Hello everyone! We are Frank and Linda. We are located in Norfolk, VA, where we live, work and go to school. Linda is currently in nursing school, and doing very well, I might add.
We are on a 3 year countdown to a full-time RVing life, so that puts us in the class of 2014. Linda wants to pursue traveling nursing once she gets a couple of years of experience under her belt, here in this area. I am an aircraft mechanic with a regional airline, but will retire from that when we get ready to leave. I'm very flexible and ready to doing just about anything I can find for work, depending where my wife finds the most interesting opportunities and locations for her.
We have started doing our RV Lifestyle homework, from searching the web for travel nursing and workamping info, to going to RV shows, visiting dealers and checking out what's available on the used market. Right now we are thinking about a Class A diesel pusher and towing a car hauler with a couple of SmartCars, along with other toys, inside. I am (sans Linda unfortunately-school) considering coming to the fall rally near Hershey. That could be a blast! Any other newbies planing the same? See-ya down the road!

Hi Frank and Linda! Welcome!! We are also on the way to fulltime living! We're hoping to jump on the band wagon in 2013, but as we talk about it more and more I don't know that we can wait that long :) We plan on attending the rally in Hershey! Right now we have a 30' pull behind and the truck we tow with is an older one. We live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and I don't know if the truck will hold up for the drive there, so I think we'll be in a hotel. We've also been looking around for what we want for a fulltime rig. We're thinking of a 5ver with a Ford F-350. Of course we HAVE to bring a boat along with us so we're also looking at a rack to put on the truck that holds a 14' boat. We're definitely going to be a sight to see when driving down the road! I'm also a nurse, but I'm trying to get by without working. We'll see.... Frank, what kind of airline mechanic are you? My daughter is in the airforce and is a fuel line mechanic. Hope you guys make it to Hershey! We'd love to meet you!

Hi Frank and Linda, Welcome! :) We are also planning our fulltime life, and like you, we are in the class of '14! Three years seems like a long time to wait, but I know it will go by quickly. We have been researching and planning for 2 years already, and those 2 years have flown by! Unfortuanately we won't be coming to Hershey, as we have a vacation planned to VA in the fall. We are signed up for the April rally, which I can't believe is only a few weeks away now!! I am sure the Hershey rally will be great though - there is so much to learn, and it will so awesome to also be able to attend the Hershey show!

Welcome to the forum...sounds like you've got some adventures planned!

Welcome!  My wife and I are both RN's and gonna be's also.  My wife travel nursed for years and it works well for her personality.  I, on the other hand, and am a little nervous about it.  I love travelling and a lot of change in my life, but I don't enjoy starting new jobs!  I should mention I have been an RN 11 years, am a charge nurse, pretty much know what I am doing.  So I suspect we will do a hybrid.  I may get a PRN job in a hospital in California, and try to come back to it over and over again. (CA pays the best in the country.) Or maybe a travel job 2x a year, but to the same hospital each time.  I mention this b/c nursing is very much "on the job training" and it is a job that takes years to get good at.   Travel nursing can be very difficult.  Depending on the unit, of course, travel nurses tend to get used and abused.  Hardest assignments, no one is invested in teaching you anything, or in helping you.  It makes a funky work environment if you make more money but know less than your co-workers.  You have to really know your stuff.  Of course - some units are fabulous, but you make a commitment before you know what the unit is like.  Also, you have to decide if you are willing to cross picket lines.  I am very pro-union, but have no problem with working a strike.  (Nursing strikes are different - we don't actually want grandma to die b/c no one is taking care of her.  We just want to make people know it matters if we don't come to work.  And if you refuse to pay us $35/hr you'll be forced to pay a scab $100 /hr.)  

  Just some thoughts.  None of this may apply to your wife, but we have been thinking about this for a while, and trying to figure it out.  Too young to retire, but just right to semi-retire.
Heidi

-- Edited by Pinon on Thursday 17th of March 2011 01:32:23 PM

Welcome Frank and Linda - We, too, are in the planning stage, and hope to be in the class of '12. RV Dreams is a great group of people and I know you'll feel right at home!

Welcome Frank and Linda. As you can see from some of the comments here, you will find folks who have similar backgrounds and experiences as you. Do not be afraid to ask question as you will certainly find honest and experienced responses here.
My wife retired at end of 2010 and I retired after 15 years of corporate education at Driscoll Children's Hospital. While my background is not in the clinical world, I can say the travel clinical staff we have used truly enjoy their travel status. In the hospital here created winter PRN positions to take advantage of RN's who happen to also be Winter Texans.
Good luck with your plan. Hope to meet you on the road some day. We hope to start our travels in about 12-18 months.

Thanks everyone for making us feel welcome! I've done a couple of research papers on travel nursing, which has just served to intrigue me further into this lifestyle. We are in the baby-steps toward our goal with the luxury of time on our side. The number one goal is to finish school at the top of my class. Along the way we plan to research, visit, investigate, and meet every person, place and things we can to take a leap of faith. I look forward to meeting everyone along the way...Linda

Welcome Frank and Linda! I wish I had the disposition to be a nurse. We've run into some really great ones in Johnny's hospital stays. Unfortunately, I just don't have the constitution for it. Time has a way of flying and 2014 will be here before you know it. We're in the process of emptying the house in order to lease it this summer. We have a 5th wheel toy hauler and a F350 now. We're looking for a MH for our fulltiming home.

Welcome Frank and Linda-- Hope to see you at Hershey-we hope to fulltime in 2012 if we can get our budget in order.  We will be going to the upper Peninsula of Michigan this summer with another couple-any suggestions.

Lots of suggestions for the U.P.! What part of the summer are you going? Are you looking for places to go, scenery, or great RV parks?

Hello everybody! Thank you all so much for your kind welcomes. Linda and I are very excited about our dream. It was really fun to read about your plans and dreams and find out we are not crazy or alone. This site s great. It is giving us more to think about than we realized, but for now, time is on our side, like it is for many of you. Let's learn together. Thanks Waggin Tails and Pinon for your comments on travel nursing. Every bit of info is an eye opener at this point and is very much appreciated, especially by Linda. Wow, the UP is a popular place in this thread. It's absolutely beautiful up there with lots of solitude. We have no plans of going up there for now. I (with wife #1) use to live in Appleton, WI, and would travel through there now and again. JBarrett72, airlines operate differently than the military(what doesn't, right?). We airline mechanics don't specialize in any one system or structure. We each develop our own strengths and preferences though, and help each other out as much as possible. In the airlines, I might be called upon to change a reading light bulb or a soiled seat cushion one minute. The next, I might need to troubleshoot a sticky flight control or an engine that won't start. You just never know. My interest and strength is engines. When I get finished with this post, I'm going to sign up for the fall Hershey rally. Bonnie and Clyde, I will look for you there along with all our new friends from this site. Unfortunately, my Linda wont be in attendance. She will be finishing up her nursing program but is all for me going and reporting back. Can't wait! Peace to you all.

Welcome Frank & Linda,
  Glad to have you aboard the RV Dreams "Dreams Train". We have been here for a few years now but just recently made the decision to go Full Timing. If you want a laugh or two on our progress visit our blog at http://dtraill.blogspot.com/.
  Hope to see more of you here and maybe someday we will meet up.

Take care,
tom and donna

Thanks, Tom & Donna, for the nice welcome! I read the first story on your blog about the 4" hole in the sidewall. I've had that sort of conversation several times myself. I can relate. I look forward to reading more. See you on the site and down the road! Cheers to you both. Frank & Linda