Thursday, April 14, 2016

Sharon Says Some People Still Don’t Get It!!!

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I guess some people just don’t get it.  We are currently spending a month in our old home town of College Station Texas enjoying time with old friends and familiar haunts  At one of these haunts at happy hour one of our long-time friends asked incredulously, “Aren’t you ready to settle down yet…after all you live in a tin can”.  Gee whiz. I was speechless for a moment.  Then I replied that I was NOT ready to settle down nor did I feel I lived in a tin can.   It did make me pause to think about why it is so hard for old friends to wrap their minds around what we are doing.  I guess they saw that we, like many of our peers with growing families went from starter home to big and bigger homes.  So I guess this friend was flabbergasted we could go “backward”.

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Upon reflection I remember we started out in a small rental apartment, moved to home ownership with a small trailer house and then sold it for a profit for our first “starter home”.  This was a 1500 square foot house with three bedrooms and two baths (1500 square feet) and was brand new!  We enjoyed that house with our toddler son for 6 years until our daughter was born.  Suddenly in short order, this once loved house soon became too small.  We kept the house as a rental income but purchased a much bigger 3 bedroom home which John, with his building expertise, expanded to a 4 bedroom 2 and a half bath 2400 square foot home.  We loved this house with the large glassed in atrium in the center filled with tropical plants and a pond. It also had a huge front and back yard. It was our American Dream….that is until the kids grew up and left.  How empty and huge it seemed without them there.  What a drag it became to clean and maintain.  I suffered quite a depression in my empty nest.

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Next I had the idea we should purchase an RV to give us the opportunity to sell our big empty house, see all of our daughter, Katie’s collegiate senior year softball season then travel together as retirees!  John fully embraced the idea and as he always does he researched, gathered our funds and made a plan.  The house I once loved became the albatross of STUFF we had to sell, a place to spruce up for potential buyers and an overall speed bump to being where I wanted us to be.  With patience and hard work we unloaded the albatross and downsized enough to fit into our new condo on wheels.  Off we went and we have never looked back.

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What is not to like?  Yes, it is smaller than any our former homes but I cherish that I have had a different view out of my windows every single month in these last 5 years.  I have seen beautiful beaches, mountains, deserts, meadows, and valleys.  I have met the most interesting and wonderful like-minded people I would never otherwise met had we not chosen this path.  I have no regrets and no desire to stop anytime soon.  I know that friend of mine can’t in any way see nor understand why I like this lifestyle. It makes me sad for him because I love my “tin can” and I wish I could put into words for this friend to not worry about me.  I am more than happy in this simpler, smaller house on wheels than I ever would have been had I stayed here.  How lucky I was I had John who helped us move beyond the maybe to the yes we can! I know there are legions of us that “get it” and love the opportunities offered in this nomadic life.  It’s not for everybody, but it sure is for me…

20 comments:

  1. Love this post! We couldn't agree with you more. We have friends that ask us the same thing (although we have only been on the road a couple of years). People seem to think that we're "looking" for the right place to live...not so! We love the journey and that is what it is all about.

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  2. Very well said, and good for you. Peace be with you.

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    1. Thanks, and hope we cross paths again sometime...

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  3. Even though we part time now, we are asked the same thing. We tell people we wouldn't trade not seeing this gorgeous country for anything. We tell them that we are so blessed to be able to travel. The next thing we hear is....I have always wanted to do that. Well then...do it!

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    1. or don't do it and leave the beauty of our country all to us ;)

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  4. That this is not a lifestyle for everybody goes without saying. I'd say that most of the people we know from before retirement didn't, and still don't, get it. Having too many "toys" and not wanting to give them up seems to be a common thread. Each to his own ... even if we aren't as actively traveling on the road with the motorhome because we're also doing overseas travels, I'm glad we're pursuing this lifestyle.

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    1. yes, there certainly isn't much space in the RV for "toys"...

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  5. We've noticed the same thing. Our old friends from "back home" just don't understand how and why we do this. When we go back to visit they are all still stuck in the same lives they were in when we left. We are so glad we escaped!

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  6. I could have written this myself. Almost exactly. We love the life and will do it until we can't anymore and then slow down.

    We have heard the same thing from friends. Once when relating that we loved the fact that so often the first thought in the morning is
    "where are we", our friend was aghast!

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  7. Excellent posting, we still get the same thing, being fulltime now in our 10th year. What is not to love about it. Meeting amazing people, different scenery, outside very day , fresh air and exercise.
    And people ask what will you do when you are unable, you don't have a house? Well If we aren't healthy enough to do this any more we don't want to look after a house either, There is lots of options and we will know when the time comes.
    Like you said they just don't get it.

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  8. We often wonder as we are hiking in another beautiful place in this glorious country, what some of our old friends are doing this fine day back in our hometown living the same life. Yes, this isn't for everyone. You need to have a special relationship with your spouse and a desire to see new things and take a risk. I feel some are wishing they had what we have:) We, too, love our "tin can." I will never have a large house again. I love that everything is just steps away and sooo easy to clean...more time for playing:)

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  9. We know what you mean, people still think we are on "vacation" even after 7 1/2 years! Not everyone will enjoy this lifestyle but then not everyone enjoys a lifestyle of staying put in one place and owning a house, nice that we can all live our dreams. Keep on enjoying the life! :-)

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  10. And for us too! It's perfect and I hope never to have to go back to "stay in one place" living. It's interesting though that the reaction from our friends and people we meet is always how they envy us. No one has ever wondered why we do it. And with the increase in RV sales and people in the campgrounds and numbers of full timers now, it's pretty clear it is becoming increasingly popular. Thus of necessity reservations become more and more necessary as does planning far in advance. Those are the only two things I don't like about my life style.

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  11. You hit it on the nail.We started full timing in 2002 and never looked back.So many people live in there own little world and can't see what's beyond.Carolyn Kidd

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  12. After almost 3 years we are heading back to our old home town Now I wonder what kind of reaction we will get.

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  13. I too couldn't wait to get rid of our big house with all the stuff in it and all the chores that went along with it. Now we too are living in a tin can (we prefer to think of it as our luxury pullman car:-)) and couldn't be happier. Even when I think of settling down again one day, I don't want the responsibility of home ownership. This life of seeing the country from the comfort and coziness of our "tin can" suits me just fine!

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  14. I feel the same way, Sharon. Keep enjoying!!!

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  15. I think it's wonderful that you two are able to embark on this adventure together. You're so lucky to have each other! I would love to do something like that, but alas, not alone.

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  16. Yup. I've had that feeling too. Like I'm the old weird aunt who lives in a truck. (The Ford 450 that hauls my Winnebago around. Shame on "them" if they don't get it!
    Take it easy
    Clancy

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  17. This is the life we chose, lets keep on rolling and enjoy the scenery and smell the roses.

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