Hi everyone! Me and my hubby, Scott are in our mid 50's, love family, travel, golf. I just happened on this website, rv-dreams.com, last night doing a search for 'living on the road', and am I glad I did!!
Found wonderful people, a wealth of information, and HOURS later found I had a new passion ... living life free of the possessions, frustrations and heaviness that abound when you are struggling to just exist - as you know it.
Excitement and anticipation have replaced the societal rat-race feelings. The last 2 years have been challenging and I know we are not alone with the economy as it is! DH currently unemployed (more off than on as management/sales in the auto industry), me as a self employed entrepreneur (2 internet based part time ventures plus antique store vendor), losing a retreat house/business, selling our main home to move permanently to the 'cabin/weekend home' where my parents had rented and maintained for 6 years, then losing my dad to cancer, mom to remarrying and moving out, and then we found ourselves reduced to one home and struggling in an area with high unemployment.
So, we finally put this home up for sale a couple of weeks ago and are discussing our options of moving back to the 'big city', which is where we tried to get away from. Okay, this makes no sense. We absolutely LOVE living by the lake where we can watch nature unfold but what do you do. WELL ... now I know ... we can RV!! This option is at the top of our list! We can go anywhere and do anything, as long as we can make some income along the way and after reading a lot here, maybe it really is possible with our capabilities?!?  ie. Hubby - Auto Sales/Manager/Finance (he knows his stuff!), Training, Speaking. Me - Admin background with major food company, now do internet sales of vintage/household/collectibles, sewing/creating/selling home decor, scrapbooking, and revamping furniture and things shabby chic style.
I still have 2 main concerns even if this income thing is figured out, though. One is family and not being there for our five grown children/spouses and four young grandchildren for any length of time. The other is what do you do and where do you park a 5th wheel/RV when you want to come home for a period of time, such as winter for Christmas? I'm sure these answers are in here somewhere but my hubby keeps checking to see when I'll get off the computer to help him get ready for the garage sale we need to have ... so I can't stay on here to find all my answers. ('m ready to purge!)
Anyway, I'm so excited to meet anyone that wants to say hello and pass on some encouraging or helpful words!

Dreaming and taking a step of faith to a new beginning,
Cindy (& Scott), Up-North Minnesota
aka cabingramma (for now anyway!)


http://www.cabingramma.etsy.com

Welcome cabingramma! If I were you, I'd consider snowbirding. You could arrange your visits with family and friends in Minnesota during the summer months - not the dead of winter. Be unconventional, celebrate Christmas in July! Like the song, "Everybody's Talking at Me" says: "I'm going where the sun keeps shining Thru' the pouring rain, Going where the weather suits my clothes, Backing off of the North East wind, Sailing on summer breeze And skipping over the ocean like a stone." Chip

From one Minnesota resident to another, welcome to this great site. I think you are on to something and Sushidog has a great idea. If you want to be with family for the holidays, park your rig and fly or drive, leaving your living space where it is warm. Glad you found us.

Thanks Chip, and Bob & Sue for your suggestion on snowbirding it and just leaving the 'home' behind while we visit family! Sounds like a good starting point and then we can see how it goes. I wish there was a way to just wiggle my nose (since most of you are over 50, you know what I'm talking about!) and be on the road now, though. However, I know that every thing that is worth something is worth waiting for and working towards ... and this lifestyle isn't something you just jump into without a lot of thought, planning and prayer for the right path. I sincerely appreciate your input as those of you who are rv'ing now, are the experts as far as I'm concerned!

Thank you again!! Hope I'll get to meet some of you nice folks in the future!
Cindy and Scott

Welcome Cindy! You have come to the right place for learning, and "meeting" some friendly people. I found this site when I was just starting to explore the idea of living on the road, and now we actually have a timetable and plans in place. :) We have also been exploring options for the holiday question, since my DH has two children and we have one grandson (so far), and of course we both have many other family members that we meet for holidays and family get-togethers. We are hoping to be able to attend important events as much as possible (birthdays etc.) so we have found campgrounds near his daughter's location in MA. We have even found one in CT about an hour away from where she lives that is open year round! (The campgrounds up here where we live are only open from April to Oct.) We know we won't be able to always be there for everything but we will try to do as much as we can, mainly weather permitting. Another factor - we don't know yet where Harry's son is going to land (he's in a training program and will be moving every six months for the next two years, and if he stays with this company, he will be moving all over the country). So we figure our new lifestyle will actually help in that we can travel to wherever the kids are better than we could if we were tied to one location. And the bottom line for us is that, even if we can't always be at every holiday or event, we feel it's the quality of the time spent together with our families, more than how many times, that's important and we both feel that the blessings of our new life will be worth the struggle to balance the two! :)

Hello
You said it rat race..we are getting ut of it when this house sells..And we are not looking back, we have no ties that bind us here paying day in and out for a house.Ner seeing the world because we are paying a high mortgage,,anyway best wishes to you in what ever decision you both make,as the saying goes,,,you only live once,enjoy

I haven't had a chance to say "welcome". We were just like you in that it was stumbling onto this site that set us on the road to full timing. It takes time to make all those decisions and get everything in place. For us it has been about 2 years but last Friday my husband retired and within a week we will be taking off on our adventure. I would recommend reading through all the areas of Howard's site, it is a wealth of information and then ask all those questions here as these people are such a wealth of information. Good luck on your journey.