survey -snowbird vs fulltiming

[Ontheroad]

Like Glen and Lorraine (and many others) Ellie and I sold the house (to our son), and hit the road fultime last June of 2004. We had never stayed in anything bigger than a pop-up. But the open road called us and we have never looked back. We are currently staying in Maryland as campground hosts, but recently I've been suffering from wonderlust and can't wait to get back on the road.

[delrob]

We have been full timing it for almost 10 yrs. We had an auction and sold almost everything one day and headed out in our 25 ft. 1975 Comander the next morning.
We up graded in 3 yrs to a 32Ft. 1987 Winabego Motorhome. Last year we bought us a new 2005 32ft. Mountianeer TT with 2 slides. And a 2005 Dodge Diesel pickup.
We have missed out on lots of things with our 9 grandkids and 2 great grandkids. So we are thinking about settleing down part time. That is we can handle staying in one place for an extended length of time.
I think Traveling is the way to go after retirement. Let someone else worry about the bills and lawn mowing.
We are origionally from Okla. But address out of Tx. now (Escapee's)
De & Ed Robinson

[Montana_440]

Just ringing in on your survey.We spent a good 10 yrs planning our full time years.We sold our house....it was never for sale. A realtor friend had ppl looking for a place like ours. Then came a 12 hr auction that got rid of 90% of furniture etc. We kept things like antiques,family stuff & his tools.
Kept 3 acres with a 3 car garage....next to the house.Had a slab connected with all hookups ,including a dump.He worked for 6mos, while we lived in our 36' 5th wh.Had plenty of time to get used to the trailer workings,have mail,medical & bank things set up.Then we were good to go. he had a retirement party on Fri eve & we pulled out Sat at 5am.
In the next 6yrs, we towed in 48 states & Canada.Took one long trip that lasted 20 mos....during which we were never in our home state.Have spent winters in Fl,Az,Nv,Calif,Tx Spent a summer on the Ore-Wash coast,several mos in Jackson Hole,Wy.Rode a cog railroad to Mt,Washington NH & saw the Rose Bowl parade.We enjoyed the people.There's such a variety in the USA, with different ways of living.Got very tired of campgrounds, not my fav place to be.

After 6 yrs, we built the garage into a small house & for several yrs,had the best of both worlds. Lots & lots of travel,with home waiting.Now,health & age has caused us to put home 1st,it's where we love to be.We went thru 3 trucks & 4 5th wheelers.My advice to anyone thinking of the lifestyle would be to plan way ahead & be aware that you cannot have too many financial resources when it comes to travel.The prices you pay today will look cheap a few yrs down the road.Always plan on a fall back position. What will you do in case of illness & how will you pay for your next rig? Plan & plan some more, then go & enjoy.

[gkbutler]

We had talked about full timing for about three years. I was shipped off to Iraq in January of 2004. While over there, we decided that we had had enough of the rat race and when my discharge date came up, we would set off on the full time experience. Well, I will be discharged from the Army on 17 September. The house has been on the market for about a month now. We have given most of our possessions to our children, all that is left is the stuff we are currently using. That will be divided among the kids when we sell the house. Anything left will be given to charity. We really won't be able to do a lot of travelling for about 8 more years, but we do plan to winter in Florida and do the spring and summer in the Northlands. Will have to work until we are old enough for the IRA's and pensions to kick in, but if we don't do it now, we never will. Our expenses will drop by at least two thirds or so depending on the price of diesel. We don't ever plan to have a stick house ever again, but know that sometime in the far distant future, health concerns may force us to settle down. We have that covered as we have a small piece of property in East Central Illinois that we can put the Monty on. We, like many of the others, just want to be able to do what we want after spending our lives doing for other people.

[snowbunny]

Camper, You have summed up our thoughts so well. We have been planning to keep our old guest house as a home and put in a pad next to it and sell the rest. That way we have a place to come back to and call home in an area we love with people we love. When we come back 'fulltime' we will expand it a bit and watch the world go by.

Thanks

[Bill Hill]

Camper, we agree. We want a place to come home to, especially when we can't travel any more, which, with any luck, will be a good long time!

[Montana_440]

quote:Originally posted by snowbunny

Camper, You have summed up our thoughts so well. We have been planning to keep our old guest house as a home and put in a pad next to it and sell the rest. That way we have a place to come back to and call home in an area we love with people we love. When we come back 'fulltime' we will expand it a bit and watch the world go by.

Thanks

You stole my quote...LOL. When we decided to make the garage into a house & were talking floor plans, I said "build me the porch I always wanted,then stick a house on it".He did just that & I have the porch of my dreams.It's the same size as our large living room,with 16' of flower boxes, hanging planters,windchimes & hummer feeders.We have a couple vines trained over one end of the porch & I stenciled the porch swing & inside posts.It's like being inside a green house.We love being on the porch,watching the world go by.
In winter,when the leaves drop, we can see I 70.We have lots of bluebird houses.....all kinds of birds & wildlife,from deer to groundhogs.The deer visit the pond morning & eve.Lots of space for family & friends.He actually enjoys yard work...think of that! It's a great feeling, knowing we did what we wanted & are blessed to also love this life style.