Introduction

Hi!
My name is Joe,i retired from the Air Force in 1987.I currently work at Whiteman AFB as a government employee soon to retire in Oct of 2007.Hope to buy my fifth wheel some time in the fall and maybe head south for the winter.Don't really have a firm travel plan yet,not sure if i should sell my house and just go fulltiming or hold onto it the first year just in case the rv lifestyle is not for me.It's really not a easy decision to make.I'm sure i'll have it all figured out by the time i retire for good.I'll be traveling with my dog (sophie the corky).
Larry, thanks for putting together this site it's really nice.
Joe

Welcome Joe!

Yes, there's lots of decisions to make to go fulltiming. For us, it's been WELL WORTH it! We've only been on the road for 2 1/2 years, but we don't see any end soon.

Thanks for the kind words!

Hi, Joe
I think going full time is a big decision. If it were me, I would be a full timer, but hubby is a home body so we compromise. Have you read any on George's blog vagabonders-supreme.net/
He has been full timing for a few years and he really tells it like it is, to include his budget.

As a fulltimer, it IS a GREAT lifestyle. But everyone's style of traveling is different. George's (at vagabonder) style isn't the norm. I've emailed him and have complained that he doesn't set a good example for the rest of us fulltimers when he constantly breaks the law and stays overnight in places where it's posted NO OVERNIGHT parking. Just because he doesn't get caught, doesn't make it legal.

He also doesn't tow a vehicle, so it's easier for him to park without being noticed. But he is saving money and having fun.

For a different view and style of RV'ing fulltime - you can read all about us (including our expenses) at our website and blog.

Good answer Larry and I agree with you.
And my opinion I believe he is also using those donation money for his own goods.

Our decision to go full-timing or extended-timing was not easy. What primarily drove the final decision was money. We wanted to have our assets spread over several safe investments, one of which was real estate.

What we ended up doing was buying a new, small (1500 sqft) home in a warm climate. We wanted the warm climate so we didn't have to worry about shoveling snow, freezing pipes, or large heating bills. The next thing we did was rip out the newly installed grass and irrigation system and replaced it with landscaped rock and low-maintenance trees with drip irrigation (less expense on water) and we also poured an rv pad. We figured the real estate would increase in value and would be a good place to have part of our money. So far, that has proven correct as it increased about 12% last year.

Next, we bought a cheaper RV. We didn't want to have a lot of money tied up in the RV since it is a depreciating asset. The less you have tied up in the RV, the less you have depreciating.

So far, it has been the right decision for us. We come home during the summer so we can generally avoid the tourists with kids that swarm the campgrounds when school is out. Being "home" for 3 months gives us time to regroup, do maintenance on the rv, see our regular doctors/dentists, see old friends, etc. Below is our little low-maintenace, low tax, hovel. The rv is on the rv pad in the back....