Hello Everyone!

My name is Melissa Davis. My husband Matt and I hope to be future fulltimers. With some luck and lots of determination, we're aiming for sometime in 2014. This should allow us time to pay off all debt and save cash to purchase an RV in full, no financing.

We are young. I am 32, he is 34. I lived in Moorhead, MN (Fargo, ND) until June of this year when I was given the opportunity to transfer to Omaha, NE with the company I've worked for during the past 5 years. We own a house in MN but have friends renting. 

When I was younger, it was very important for me to never become complacent. I loved adventure, travel, and meeting new people. Then I graduated college, got a well-paying job, and a mortgage. I also got deadlines and 50+ hours of work per week. I really like my company, my coworkers and even my boss! But, I always have the nagging feeling at the end of a 12 hour day that all I've done with my day is work. I don't get outside... it feels as if the day did not even happen. I feel like I am neglecting my wonderful relationship, my health, and my spirituality. I know in my heart that when I am an old woman, I will look back and think, "How I would give anything to be 32 again!" 

The move was a huge change. The adventure reinvigorated us! It reminded me of all the possibilities in our life. Every time I heard about someone living full-time in an RV, I've always been jealous and thought, "Let's do that when we're retired someday!" But after reevaluating our lives, we came to an important decision. "Let's do whatever it takes to make this happen! Let's not count on longevity." What if, in our old age (assuming we reach it!), we aren't physically capable of living our dream?

My husband is very computer savvy and we're looking into him working tech-support from home. As for me, I work in management at a call center and have found numerous companies who allow their employees to take calls from home. Some are even management positions with benefits! Regardless, we would take whatever type of work that would allow us to follow this path.

We don't plan on children, but will take our two cats in tow. We're new to this, and we hope to attend the 2013 Spring Rally to get some hands-on advice and experience. (I have to wait until the 1st of the year to register... to ensure I can get time off from work!) In the meantime, I would love any and all advice you think would be helpful. I would especially like to hear from other young couples who have embarked on this adventure.

I'm excited to be here. Thanks to everyone for participating in this forum. So far, it's been a wonderful resource! 

Melissa & Matt 

P.S. Below is a poem that moved me when I first read it at age 17.  I distinctly remember printing it, to remind myself to follow my dreams and never let fear obscure opportunity. I forgot about it entirely, then found it again 15 years later when we were moving. It was like finding a remindered addressed, "Dear Future Self"! 

__________

George Gray

I have studied many times

The marble which was chiseled for me—

A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.

In truth it pictures not my destination

But my life.

For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;

Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;

Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.

Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.

And now I know that we must lift the sail

And catch the winds of destiny

Wherever they drive the boat.

To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,

But life without meaning is the torture

Of restlessness and vague desire—

It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

Edgar Lee Masters