IS FULL-TIME RVING RIGHT FOR EVERYONE?

The more we live this life-style I question myself less and less about did we make the right choice! Lots and lots of folks dream of "full timing" as this life-style is called. But is full-timing for everyone?
Last count there is over a million North Americans that are full-timers, living permanently in their RVs with no permanent address. Many are retired, many work part of the year, just long enough for a  a few extra bucks to keep them going for a few months or a year or so, some campwork a few hours a week to pay for their full-hook up site and that is what we do, work so we can afford to live where we want not where we have to!
A large number of engineers, construction workers, writers are fulltimers, living in their motorhomes and traveling from job to job. It's a very efficient means of handling the housing problem, especially if you would otherwise be moving a lot to relatively brief work sites.
For some retirees, they have the blessing of not having a house to maintain or house payments, insurance or taxes to pay, we can't wait to sell our house so we will be free of these burdens, right now we feel chained to our home until it is sold. Housecleaning is so much easier and quick, there's no lawn to mow, there's no snow removal problem in the winter. And the scenery is wonderful. Every day we can enjoy the scenery that city folks would pay for if they could buy it at all, and for us it's free. And about the time we are tired of it, we can change it!  One great thing about workamping is you don't have to leave in 14 days like at most campgrounds, we get to stay for at least 6 months, we are in a resort setting so we have use of a heated pool in the winter, entertainment weekly, pancake breakfasts, bingo, Texas Hold em, shuffle board, golfing, pool leagues, ice cream socials, etc. plus we get to met new people every day from all over this great country and a lot from Canada, some with beautiful diesel pushers, trailors, fifth wheelers, old motorhomes, small motorhomes, there is a fifth wheel next to us that I believe use to be a horse trailor, there is a van or a Class B that is built on a van chassis with an elevated roof, so you can stand up inside and there are the park models that many who have decided to make them thier winter homes or some it's their permanent home!  I have met a French Canadian with an thick french accent, he has an older motorhome, oh, I'd say about 20 years old or older, he has this beautiful painting on the side of mountains, clouds, lakes, etc. I couldn't help but stop by and ask him about it, he said that he hired a local from around here a couple of years ago and the guy showed up at 8 am that morning and was done in the later afternoon, he used waded up newspaper and paste (I think, he spoke in very broken english) to give the painting a 3-D look, the painter only asked for $250 but he was so impressed he paid him a lot more, not sure how much more because I couldn't understand too much, lol! But he was as proud of that motorhome as the guy down the road from him with a $300,000 diesel pusher! Then there is the money, you have to have an adequate source of funds to make this work! You'll need a minimum of about $8,000 a year to live comfortably, less if you're into living without eating out everyday or wanting to pay to go to every tourist trap along the way, and even more if you want to be able to spend freely. Your spending of money will have to be more disciplined, but you'll need to have a steady supply of small amounts of cash and enough cash reserve for emergency vehicle repairs. Your vehicle is your home, so learn to live with less things and have a plan in mind in case something happens and incase your home needs to go in for repairs, we were fortunate when that happened to us, we talked the repair shop into let us plug in and stay in it until it was fixed, it helped that my son worked for them also, but most wouldn't allow that because of insurance reasons!. Full replacement cost insurance is a really good idea. If you plan on working, you'll need a vehicle that is acceptable to most RV Park operators, and that means a factory built motorhome and one that is newer, we are fortunate to be in a park where they are not so fussy. You'll also need a steady source of workamp jobs, I go thru workamp, vagabonds, KOA worker site, etc. we are looking constantly for our next gig, never too early to start looking. You will need to be self-reliant. You'll need to be able to change a tire, check your vehicle's vital fluids, fix a leaking roof, repair broken plumbing, etc. or have someone you can count on to help you with these things, we had my son Matt and his place of employment do a lot of these things. But once you are out there on your own and you have a leaking faucet and you have to call someone to fix it and everything that else that needs repairing well, you better think twice about full-timing. You could be hundreds of miles from anyone who could fix it for you. Even if you knew where to find someone, and all your propane is leaking from a loose fitting, or your roof is leaking in a pouring rain, you'll need to fix it right away, you normally don't have the option of waiting till you can find someone to do it for you. Well, anyways, just a few things to think about, but to tell you the truth we have had pretty good luck so far but we also had everything gone thru before we left home, Craig won't leave without being 100% sure everything was mechanically sound and when we get back to Michigan we will have it gone thru again! Just a few things to think about if anyone thinks of doing what we are doing and for anyone who has been following this blog know that we have had our problems but our desire to live our dream keeps us going and remember we are still new at this! Well, gotta go and get ready to go listen to the band tonight!  So until next time God Bless!