working - RV-Dreams Community Forum

bubbadan · RV-Dreams Family Member

working

blessthisvoyage · RV-Dreams Community Member

WOW, we know exactly where you're coming from. We too are sick of taxes, taxes, more taxes, house payment going up year-after-year & house/yard cleaning -- especially picking up sticks & limbs every time the wind blows, as we have a TON of trees and the leaves are falling -- AGAIN!! I am a retired civilian AF court reporter & my husb is a production manager and we are sooo ready to give it all up and "HIT THE ROAD." We are preparing the house to sell and we pray we are OUTTA HERE in early 2010.

2007 Winnebago Voyage
No Toad -- YET

Happytrails · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are both retired. I retired two years ago after teaching for 35 years and Mike retired in August after 37 years in food service management. He retired a little early. Neither of us are 62. We closed on our house August 14th and moved into the motorhome August 18th. We have worked toward this goal for about 4 to 5 years. The house was getting to be too much for Mike and I to keep up. We had a beast of a yard. Beautiful but high maintenance. Mike would not have been able to retire early if we had stayed in the sticks and bricks. Taxes, electric bills, insurance etc. going higher and higher. We found ourselves working in order to keep the house going and one day stopped and asked each other "why?" We have my teacher retirement pension and investments to live on and plan to workamp/volunteer some to help with the budget as needed.

Good luck in your efforts to simplify. It is really nice to reduce the stress in your life and just simply enjoy each day.

traveljunkie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Bubbadan,

Although we don't live in our RV full time, I've worked out of it a couple of weeks at a time. I work for a large software company and my company makes it easy to work wherever you are (sometimes good, sometimes bad). Last year I was traveling extensively for work - and I realized if I can work anywhere around the world, I can work from my RV! This year with travel restrictions across most industries, I'm traveling less for work and have been able to spend more time in our RV. Since our house isn't selling we put our 5th wheel in a seasonal site so we would use it more often.

It's been great working out of the rig. I still work a lot, but it's nice to look out the window and see lots of trees and wildlife. Also since my schedule isn't 9 to 5, it's nice to be able to go for a walk or kayak when I take a break. I'm tired of the snow in Northern Illinois, so this winter I'll be working out of it for 3 months in Mesa, Arizona. My company has an office in Phoenix, so I can go into the office if I need to.

I use a Sprint aircard and antenna with booster, this gives me a pretty strong signal so I can connect to our company network.

Beth

-- Edited by traveljunkie on Monday 7th of September 2009 07:07:29 PM

rheadabovewater · RV-Dreams Family Member

I live in my RV which is stationary, and work full-time. I decided when I got laid off in April 2009 that I wanted to change my life, so I gave my landlord notice (I was renting a house) and bought my rig and had the dealer move it to a park in Half Moon Bay, CA. I can't retire for at least another ten years, but at least I'm living where I really want to. And the best thing of all is that I save $1,000/month living here vs. my rented house. Amazing, isn't it?

I hope that helps? Roberta

coal · RV-Dreams Community Member

Been doing it some 13 years now. Would'nt have it any other way. It's alot harder up here in Canada due to the cold winters and most campgrounds being closed. I stay at my business for the winter months and thats when I do the bulk of my work anyhow.

Workinrvers · RV-Dreams Family Member

We moved into the 5th wheel fulltime on March 15th, 2009 and our house closed in May. Our home is now at the KOA Campground about 20 miles from our former house. We both are still in our careers. DW's company just started a work from home deal last May so her commute now is about 30' !

We are planning for retirement in 2014 (me) and early 2015 for her and then we'll be able to work camp and travel.

So far we really love living in the 5th wheel. I'm not sure how the winter will go but we are preparing for it and will "go with the flow".

phyllen · RV-Dreams Family Member

We moved into our fiver in January this year. We retire on Sept 30 and will start out traveling 10/5. We had a large house on 2.5 acres that we LOVED. But got tired of the upkeep. Only thing we miss about it is our horses that we sold last summer. My daughter will buy the house and has lived in it since we moved out. She gets married 9/19. She owns a condo which she is trying to sell. Just leased it out last month.

I am 65 and started SS in Jan. I am allowed to earn 38,700 this year. To keep under that amount, I work 16-20 hours a week and I get to chose days and hours. I am in Human Resources. Len works maintenance at a State Prison only 3 miles from where we have the fiver parked. He will be 61 in Jan so we will really have to watch the pennies for 15 months until he can start his SS.

We currently live in a very small "campground", ( I use that term loosely). We pay only $350 a month and that INCLUDES electric and cable. Can't beat it. We are living here cheaply but realize time is passing us by. We are still healthy and want to be able to enjoy a few years on the road.

Our friends in the motor home next to us have lived in it about 8 years while still working.

She-Nist · RV-Dreams Community Member

Coal,
Just curious, what brand of fiver are you in?
My house (that I finally sold last month) was old and uninsulated and VERY COLD in the winter...I'm concerned about insulation and R factors, because I do not want to be wearing 3 pairs of sweat pants and socks on my hands in December. :)

I've got a LOOOOOONG way until retirement....so I'll continue to work while living in the trailer.

Thanks for any info you can offer!
She-Nist

I'm ready to not mow, not paint, not go to Lowe's every weekend....I think Jimmy Johnson owes me a ride in his car, I've spent so much money at Lowe's.
---She-Nist

-- Edited by She-Nist on Saturday 12th of September 2009 08:25:34 PM

TrailsEnd · RV-Dreams Community Member

Well Nikki and I certainly agree with you on the upkeep of the ye ol’ homestead. It seems there is always something. In the winter of 2008 we put up our house for sale before prices went any further south. We lucked out and sold in 2 weeks at our asking price. We moved into our motorhome full time on June 21, 2008. We have been here at the Newport Dunes in Newport Beach, CA since that time. We have enjoyed most of it. Not all chores have disappeared we still need to keep the motorhome in top condition. We both worked full time jobs until August 24, 2009. I then went part time working 4 days a week from the motorhome, going into the office one day a week. During the past year I have put in many processes and cross-training to make this a reality. Hopefully I will be able to continue with this work program with a modification of not going into the office at all. Since I just turned 64, I have only 11 more months before Medicare will kick in. For me health insurance is a must due to pre-existing conditions preclude me from getting individual insurance. I am in the cobra window but that means keeping a California residency since you can not take it across state lines. On the upside Nikki is very healthy so we are 11 months from changing residency and being gypsies. By the way at this park about 35-40% of the people are long term “guests”.

Joe & Nikki Wright

2007 Mandalay Presidio 39E

2006 Jeep Wrangler

SKP #91530

FMCA #384390

“Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day” – Ian Anderson