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Full-timing as a single...


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Thanks Chirakaw, I've been watching this behavior for some time now, and it kind of takes the fun out of reading posts on here.

 

So enough said about that....

 

I have noticed something interesting since I've left two months ago. My friends are now calling and emailing, telling me how they wish they could do what I am doing, but "don't have xyz" in which to do so.

 

Of course those are just excuses. I'm not rich, never will be, but get up each day knowing each choice I make is up to me. My friends tell me that they want to keep in touch to live "through what I do" by hearing what I'm doing, etc... That kind of weighs on me. I don't want to entertain anyone. I tell them they can just as easily get out here too.

 

I'm a firm believer of creating our own life by believing all things are possible. If we can think it, imagine it, it can happen. I have lived my life this way.

 

That means getting out of the box, that nice safe place that we were all trained in early years, how to live. To do what's expected, go with the flow, believe we have no ability of our own to change the course of our life.

 

I've always been opposed to that way of thought. Sadly, there will be many who will not ever chose to venture out of that nice safe box, and discover how truly awesome life can be.

 

I've lived a lot of places, gone a lot of places on my own, so living this way sort is natural for me. I just never thought it would be this much fun!!!

 

I also think there are those who die too soon, by believing in old age. That's just a state of mind. We don't have to be stiff and fat, we can get out there and hike,

keep moving, and smile each day. That's what I plan to do anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Barbara

 

I came back to edit this because I just had a thought. I'm at an Army Corp of Engineers campground, and had a nice chat with the lady

 

in the office when I checked in. She was a cheerful, bubbly lady, who happily told me she loved her job, and has spent the last fourteen years sitting at that same desk. I smiled and said oh isn't that nice, but inside, something hit me. I didn't believe her. How can you know what you're missing, when you don't have the experience? Or maybe she's the type that doesn't want to go anywhere, but deep down, I really wondered how happy she really is. I couldn't stand being at the same desk for one year, let alone fourteen, but then again, I'm not her.

 

 

I think I had a similar mentality only one year ago, before I knew this website existed, or that people lived in RV's! It had never occurred to me. I was restless, bored, and sick of taking care of a house that wasn't taking care of me, in a sense. I was paying for a bunch of boards nailed together on eleven acres that took a hit in the home value market.

 

I bought my trailer without any knowledge of how to even run things in it, but so what? I'm figuring it out.

 

I guess my point is, I feel bad about my friends, but I kind of don't have anything in common with them anymore. I feel like I've kind of left them behind in my old life, the life that was stale and boring. I wonder if anyone else has left friends behind for this reason?

 

wow, I got carried away.

 

Barbara

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I'm a firm believer of creating our own life by believing all things are possible. If we can think it, imagine it, it can happen. I have lived my life this way.

Barbara, you are an excellent example of what I was attempting to point out. You didn't become an "independent lady" when you chose to buy an RV and live in it, but the fact that you already were an independent lady had much to do with that choice and the same things which made you successful before you went on the road continue to make you successful today. Successful fulltimers (or extended travelers for that matter) are more adventurous people than those who require the security of a more fixed lifestyle. I admire the young families of today who are striking out to live on the road while still earning a living as we didn't leave until we had the security of a retirement income. I never really considered fulltime until I was able to take my early out package.

 

It is your way of thinking which has sustained you in the past and is a very common belief in the RV community. The challenges of going on the road that prevent your friends from fulltiming are opportunities to you. While your way of living and your location have changed as you went on the road, your way of thinking remains the same as before. Fulltimers do not all do things in the same way, but they share a willingness to be different and seek their adventure even when it means figuring things out as they go, traveling an uncharted path. You clearly do fit that same pattern. What we have in common is that we are each unique, while most of those we know try to be the same.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I have been divorced for several decades and like being independent, even though sometimes life seems to be divided into couples. I have been full-timing for over four years, and really have not been lonely, but I was well-adjusted to being single for a long time before I got started RVing. I also still teach part-time online, so that has helped me keep in contact with people. Here are some tips for making friends and not being lonely on the road:

  1. You might try volunteering at national or state parks in the visitor centers. You'll have a lot of contact with people there and chances to help people. You will get a free camping space, but the good thing about volunteering instead of work camping is maybe fewer hours and shorter periods of time in one place.
  2. Right after dinner in campground is when people sit outside or go for walks. You might sit outside yourself or go for a walk. If you find someone with a license plate from a state you might want to visit, introduce yourself and ask for suggestions on places to go there.
  3. I find the noise of a TV makes my motorhome feel more like home. I went without satellite TV for seven months before I broke down and bought a dish, but I really think it helped, especially in the dead quiet evenings when there doesn't seem to be anything to do.
  4. Don't hesitate to sign up for tours, ranger talks, and other activities as a solo.
  5. Keep in contact with old friends and relatives via Internet and phone calls. I love traveling because it gives me a chance to visit old friends and the many cousins I have all over the country!

Good luck and give yourself some time to get used to this new life.

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I have been divorced for several decades and like being independent, even though sometimes life seems to be divided into couples. I have been full-timing for over four years, and really have not been lonely, but I was well-adjusted to being single for a long time before I got started RVing. I also still teach part-time online, so that has helped me keep in contact with people. Here are some tips for making friends and not being lonely on the road:

That is a great list! Most/all of that list also apply to couples as well since they too sometimes find it lonely on the road.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I loss my wife of 45 plus years to cancer 3 years ago. I've spent most of my life living/working in Texas work. And now I'm out here in the western states living in a co-op Escapee Park which I'm using as a home base to travel out off.

 

But now I'm all by myself trying to find my way in this new life I've chosen. Down thru the years I made a lot of so called friends who have come and gone our own ways. I still have a couple of friends (married) from the old days, and we still kind of stay in touch with each other. I'm friendly with just about everyone I met alone the way. I've tried to fit in at the co-op park, but it seems to me that there I keep running into these "clicks". They'll greet you with an Hello, and maybe a wave or two while your inside the park. We joined a lot of clubs down thru the years, and they've never really worked out for us. So we've kind of gone our own way thru life.

 

So this summer I took on a camp host position up here in beautiful Utah. I've managed to meet / greet a lot of new people. And I think I really made friends with one elderly couple who are a couple of pistols, if you know what I mean. We're going to try and stay in touch with each other this winter because we're coming back to this same park next year. I don't mean to say I'm a loner, but in a way I kind of like it that way. I get to go where I want, when I want, and if I want. I also meet another lady this summer who kind of likes it the way herself. This is my first year of full-timing, so I figure I'm doing OK.

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So many great experiences and opinions here... thanks to everyone! It's been about a year now since I opened this thread, and while I still haven't "hit the road" (due primarily to some health problems that are better handled close to home before heading out), I am still convinced that fulltime RVing would be a good thing for me and I'm getting things lined up to do that. Almost two months ago, I suddenly lost my 36 year-old son (and father to my grandkids) to an as-yet undetermined health problem (the coroner is still working on this). It again points out the shortness and unpredictability of life, and the importance of just getting out there and living life. The comments about volunteering and/or workamping at the national and state parks have got my attention... think I'll check that out!

 

Thanks again!

Dan

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Great thread with some deep thoughts...hopefully I will never have to experience the road without my DW of 37 years but if it happens, I really believe that I would continue on the same path that we have been traveling. I was also one of those individuals that was confined to a desk job for wayyyy to long before I finally convinced my wife to give it a shot and now she absolutely loves it!! Best of luck to those folks that are doing is as singles, hope we cross paths one day!! Oh, and Dan, give the State parks a try, we absolutely loved it!!




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So sorry Dan for the loss of your son, cannot imagine. My journey started over 19 years ago when I lost my 40 year old sister for no apparent reason. I said then I would not work a day longer than I had to. When the children where done with college, we sold the house snd bought a 36 foot 5 th wheel. This was the rig my husband wanted.

There was only one problem, he really didnt want to go. He lived in the 5th wheel and I worked traveled and learned to sail, we seporatef. Now. 8 years later I finally hit the road. Sometimes life gets in the way of the best plans. Im glad I am living life now. It took health issues and not being able to return to work to really make it happen.

No more waiting!

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Very interesting thread. I appreciate the openness. I've always considered myself a loner in an outgoing persons body. I really enjoy being on my own and have never experienced feeling lonely or missing someone to the point that I had to see them. I'm wired differently I guess. I always have something to do, even if it is taking a nap. lol. Reading, urban exploration, photography, there is so much to do. I think it's just a matter of doing it. So many people I know are already dead. They go to work and then spend all evening watching television. I can't fathom that kind of lifestyle. It seems so mentally restricting. We have two choices, live life fully and completely, or just lay down, give up and die. I prefer to live life fully.

I would rather live like a lion for a day, than live like a sheep for one hundred years.

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