My husband and I are considering buying an RV and living in it with our two young daughters. I am really excited about the idea of seeing different places with our girls, but I am so scared, too. We are trying to research everything but I feel overwhelmed. We recently sold our house--that is good. Family is having a hard time letting us go and they don't really understand our desire to not settle into safe jobs and a mcmansion. I have been reading some of the replies here and have felt more hope. I am wondering about choosing a homebase? How do you do that? Do you choose a permanent residence? Does it work if you don't actually own the residence? I know we should just jump in with....but I am a little scared.

Hi RVMom. There is a wonderful world out there just waiting for those two young ladies and I would encourage you to proceed with your plans to hit the road. Of course, fulltiming with children offers a whole raft of responsibilities and concerns - but it CAN be done and it can be very rewarding. Are the kids already being home schooled? If not you and DH will have to learn how to become very proficient at it. There is a well established network for home schoolers on-line and many groups to help. In my opinion, home schooling requires equal effort from mom and dad. Are you independently wealthy? Can you just travel for years without working? If not, have you thought about how you will earn your keep? You do not have to have a stix-n-brix home anywhere. Your RV will easily provide the necessary protection from wind, rain, snow, etc. In fact, owning a home usually restricts most RVers due to maintenance requirements, utility bills and taxes. When it comes to selecting your state of domicile you must carefully study the different states tax structures, vehicle registration requirements, driver's license requirements, probate law (in the event that your children become heirs after a catastrophic accident), and the state income tax law. There are mail forwarding companies in every state and most can provide a legal address and tons of information about changing domicile. I'm sure you will have millions of additional questions and these discussion forums can be a tremendous resource. Good luck and keep on keeping on. "Not all who wander are lost"

Welcome to the forum!!

Taking the "plunge" to full-timing can be very scary. I would suggest that you study all of Howard's pages on this web site. He has great advice on selecting a home base, and all the other basics that you need to know before starting.

Good luck with your plans.

Jim

Since we were happy in Wisconsin, we just used a relatives address to register our vehicles, insurance, voting, etc. You don't actually need a house.

Wow! This helps so much. We are home schooling already and have great success with that part. We are nowhere close to being independently wealthy so we will have to work. I know I will have many more questions and thanks everyone.

I have to say, we are not fulltimers, BUT we move around A LOT, we homeschool and we may be fulltiming any day.  We have property is two states and a fifth wheel my husband travels and works in so we are on the move.

We have had THE BEST EXPERIENCES in just these two years of moving around.  We all love it.  It is looking like we may be in our fiver fulltime for the next year or two, perhaps in Arizona.  It's all good!

My boys are 14 and 12, well mannered, socialized and intelligent.  We think this lifestyle has been great for them and for us as a family.  They are getting amazing experiences.  This past three days my 14 year old helped our mt neighbor put in an air conditioner from start to finish.  He learned to drive an old 1951 tractor today.  He is just available and willing to help.  My boys are into snakes and gave a talk to a group of homeschoolers about their 4 snakes (yes, we travel with them!  www.snakey-tales.blogspot.com).

Another not oft updated site of our travels is www.thesightseer.blogspot.com

How old are you children?  One of the benefits I have found is my boys are not "peer dependent". They are forced to make new friends in the new locations and then we come and go so they have learned to be okay with that.  I know that sounds like a negative but they have pressed in and are really connected with us and we have less worry with peer pressure (the negative kind , lol!).

Familiesontheroad.com is really very helpful, too

Have fun!  Relax! 

Hello RvMom, just wanted to say howdy. We are here to support you and if you have questions we can help. Getting answers to your questions should relieve some of the stress. I think all of us experiences doubts and stress before we made the jump to full-timing, I know I did. Selling our house was my biggest fear, and once it was a done deal I felt so much better. Lot's of friendly folks here to help...

When I was a child, we did not fulltime, but we traveled every summer.
Either 1 month or 3 months, depending on my father's vacation schedule.

Some of my memories ever were those summers and the many adventures.
As my dad said "honey, this isn't a crisis, it's an adventure."

You will not regret it.

Hi RVMom,

My husband and I are preparing to fulltime soon with our two boys - ages 13 and 10.  We're not homeschooling currently, but plan to when we hit the road.  We just purchased our fulltime RV, and have our house for sale . . . hopefully by this time next year we'll be on the road.

You can learn alot from this site, and from "families on the road" -- I keep up with both as much as possible.

Welcome to this forum -- you'll love it!

Marci

Welcome! You have come to the right place to learn. The folks here are very helpful. You might also want to join Escapees. This is a great organization for fulltimers. www.escapees.com. Howard and Linda are having an RV Dreams rally in October that would be helpful if you could attend. There will be different sessions that you can attend and you will gather a wealth of knowledge. The information is located on this forum, check it out. Good luck and let us know what you decide and if we can help.