[VACList] Full timing

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Bob,

I'll take a stab at it. These are strictly opinions, no more, no less - to
take or to leave.

I suggest keeping the house for the first year. Call it insurance, call it
back-up, call it anything you want.  Don't rush to judgment until you've
played the game long enough to know what it's actually like during the four
seasons of one year.

Everything in the house? Start getting rid of things with no sentimental
value that you haven't put your fingers (all five of them) on during the
last 5 years.  Then, narrow the field slightly using whatever criteria makes
sense to you. Take your time, be thorough and be satisfied with your
decisions. Save the sentimental stuff for last, BUT SAVE ALL THE TOOLS.

Doctors and medications are available everywhere on  the continent, even
Mexico and Canada. Most of them recognize the usual insurance cards. All of
them recognize green backs.  Carry your own medical records and have them in
hand when you see each doctor (and then get his record of your visit).  Our
experience is that a knowledgeable patient who holds himself and others
accountable gets excellent medical service.

Overnight cost to us as full timers for the last 14 years has been between
$6-7 per night. All the other costs of life on this planet have  been about
the same as before we started full timing.  When gasoline costs are too
much, we hole up until we get enough money in that budget category to roll
again - even if only for 100 miles.

Our ball park figure is we live on $1,000 a month. We know of others who
spend much more than that.  In a pinch, we could live on less. We have no
outstanding debts.  We have credit cards and ridiculous lines of credit for
emergency use.  We're not wealthy and don't own stock, but we do know how to
manage our money intelligently (or so we believe).

When traveling, we stay wherever we choose. Only you can determine what
geographic area turns you on. We do not stay where the weather is freezing
or blistering hot.  Generally, we move every week or two. In 14 years, we
have not stayed in one place longer than one month and that occurred only
twice. We seldom stay at campgrounds which charge more than $15 a night and
we often stay at magnificent locations which don't cost us a cent
(especially in the southwestern states).  We've always had solar panels and
at least three deep cycle marine batteries (third one is a spare in the
truck).

Home base is whatever you call it. Some folks say home is where they park
it, others say home is where their grandchildren live, some keep their house
and "visit it" a couple of weeks each year (we do that), while others will
describe all manner of configurations. Bottom line - your call.  Don't get
bent out of shape by definitions.

When we started full timing, one of our goals was to visit all the National
Park Service Campgrounds, all the National Monuments, all the Corps of
Engineers Campgrounds. We're still working on those goals. Another goal was
to stay awhile in all the states in USA and Mexico, plus all the provinces
in Canada.  We've done that except for a few states in the southern part of
Mexico.

We do volunteer work every week in hundreds of way that please our
sensibilities. Each person has their own interpretation of how they can be
helpful to others and contribute to the greater good of mankind. Ooops, that
wasn't one of your questions.

Back in the late 1980s, we started our journey with a 1978 Ford Van E250 tow
vehicle and still tow with it. We started with a '77 31' Airstream and
traded it last month when opportunity knocked so hard it almost broke down
the door.  Our other Airstreams and tow vehicles are at our home base. Until
last year, our daughter lived in our house. She now has her doctorate, got a
real job and then got married. This year,  the cop next door checks our
house and the family next door uses our driveway daily. We also have our
share of nosy neighbors who know the license plate number of every car that
belongs on our little out of the way street.

Neither of us are spring chickens but both of us have an intense curiosity
for exploring the continent with all its nooks and crannies.  We consider
ourselves ordinary average folks following our dreams. We live in a country
where freedom to do that is each person's right.  That's a priceless gift we
are enjoying with great enthusiasm.

At some point in our lives, we'll become "settlers" again, but for now and
the foreseeable future, we'll continue to be "explorers" of this great land.

There are hundreds of other details I'd be happy to address. Feel free to
rattle my cage. Remember, these are only my opinions. They may or may not
apply to your circumstances or align with preferences.  So be it. If you
aren't member of the Escapees RV Club, do it now. The $60 annual fee is
peanuts compared to the knowledge you'll acquire.

Cha Cha Cha !!!

Terry