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Old 10-31-2014, 05:32 PM   #1
Dulcimer717
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Full timing

Roger and I are thinking about full timing within the next two to three years if not sooner. I would like to hear your thoughts and experiences on this subject. Did you sell your house.? Are you glad you made the plunge? Would you do it over again? Any words of advice? Mail forwarding, bill paying, domain states, etc We have been camping for over 20 years and feel we want to downsize and lead a more simple life. Any thoughts or suggestions would help in our decision to do it or not. Thanks in advance. Chris and Roger Senak
 
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Old 10-31-2014, 06:40 PM   #2
rohrmann
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Gave the kids all the furniture and other things. Put tools and other things that can't be replaced, in storage. Sold the house and now have South Dakota as our state of domicile, which is also the location of our mail forwarding service, Americas Mailbox. We have been a little over two years full time, and have not regretted our move. With the occasional 'when are you going to settle down?' question, most everyone we talk to are green with jealousy, wishing they had the guts to do what we are doing. The day we drove away from the house after selling it felt like the weight of the world was lifted from our shoulders. By the time the end of this year rolls around, we will have put over 13,000 miles on the trailer. Have almost all the bills automatically paid, get everything possible emailed to us, do all our banking online, and what mail we do get sent to us by our mail forwarding people, never has any junk mail.

Good luck with your adventure. Just remember, you are not on vacation, this is now your life style, and you don't have to rush to see everything in two weeks. You can take it slow, stay awhile in each place you visit, and enjoy life.
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Old 10-31-2014, 07:29 PM   #3
DQDick
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Sold the house three years ago and our only regret is we couldn't have done it sooner. We kept Kansas as our state of residence and do still own a little land there. We did it for licenses we hold and insurance reasons that would have created cost and hassles we didn't feel were worth any cost savings. We do use Escapee's mail forwarding service, bank and pay almost all bills on line, and work for Fish and Wildlife in the winter. The best thing we did was take the year before we went full time to fully discuss and plan what we wanted to do on the road and how we would accomplish that, planing a lifestyle that would make us both happy. Also, since we lived in a very rural area, we found Craig's list as the best way to sell items and furniture bringing folks from neighboring states for some items.
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Old 10-31-2014, 08:05 PM   #4
sambam
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My parents full-timed for 7 years starting in 1995. They sold their house and held an estate sale, sold what they could and stored what they couldn't. Internet was a pretty new thing then, so not everything was as smooth as it is now, but they savored every minute of it, and, if not for age and health reasons, I'm sure they'd still be on the road. They settled down in 2002, bought another S+B close by, where they are living out their lives. The stories and pictures they have from their travels inspires me to do the same. Reading the testimony of Bob and Dick serves to inspire me as well. We are looking forward to the day when we can pack up and go, with no restrictions on time.
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Old 10-31-2014, 11:53 PM   #5
bigskyjimmy
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We wish we did it sooner but when we did we sold our home and everything in it and used my sisters house as our "home address " and hit the road jack! ,we bought into a membership only resort to stay cheap everywhere we go and never been happier in our life!!! living off the grid is a awesome feelingright now as I am typing this I am backed up to the Pacific Ocean 1/4 mile away and can hear the Ocean every night as you can see in my picture beyond the sea grass for 160 bucks a month life is good!!!
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Old 11-01-2014, 01:35 AM   #6
DonandBonnie
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We've been full timing now for two years. The kids have our furniture on "long term loan". The stick house has been sold. The family stuff, some heirlooms, that we don't need to have with us, but we don't want to part with are stored in a corner at our daughter's place. The great part of full timing that we don't wear out our welcome when we visit family and friends since we always go home to the Big Sky at the end of the day.
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Old 11-02-2014, 01:47 AM   #7
1retired06
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Fulltimed for five years. Loved it. Bought a lake house in NC and often wish we had not. We sold our house, put the money in a "house "account, stored some stuff, set up all bills for auto pay, and used Alternative Resources, now Dakotapost for mail forwarding and other servicrs.
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Old 11-02-2014, 02:01 AM   #8
lunalonestar
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We've been fulltiming for 3.5 years now. Sold everything: house, cars, kids, furniture (kept the dog). What we couldn't sell we either gave away or tossed out. We have nothing in storage. We are out of debt and the only things we own are the truck, rig and what ever we came cram in them. We do a lot of boondocking with solar panels, inverter and generator. So far, no regrets whatsoever. We pay all our bills (Dish, Cell, credit cards online). We joined Escapees and use them for our mail forwarding service. Currently we have no plans to stop anytime soon. Too much to see and do! Good Luck!
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Old 11-02-2014, 02:05 AM   #9
Montana4two
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We sold our house in Alberta 4 years ago. Not one regret! We still go back to Alberta for the summer and park the 5er at our daughters, as my husband still likes to work for a few months. From others we talk to in a similar situations, there is always discussion of "Do you have a plan B". Meaning what if bad health suddenly forces you to stop doing this lifestyle. We come from a province where it is too cold to stay in the rv all year round so we would either have to go to the west coast for a milder winter or rent an apartment in our home city. Until then, we keep doing what we are doing and loving it. Good luck with your decision, whatever it may be
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Old 11-02-2014, 03:10 AM   #10
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We did the fulltime for 4/1/2 yrs. Don't regret that move at all. Like others sold everything and what we didn't sell went on loan or given to the kids. Last spring wife had some medical issues and I have a few myself. So we ended up buying another home for that day when we can't do this anymore. We are still doing the longtime thing, as a matter of fact right now on a 5 month stint away from the home. But now we have a place to land if need be. Some will argue that you don't need this escape plan, and they are right also, we just elected to have our escape route in a S&B.

Dave
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Old 11-02-2014, 04:16 AM   #11
halfwright
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We have been on the road for three years. Like most of the others, we sold everything, gave away or trashed the rest. That to me was the hardest part. I had tools that I had since 1965 and they had a lot of memory triggers attached. But, they did not love me. We have had more fun and seen more things in the past three years than we had in the 40 before that. We planned for several years before doing it and had everything set. We were on the road the day after my wife retired. one thing to remember that nhas been mentioned. You are not on vacation. This is a life style. Take your time. Travel slow and stay long. The style is different for everyone. Ours is to use the back roads. See the small town museums and unique attractions. We joined the Moose, Eagles and VFW. Many have small RV parks or just an outside outlet and a faucet. We get a chance to talk to the local people and and find out what is in the area. We plan on staying on the road until they shovel dirt in my face or we just can't go anymore. I know the lifestyle is not for everyone,but if everyone would try it, the roads would be covered with full time RV'ers. We have enough in savings to get set up in an apartment or rental house when the time cames to do so, but I truly want to die on the road.
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Old 11-02-2014, 07:51 AM   #12
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We have been full timing for just over 1.5 years. Everything sold but we still have a few things in storage. Completely paperless and do everything on-line. Our son's address is our permanent address for mailing, registrations, and driver's license purposes.

We have enjoyed every single minute of this new lifestyle. When we first started full time we thought we would probably do it for 5 - 6 years and then purchase another property. Now we can't imagine not being full time in a 5th wheel. We are happier, healthier, and have never saved as much money in our life!
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Old 11-02-2014, 11:20 AM   #13
jcurtis934
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Full time for 2 yrs and 3 months so far. As others, sold house, most furniture, some things in storage. We do have a truck payment and still owe on the monty, but that was not stopping us from being mobile. Our mail forwarding service is in pensacola, florida. Vehicles registered in florida, but will transfer all that to somewhere out west when the wife's father departs this life. We winter in florida for six months or so and travel north to maine for summer...new mexico for 2015 summer. Love being free. John
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Old 11-02-2014, 02:36 PM   #14
PackerFan
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Been full-time now for just over 2 years and really love it. We put everything in storage after selling the house but are now slowly going through it and giving everything away except for the few things we just can't part with.

We have met so many friendly and wonderful people and have made many new friends. We wouldn't change a thing and look forward to many many more miles and adventures!!
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