senior year of HS. Got a tremor in it. No bueno. Can't do the fine movements.
Sooooo I said that's cool, I'll be a pharmacist. Applied for pharmacy school, got an interview....
And got rejected. sadfucker.jpg
Enter a mild case of depress and I was resigned to becoming a teacher. Gave up. Subbed for the spring semester back in '22. Over the summer my dad knows a guy, he tells dad to get into appraisals since he's retiring. Dad points me that way, I say why not, better than teaching. Surely. So I keep subbing the '22-'23 academic year and made a bunch of relationships with a lot of the kids. Tried to steer them straight. Two girls basically adopted me as an older brother, and... Yeah. I actually had fun doing that. They're on my ass now though whenever I go to games, they really miss me subbing.
I don't know what I did either. I just did my job. 😂 Kids and dogs man... They almost always seem to gravitate to me or latch on. It's weird.
ANYWAY... Come to May '23 and I started training. Now I'm here. Tomorrow I'm there. One day I'll probably be a little everywhere because of a drone dropping a present. We'll see. 😂
Get an affordable Toyota RV, take off and just live for today. See the country, figure out how to make money during short-term stays here and there. Be free. And if SHTF, you just get out of Dodge. You'll quickly learn in advance what kinds of places are safest as you travel.
And these Toyota RVs are built to last. Should yours die for some reason, just get a newer one and carry on. Some maintenence is of course required, but lots of RVers out there have become repairmen as they went and can be hired on the cheap to keep your unit water tight and rolling.
I sent the link to the wife and she's been looking at it for two hours. I think she too is itching to go. We'll see.
[ - ] Panic [op] 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 10:45:12 ago (+1/-0)
At my age, I might wear out before the RV does. But for younger people, if you can make money part time like we did, you'll save enough to do this again and again. Or when you get tired of fun and adventure and living free, you can plunk your savings down on an apartment and be a normie again. When you have grandkids on your knee, you'll have so many cool stories to tell them.
Also, traveling about as we did, you might find a better place with better people to make your next normie home. One place I surely intend to stay a while in the winter months will be good old/bad old Slab City. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCozi4vmddY
My wife and I bought a 1985 Toyota Dolphin over 20 years ago and lived in it full time for 1 1/2 years. Best time of our lives. When the first grandkid was born, we moved to Florida and bought a house one mile away from the kids, so my wife could do the grandma thing. Sold the RV to my sister who used the hell out of it until Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, ruining it. Dumbass shouda hopped in it and took off, but oh well.
Having been a full timer, I know what to expect, and know how to do it on the cheap. Others have problems because they don't know what they're doing. I learned the hard way about old tires when I was driving in Indianapolis during race weekend. Dammit. Blew two tires and blew off the waste water pipe, sending all the waste onto the Interstate highway. Oops. Got new tires and replaced the piping myself, then off we went. Ya learn by doing.
That’s super-expensive for 33 years-old. I don’t know…. I think I’d rather rehab a meth house.
I used to own a '55 Chevy Belair. V-8 and automatic. 68 years old today, but try buying one. Get 3-4 RVs for the price of them old cars.
Old Toyotas last a long time. Most RVs are rarely used, so low mileage, low wear and tear. But seriously do consider rehabing a shitty building. I did one in NC, spinning a $40k wreck into $225k resale.
But now, I just wanna take it easy and enjoy my elder years with the wife. Was a long haul trucker for 16 years so I've been absolutely everywhere in America. Now thinking to do all the best places with the wife at a slow pace in a fuel efficient motorhome. Best part is, we're keeping our paid off Florida home and should we wish to be normies again, we just resell the RV, pocket the money and settle down to stay. Like rehabing that crack house, living in it for years, and then reselling it. Doing it on your own terms is the best terms period.
We bought our house in 16. It has almost tripled in value. Lol. My mortgage payment is $515(we put down a healthy down payment)Pure luck in a sense. While I would trade that equity to go back to the before Covid times in a heartbeat.
Yeah, I know some folks who travel around the country in an RV. They go from one federal/state park to the next. They will get a job at a park and work there until they are ready for a new area, then they put in for jobs at other parks and move when they get hired. They love it.
When being full time RVers, we would shower at trufckstops for $5 back then. Better truck stops have laundry facilities for all them long-haulers. And TV rooms. And restaurnats. And fast food. And Flying J truck stops let you dump your wastes for free hoping you'll fuel up there.
We never once paid to park in a RV campground. We called them RV Ghettos. We did pay to park a couple of times at beach campgrounds, loving the ocean as much as I do. But that was a rare and affordable luxury. Now, with the wife, it'll be the deserts and rivers and mountains out west for starters. As for power, there are several options today. Back then, it was the RV's inverter when running the engine or the Onan Generator.
But I'm glad to see you did this too. But ND? Brrrr! Oil field work? That was huge there for a period.
Being in a motorhome traveling the open roads. Visiting exciting and interesting places, staying wherever you wish for as long as you wish. Where's the trailer park, mate?
This is the best way to live an adventurous life. Park for free among the saguaro cactus in Arizona, see the Grand Canyon, stay at Devil's Tower and nearby Mount Rushmore. Cruise the Pacific Coast Highway from Seathe to San Diego. Get to park along all the Great Lakes in the summer and swim in all of them. And same for the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Live free. Discover a new kind of happiness. Discover a better you.
That's no trailer park. That's life at its best. Better than whatever place you're stuck in. We all make our choices I guess. Go live your own dream. I'll live mine.
[ - ] Panic [op] 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 18, 2023 02:39:44 ago (+1/-0)
Hey, it's not for everybody. But I'e lived the other lives and never really found my place. Got to live in London, UK for three years starting as a teen. Nice, cute red haired girlfriend and - too damn cold for a kid from New Orleans. A decade after that, I worked on the Executeve Staff at the World Trade Center of New Orleans, a dream job by most people's accounts. For me, it was a running X-Files episode. I managed to stay there for 2 years, then bailed and went and lived near a small Arizona town just to get away from all the jews and shitty political people. Then San Diego. Two years. Then Portland. Then Atlanta. Then Tampa. Some good jobs, some bad jobs. But never found a place I'd want to call home.
In High School, my best friend Curtis said to me that I was always wanting to run away from everything, and he was right. I was the "If Only" kid. And so I wandered as opportunity allowed then wandered some more. And then - I went trucking for 16 years and loved it over anything before. My pal Curtis was wrong about me. I wasn't running away from anything so much as running for the run, for the adventure, to see everything and to lived different lives. And trucking did it. I quickly became a trainer and over the years, brought a lot of other dreamers into the profession. Took a year off here and there (including working for Denny's) but easily returned to trucking each time. No matter that being a diabetic, it was against the law for me to be a trucker in the first place. I knew how to fake my annual pee tests for blood sugar levels. But the day came when the test changed. Now testing A1C and there's no way to fake that one. What to do?
I went home and started an appliance repair business in Florida. Working for myself, I was happy and stuck with it until the heart attack. Lived the good old American Dream. After the quadruple by-pass, I gave the company to my kid and semi-retired.
I guess my problem had always been that I am a liberty loving guy and having a boss looking over my shoulder just irked the hell out of me. I hate "Authority". I've done it all, seen it all, been everywhere, but a normie job never suited me. Travel was the release valve. And looking back, the time in the RV REALLY was almost idyllic. Maybe not for normies like yourself, but it was for me. My wife and I are considering doing it soon and as a mighty fine retirement option. And as for sleeping behind Denny's, it doesn't matter where one sleeps, it's how one lives when awake. Traveling far and wide with the Mrs. Panic will be fun everyday.
And should we ever tire of it - we just pop back down to Florida and live in our fully paid off home. Yes, we're keeping it. We might get to missing the kids and grandkids and soon-to-be great-grandkids. Who knows?
But that decision is ours to make. We control our lives and destinies. No bosses. No worries except the certainty of declining health in our old age. It's been a good run, and one more time, we have the opportunity to go off on a grand adventure.
When you are my age, I hope you have stories of your life to tell the grandkids, stories better than tales about jobs and real estate and vacations. Vacations to us are escapism for normies. Enjoy your years as best you can. Best wishes to you and yours.
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 2 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 00:26:39 ago (+2/-0)
[ + ] TheOriginal1Icemonkey
[ - ] TheOriginal1Icemonkey 3 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 00:28:46 ago (+3/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 00:37:03 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] NoRefunds
[ - ] NoRefunds 3 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 10:37:32 ago (+3/-0)
The kikes get you with the unexpected medical expenses
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 2 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 10:49:18 ago (+2/-0)
[ + ] Trope
[ - ] Trope 5 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 00:38:02 ago (+5/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 3 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 00:53:11 ago (+3/-0)*
But when the opportunities appear, please do the Real Estate thing.
Six years ago, my wife and I bought an abandoned house with a cabin and a shed on five acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, paying only $40,000. New roof, floors and drywall, we sold it 4 years later for $225,000. Sweet. And now, back in Florida, we own a home with no mortgage thanks to that sale and are itching for new adventures. RV living works for us.
[ + ] GrayDragon
[ - ] GrayDragon 2 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 08:15:47 ago (+2/-0)
I plan on making more this week.
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 10:58:30 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] 4thTurning
[ - ] 4thTurning 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 03:47:07 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 10:56:39 ago (+0/-0)*
And you can do this while raising up the kids. You'll be free and they'll avoid all the crap of modern living. No schools, no vaccinations at all, and let them develop their natural abilities in a kind of freedom Americans just don't know. They'll be like gods.
[ + ] NeedleStack
[ - ] NeedleStack 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 09:23:53 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 11:04:28 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] PhantomXLII
[ - ] PhantomXLII 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 12:37:57 ago (+1/-0)
Already kind of am. I'm an appraiser. Advantage for me is I have a lot of data and a lot of knowledge on market trends and whatnot.
Average fee where I'm at is about $675. If I do 15 appraisals a month, which the average basic appraisal takes about a day to do, then I'm looking at $120k a year. In 2019, even before the market got super hot in 2021-2023, about 20% (a bit more actually) of appraisers made $150k+. Another 25-30% made over $100k.
Pair that with making my own schedule, being self employed, and having a pretty chill job all things considered....
Yeah, I'll be alright.
I'm only 24, and still in training, but I'll be done by probably the first week of February.
The plan is, thank God for my parents, that once I'm done training I'm gonna buy a new truck which will be about $30k after trading in my current vehicle and making a down payment. Could be below that, really.
I'll need it for my job, especially doing land appraisals, so hey. Thinking of going for a Chevy Colorado. It's small enough I can still whip around, which I like, but it's still big enough to have plenty of utility. Fits me, really.
SO, I'll have that truck and my parents are buying the land behind us to put up a metal building. Part of it will be living quarters for me, the rest will be shop area. They're not saying how big, we're not there yet, but I'm quietly hoping for anything in the 700-1000 sqft range. I'll take whatever though. Hell, I was in a dorm in college for 4 years and I was content.
Then basically until I'm about 27-28 I'm going to be paying off student loans, $80k total, and my truck, about $25-$30k total.
Making $120k a year before taxes, this is more than doable.
THEN, I'm going to do a stupid and buy a $70k corvette, just the stingray, I don't need the performance model... All while saving up for a house. My ideal is something in the $300k-$400k range. In Oklahoma, that's about 2500 square feet with vaulted ceilings, nice stuff. Think like this:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5017-S-165th-East-Ave-Tulsa-OK-74134/2067201794_zpid/
Annnd that's in Tulsa. It'd be cheaper by a bit outside of it. If I can build some monstrosity like that and have my truck paid off, a nice corvette, and that...
Hell, I'd be done living by about 30-35. I'd have done everything I set out to do, apart from having a family but fuck that shit lmfao. No way I'm willingly subjecting myself and everything I own to some temperamental "American" (whatever that means anymore lol) "woman* that can rip away half and more of my life at the drop of a hat.
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 12:56:16 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] PhantomXLII
[ - ] PhantomXLII 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 18:19:29 ago (+0/-0)
🙃
Only thing is it's really hard to break into, especially nowadays. A lot of urban appraisers are struggling with work because the way the market is. I'm rural, so I have something great called "job security". A lot of urban guys HATE doing land appraisals, which are actually my favorite, and they also hate driving more than 5 minutes for comps, which I also enjoy because I get to listen to music. I remember one night back in August I literally drove for 5 hours getting comp pictures in a city about 30 miles away. Then we were up in Osage County all day long not too long ago. If you've ever heard of the Drummonds, or The Pioneer Woman on Food Network, that's where they have all their land. Small empire, more like.
Not to mention with AI coming around, they can't apply an algorithm to rural property. Even small towns. Way too many variables.
If he's getting work now, he'll be doing totally fine when things normalize, which they already seem to be starting to. The Fed's next moves will be interesting and may provide a boost.
It's pretty good man. I get to my mentor's place at 10:00 and work from about 5-7 that evening. But we'll jabber about whatever for at least an hour or two each day, and we average around 15-20 each month. Pretty cushy schedule. And he isn't even the most efficient. We do some extra stuff that's really unnecessary, he just likes to do it a certain way because it's how he's always done it.
I'll be even more efficient when I am by myself. Which means more $$$. Annnnd Fannie Mae is releasing a new form type to replace basically all of the major forms out there. 1004's, UAD's, Manufactured Homes, all of 'em. It's actually a dynamic form that will adapt as you enter in data. Don't have to worry about picking the correct form type or second guessing yourself on "Should I include this page?" or anything like that.
It's WAY easier to read and just even look at too. I love it. Seriously, go Google a 1004 URAR form now, then google "new URAR appeaisal report" and Fannie Mae has a pdf that shows what it looks like. So much cleaner and logical.
I wouldn't doubt they're eyeballing AI integration with reporting too, which is actually good. Older appraisers are bitching about how it will kill fees and the profession, but they've got it all wrong. Appraising will turn into a profession much like a plumber. You don't pay the plumber $300 to come in and twist a valve and be done in 5 minutes, you pay him for the expertise, knowledge, and training behind him knowing it just takes five minutes and some pliers to unfuck yer shit. AI is just a data spitter. It doesn't think, necessarily. Appraisers will be the human eye double checking the AI as it assists in report writing and will make us more efficient, thus allowing us to get more work done faster annnd make more $$$!
The inner German in me is very excited. Efficiency. Das ist gut! 😃
😶 nononononononononononono 😶
I am a guy. No hero here. Just an asshole. Asshole. Not hero. You got the h, o, and e right but that spells hoe and I ain't got time for any but one for killing the occasional pygmy rattler.
Life is weird. I just get really lucky for no reason, I've decided. Someone's looking out for me. Just... There's been a lot of things in life that sort of work out when they shouldn't normally. Or I wouldn't think, anyway.
I was set on being an optometrist in high school. That field is kinda dying in a way, so I switched to dentistry. Broke my hand senior year of HS. Got a tremor in it. No bueno. Can't do the fine movements.
Sooooo I said that's cool, I'll be a pharmacist. Applied for pharmacy school, got an interview....
And got rejected. sadfucker.jpg
Enter a mild case of depress and I was resigned to becoming a teacher. Gave up. Subbed for the spring semester back in '22. Over the summer my dad knows a guy, he tells dad to get into appraisals since he's retiring. Dad points me that way, I say why not, better than teaching. Surely. So I keep subbing the '22-'23 academic year and made a bunch of relationships with a lot of the kids. Tried to steer them straight. Two girls basically adopted me as an older brother, and... Yeah. I actually had fun doing that. They're on my ass now though whenever I go to games, they really miss me subbing.
I don't know what I did either. I just did my job. 😂 Kids and dogs man... They almost always seem to gravitate to me or latch on. It's weird.
ANYWAY... Come to May '23 and I started training. Now I'm here. Tomorrow I'm there. One day I'll probably be a little everywhere because of a drone dropping a present. We'll see. 😂
[ + ] Deleted
[ - ] deleted 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 01:42:12 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 11:17:33 ago (+0/-0)
And these Toyota RVs are built to last. Should yours die for some reason, just get a newer one and carry on. Some maintenence is of course required, but lots of RVers out there have become repairmen as they went and can be hired on the cheap to keep your unit water tight and rolling.
I sent the link to the wife and she's been looking at it for two hours. I think she too is itching to go. We'll see.
[ + ] boekanier
[ - ] boekanier 7 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 00:40:39 ago (+7/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 10:45:12 ago (+1/-0)
Also, traveling about as we did, you might find a better place with better people to make your next normie home. One place I surely intend to stay a while in the winter months will be good old/bad old Slab City. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCozi4vmddY
[ + ] RoxannaHardbutt
[ - ] RoxannaHardbutt 5 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 01:38:44 ago (+5/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 2 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 11:29:34 ago (+2/-0)
Having been a full timer, I know what to expect, and know how to do it on the cheap. Others have problems because they don't know what they're doing. I learned the hard way about old tires when I was driving in Indianapolis during race weekend. Dammit. Blew two tires and blew off the waste water pipe, sending all the waste onto the Interstate highway. Oops. Got new tires and replaced the piping myself, then off we went. Ya learn by doing.
[ + ] xmasskull
[ - ] xmasskull 7 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 01:50:02 ago (+7/-0)
[ + ] TheBigGuyFromQueens
[ - ] TheBigGuyFromQueens 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 05:58:10 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] drhitler
[ - ] drhitler 5 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 03:36:39 ago (+5/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 12:48:43 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] TheBigGuyFromQueens
[ - ] TheBigGuyFromQueens 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 05:56:53 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] BoozyB
[ - ] BoozyB 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 07:51:36 ago (+4/-0)
My neighbor down the road bought one and is refurbishing it.
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 13:20:59 ago (+0/-0)
I used to own a '55 Chevy Belair. V-8 and automatic. 68 years old today, but try buying one. Get 3-4 RVs for the price of them old cars.
Old Toyotas last a long time. Most RVs are rarely used, so low mileage, low wear and tear. But seriously do consider rehabing a shitty building. I did one in NC, spinning a $40k wreck into $225k resale.
But now, I just wanna take it easy and enjoy my elder years with the wife. Was a long haul trucker for 16 years so I've been absolutely everywhere in America. Now thinking to do all the best places with the wife at a slow pace in a fuel efficient motorhome. Best part is, we're keeping our paid off Florida home and should we wish to be normies again, we just resell the RV, pocket the money and settle down to stay. Like rehabing that crack house, living in it for years, and then reselling it. Doing it on your own terms is the best terms period.
[ + ] JudyStroyer
[ - ] JudyStroyer 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 08:36:39 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] -1 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 13:35:57 ago (+0/-1)
[ + ] Peleg
[ - ] Peleg 3 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 08:45:01 ago (+3/-0)
[ + ] TomMacdonald
[ - ] TomMacdonald 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 08:45:05 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 13:33:43 ago (+0/-0)
We never once paid to park in a RV campground. We called them RV Ghettos. We did pay to park a couple of times at beach campgrounds, loving the ocean as much as I do. But that was a rare and affordable luxury. Now, with the wife, it'll be the deserts and rivers and mountains out west for starters. As for power, there are several options today. Back then, it was the RV's inverter when running the engine or the Onan Generator.
But I'm glad to see you did this too. But ND? Brrrr! Oil field work? That was huge there for a period.
[ + ] Rebooted
[ - ] Rebooted 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 08:48:17 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] mikenigger
[ - ] mikenigger 2 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 12:06:09 ago (+3/-1)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 19:08:09 ago (+0/-0)
Being in a motorhome traveling the open roads. Visiting exciting and interesting places, staying wherever you wish for as long as you wish. Where's the trailer park, mate?
This is the best way to live an adventurous life. Park for free among the saguaro cactus in Arizona, see the Grand Canyon, stay at Devil's Tower and nearby Mount Rushmore. Cruise the Pacific Coast Highway from Seathe to San Diego. Get to park along all the Great Lakes in the summer and swim in all of them. And same for the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Live free. Discover a new kind of happiness. Discover a better you.
That's no trailer park. That's life at its best. Better than whatever place you're stuck in. We all make our choices I guess. Go live your own dream. I'll live mine.
[ + ] mikenigger
[ - ] mikenigger 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 18, 2023 02:34:47 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Version6
[ - ] Version6 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 12:31:46 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 13:40:05 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Greskibon
[ - ] Greskibon 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 17, 2023 13:37:20 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Nosferatjew
[ - ] Nosferatjew -1 points 1.4 yearsDec 18, 2023 01:28:38 ago (+0/-1)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic [op] 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 18, 2023 02:39:44 ago (+1/-0)
In High School, my best friend Curtis said to me that I was always wanting to run away from everything, and he was right. I was the "If Only" kid. And so I wandered as opportunity allowed then wandered some more. And then - I went trucking for 16 years and loved it over anything before. My pal Curtis was wrong about me. I wasn't running away from anything so much as running for the run, for the adventure, to see everything and to lived different lives. And trucking did it. I quickly became a trainer and over the years, brought a lot of other dreamers into the profession. Took a year off here and there (including working for Denny's) but easily returned to trucking each time. No matter that being a diabetic, it was against the law for me to be a trucker in the first place. I knew how to fake my annual pee tests for blood sugar levels. But the day came when the test changed. Now testing A1C and there's no way to fake that one. What to do?
I went home and started an appliance repair business in Florida. Working for myself, I was happy and stuck with it until the heart attack. Lived the good old American Dream. After the quadruple by-pass, I gave the company to my kid and semi-retired.
I guess my problem had always been that I am a liberty loving guy and having a boss looking over my shoulder just irked the hell out of me. I hate "Authority". I've done it all, seen it all, been everywhere, but a normie job never suited me. Travel was the release valve. And looking back, the time in the RV REALLY was almost idyllic. Maybe not for normies like yourself, but it was for me. My wife and I are considering doing it soon and as a mighty fine retirement option. And as for sleeping behind Denny's, it doesn't matter where one sleeps, it's how one lives when awake. Traveling far and wide with the Mrs. Panic will be fun everyday.
And should we ever tire of it - we just pop back down to Florida and live in our fully paid off home. Yes, we're keeping it. We might get to missing the kids and grandkids and soon-to-be great-grandkids. Who knows?
But that decision is ours to make. We control our lives and destinies. No bosses. No worries except the certainty of declining health in our old age. It's been a good run, and one more time, we have the opportunity to go off on a grand adventure.
When you are my age, I hope you have stories of your life to tell the grandkids, stories better than tales about jobs and real estate and vacations. Vacations to us are escapism for normies. Enjoy your years as best you can. Best wishes to you and yours.
[ + ] Nosferatjew
[ - ] Nosferatjew -1 points 1.4 yearsDec 18, 2023 02:54:49 ago (+0/-1)