HEY FULLTIMERS!! QUESTION4U - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

TheCoachPotatoes · 11-30-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Dave (Drifus), are you still in the KC area?

Unfortunately, even though we have no stick home anymore, it appears I will be shoveling snow. Yesterday we had an ice storm. On top of that, today we got four inches of snow and they're predicting 10 to 15 more inches by morning. Four inches I can just stomp down. But not 14 to 19 inches.

What we won't go through just to be near the grandkids!!!!

sreigle · 12-01-2006, 01:20 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by smc

If we still had the stick house, we would be shoveling snow, paying high heating bills, wondering if we could get the truck started, braving icy and snowy roads, etc. etc. etc. (Alberta is having the coldest November in 110 years) Here in Yuma, just had a wind storm, but still outside with a light jacket. Love it. Cleaning the trailer is a snap. After 3 years, we are still loving the freedom.

Alas and unfortunately, today I shoveled snow, paid high heating bills (ran the furnace a lot -- high today was around 31), wondered if I could get the truck started (at 12 degrees this morning and no block heater), and braved icy and snowy roads because we were out of food.

Sure is pretty out our rear window, though.

mobilrvn · 12-03-2006, 03:22 PM

mpl897 and others, when we started to be serious about fulltime RVing, we ask an old timer what regrets he had about fulltiming (thinking he'd say the kids, the grands, friends, etc.) and his reply was, "Wish I had started sooner!" As the old saw goes, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.

When we started out, we workcamped for a few years--mostly minimum wage, but we got to see the country inbetween jobs and had some that were in wonderful places like Yellowstone Nat'l Park. Like being retired better, but regardless of how much we make, it just lasts until the end of the month!

Montana Rog · 12-04-2006, 02:12 PM

Hey Steve! We made it to Texarkana..and it's fairly warm here. You'd better get out of that ice box. We froze the bathroom sink in Branson and decided to get out of there too. Tomorrow it's off to Livingston Texas for a while..Rog.

ps..no I don't miss the stick (log) house either. I would be home writing out checks for natural gas, and shoveling snow. NO THANKS!!!!oh...and the taxes are due, and insurance soon too.

tom41 · 12-08-2006, 10:54 AM

Sure dont miss out stick house! sold the house in chattanooga,and the acreage and barn in ky.We have everything we need right with us.Like Orv,I dont feelany younger,but think we have stopped the "ageing process"!! We still stay in touch with our old friends and relatives,as we can go to campgrounds close by them to visit. But allthe new friends we have made on the road is well worth our life style. I would say that the thrill of finding out whats over the next hill,mountain, or corner is what my DW and I love. and best of all..."NO LEAVES TO RAKE

Montana_2980 · 12-24-2006, 06:39 PM

Q: Do you miss the home life since selling your home.
No. Our RV is actually more comfortable, convenient, and exciting for living than the condo we sold. (The transition to RVing is in large part about "letting go" of a huge amount of material things -- books, clothes, tools.) We enjoy the change of our front yard, at our whim. And, the maintenance on our rig is more fun that that on our condo.

We have become more aware of climatology and weather. We plan ahead not to enter regions during seasons of expected severe weather. For example, we plan not to be on the Gulf Coast during hurricane season or the frost belt before the first snow.

We will not go back to a stick home as long as we control our lives.

Q: just wondering if you still have your old friends and do you still stay in contact??
Yes and no. To our disappointment, when we would drive 1500 mi. in 3 days to our old home town, and call our old friends, many insisted that we drive (MORE) to visit them at their home, insisted that we stay in their places so we could be comfortable for a few days, and join them for a good meal at their favorite restaurant rather than come to the camp. Few were understanding that we would like to have them visit us in our HOME, that we are exceptionally comfortable, and that we cook gourmet meals almost daily, and know more of our neighbors than they know of theirs. In their defense, stick-house people may be uncomfortable in RVs because of the reduced privacy of our restroom compared to theirs, a reluctance to use the camp's restrooms, and rootless people all around us. They also notice that the RV shakes a little when someone heavy walks around (as if it may get out-of-balance and tip over). And we been asked if snakes can climb the wheels and get inside, especially since we live in the woods. A natural division has occurred between us and old friends. We object to making the additional sacrifice of driving around the town after the long distance drive, and they are not comfortable in our RV. So, we can still have our friends on their terms -- they never visit us.

A huge change occurred for us since we began fulltiming in Aug '05. We made quality friends in every campground in which we stayed longer than about 1 mo. It was if we had known these new friends for years. Lots of visiting back and forth, shared meals, shared trips to local areas, etc.

If we needed rescuing, we have more RVer friends who would travel 1000s of miles to aid us than we have old friends in stick houses who would do so. You meet the nicest people in RV camps who will commit to deep, true friendship. It is still true: "to get a friend, be one." You can have as many good RVer friends as you are willing to be friends with. If our RVer friends suffer a disaster, we will help them fast.

Q: Do you still stay in contact??
Yes and no. We maintain telephone contact with a lot of old friends, including those who will not drive 20 miles to see us when we are in a camp near our old home town. New RVer friends are added fast. We keep a notebook and the first information at we get of new friends is their EMAIL addresses and web pages. Ultimately, "if you want contact, you have to contact." It will be returned to you as you do it. The effective modes of contact are: email, web page logs, and cell phone. Web pages save a lot of writing and sending photos. US mail correspondence for us is not effective, as our permanent address is in SD, and we usually move every several months. A written letter takes more 3 weeks to get to us.

Q: Are you feeling younger since you are on the go??
Yes. Travel, new experiences, and new friends are very stimulating and relaxing. RVing begins by letting go of material things, but ultimately, it is about a continual renewing. The cutting of old obligations is immediately relaxing. Our friends who drew energy from us but did not give back any, well, since we left town, they have replaced us with other energy sources. That sounds harsh, but you often don't recognize those 1-way relationships until they drift away. If we overcommit ourselves at a campground, we graciously terminate when we on.

In conclusion: RVing for us is a new start among a group of very nice people.
Jack and Mary Lou

cmp-shooter · 12-24-2006, 10:32 PM

jlwdcnice 1st post and you gave me good info!!

still planning my change over

jrgwdenner · 12-25-2006, 01:12 AM

jlWDC, you've made a very eloquent post which reflects our experiences quite accurately. Welcome to the forum and for your contribution.

ols1932 · 12-25-2006, 03:04 AM

As has been said on another post, "Don't try to see everything in one day." Every day is a new day and since you are full time you can see things at your liesure and really enjoy them, not being in a hurry.

Orv

sreigle · 12-25-2006, 04:28 AM

Jack and Mary Lou, very nice post. Fortunately we've not encountered as much of the situation with old friends and former neighbors as you have, although movement in our rig is probably a bit unsettling to them. They usally are astonished at how nice our rig is. They had envisioned a "camper."

I also wanted to touch on your comment about making new friends when staying in a place for awhile. We have done the same and stay in contact with a number of them. I just this past week was in email conversation with a retired Ford engineer (diesel trucks) who was parked next to us for awhile during our month's stay in Moab, UT, last Spring. They are putting their home on the market and going fulltime. Dick told me our conversations and website were a major factor in their decision. That was nice to hear.

Parrothead · 12-25-2006, 06:26 AM

I have to agree about the neighbors and friends. We know more RVers than we do people in our neighborhood.
Happy trails...................

Charlotte · 12-27-2006, 04:05 PM

I agree about the friends you make in an RV Park. We lived in the same stick house for 13 years and we have made more friends in this RV Park than we ever had there. When we came here we intended to only stay for the 3 months of my husband's work contract. We liked the park and people in it so much that he extended his contract for another 3 months. We feel that we could depend on these people if we needed any help. There is a real feeling of community that we did not have in the stick house.
I do miss my vegetable garden but I move some house plants with me since we are usually somewhere for 3 months.
Charlotte

rickety · 12-31-2006, 05:13 AM

Don't mis the stick house at all!!!

I thought I might, but after a year in this little RV Park were just as happy as can be. We have another year plus here and then wre going wherever the winds blow us. We are fortunate in that we are onlyh about 25 miles from our friends, so are able to maintain contact with them on a regular basis. We also have made new friends her at the park and are looking forward to making even more friends down the road

Home, is a state of mind, a place where you can be happy inside and at peace with those around you. A house is a place of residence, wodd, sticks, stones, a cave, whtever, it is still just a place to park yourself at night and leave during the day.
WE LOVE FULL TIMING

DonandBonnie · 01-01-2007, 03:53 AM

Well, we still have our stick house, at least temporarily, and I think that friends and family must be the same whether you are in a stick house or a Monty. One friend couldn't possibly come to visit because we live sooooo far away. It's about a 30 minute drive! The friend has no problem insisting that we visit her on a regular basis. I'm still trying to figure why the distance is so far in one direction and not the other.

When we visit my sister in New Jersey, we stay with her. All other friends and relatives expect us to come to their homes to visit them. Rarely will any of them come to visit us.

Neither Bonnie nor I have ever personally met anyone who contributes to this forum. My money says that if we ever had a problem that required assistance, the folks here would jump in to help first.

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