Why RV Life?

What is it about RV life that is so appealing? Living full-time in an RV allows me to escape the loud city and find quiet places to call home.

Last night I went to bed and stared at the stars in the sky through my open window. I listened to the trees rustling in the wind, and the breeze kept me cool as I dozed off to sleep. Nothing but silence, just the howling coyotes in the distance. Their sounds grew faint as they moved through the night desert.

Looking at the stars took me back to the summers I spent outside until midnight talking to the neighborhood kids. We didn’t do anything except sit on the hood or trunk of someone’s car and talk about nothing for hours. Unlike today’s models, you could do that in the olden days when cars were square. The sky back then was abundant with stars. Sometimes, we would see a shooting star. Our parents knew we were all outside. We were home when the streetlights came on as required, and then we would plop down into one of our yards for the night. We were quiet, not causing any trouble or annoying our neighbors. We just sat and spent the rest of our evening chatting until we were tired. Around midnight one of us would say, “I’m tired. See you in the morning.” And everyone went home. No one complained. It was a normal routine every summer break. We were happy and content.

This blissful summer childhood memory is the same town I live in as an adult. I haven’t seen a starry night sky in about thirty years or more. The busy, overgrown city of Las Vegas is noisy and crowded. The casino strip lights take away the opportunity to see any stars in the night sky. Instead, you hear ambulances and police sirens, loud modified cars, and motorcycles racing up and down the streets almost every night. Eh, it’s just not my thing. Living full-time in an RV allows me to escape the loud city and find quiet places to call home.

If you go down the YouTube rabbit hole of #RV Life, you would think every day is a vacation spent roaming around National Parks, traveling and exploring state to state that most people can only visit two weeks a year out of their lives. It is a rabbit hole, and no RV life is not even close to being like that. Like at all. For most, it is the reality of work camp jobs, seasonal jobs that last a few months, earning enough money to get you to the next job location. Several work remotely, and then there are the retirees who have spent their whole lives working and saving for this very moment. The famous YouTubers spend nearly 80 hours a week pumping out those videos, and hats off to them. It is a lot of work. Soliciting sponsorships, editing, planning, and money. It takes money to go to those places and travel that way. I admit, yes, I was in that rabbit hole, envious of their life. I do have a YouTube channel for PetsLifeAdventure. There is nothing on it; someday, I may make videos. I wanted to secure the name on all channels of social media.

I read a lot of marketing sites daily, and I read a line from one that said, “Do one thing and do it well.” The writer was referencing that rather than juggling multiple avenues of content creation. Do one. So, for now, I am working on mastering this blog site with content about my life from a keyboard. I work to get better at it each week. Plus, I love writing. A huge thank you to those who stop by for a read each week.

My one takeaway from watching all those videos was that living life on the road is doable. I just noted what not to do and what to expect. My main goal was to live a quiet life from one destination to the next. Taking in the opportunity to do what I have always wanted to do – live on the road. Every day is not a vacation. Some days I worry about next week or where we will go next month? There are a lot of uncertainties in living this way. If the rig breaks down, where will we stay? Will I have enough money to fix it and find alternative living arrangements? We have had a few breakdowns, and we were able to fix them without alternative accommodations.

I think that is what scares most people about full-time RV living. The lack of security you get when you have a permanent home. People want all the answers before they commit to RV life. The reality is that there are no answers. Every person lives differently, travels differently, and has different requirements and expectations. And most importantly, the funds to live the nomadic life. It’s not a cheaper way to live. I shared our expenses in a previous blog Full-time RV Life What Does it Really Cost?

We’ve done a couple of the national parks. We visited the first national park of Yellowstone. That was a disappointment. Maybe I’ll share that next week.

So why do I live the RV Life? And why am I so happy and content living this way? Location. I prefer to live in a small space with a great view. I spend most days inside my little home on wheels. I’ve owned three traditional homes and got rid of them all. I’ve had good jobs and walked away from them. I get bored and antsy. I am always wanting something different. I end up all over the place with no direction. With RV life, I have the ability to live in different places without the hassle of buying and selling homes or worrying about the cost of living in different states. I work on my writing or a creative project (I love crafting and painting), taking walks when the weather is good. I spend time outside, enjoying the views, reading a book, or chatting with my neighbors. I get more exercise than I did when I lived in a traditional home. The dogs require leashed walks to go out and do their business. With three dogs to walk daily, and one of them is a challenge to walk, like our German Shephard Sasha, I go out multiple times. I noticed after six months of RV life, I lost about ten pounds. We eat better than we did at home. I think it’s from the walking. My mental state is calmer. I sleep better. I feel better. I am not so tired and mentally exhausted all the time. RV life is not for everybody. You have to be okay with living simply. The more you have, the longer it takes to pack up and set up, and the more money it requires. The bigger your rig is, the fewer options you have for camping. I will live this life as long as I can.

Thanks for stopping by for a read. I appreciate you!