I knew I would have to come back to Austin for the remainder of my pregnancy. I knew we were going to need to stay for Caspian’s vaccinations through six months. But I didn’t understand how long 11 months in one region would actually feel.
We’re now in our fourth year of full-time travel, and it’s in my blood. Our routine of moving every two weeks has become as natural as the Circadian. Mess with the cycle, and everything gets off-balance.
I have the utmost respect for everyone who lives in an RV full-time, but isn’t a full-time traveler. Some people stay in one place out of necessity. Some stay because they’re actually where they want to be. But full-time RVing without travel is not what I signed up for. As our departure date is finally within grasp (June 1!), I’m reflecting on the past months, appreciating the ability to travel more than ever.
Here are a few reasons I prefer full-time RV travel.
1/ I’m stuck in a rut.
Our site at La Hacienda RV Resort in Austin, where we’ve been staying on and off for the past few monthsWhen you live in one place, life is full of routines. You have your grocery store, your favorite restaurant, your movie theater, your route between locations. There’s comfort in familiarity, to be sure. It feels good to get somewhere without having to use GPS.
It can be a pain to arrive in a new town and not know where anything is. But there’s excitement in the unknown. I love stepping into independent coffee shops for the first time, and making discoveries on our daily walks–like that little donkey in Jacksonville, FL we named Cowboy.
Over the past 11 months, I’ve ended up doing what I wanted to get away from when I started RVing. I repeatedly choose the familiar and the comfortable. When I travel, I have no choice but to try something new. It’s fabulous, no matter the occasional inconveniences.
2/ Emphasis on things over experiences has crept back in.
There’s something about sitting still that has made us do more shopping. I can’t fully explain it, but it’s like we have more time to look around and come up with things we “need.”
Three years of full-time travel taught me otherwise. I want to invest in experiences, not things. When I buy something, there’s another something that’s suddenly required to supplement or maintain the first thing. It’s an endless cycle.
I prefer to simplify on the outside, which clears up my mind to enjoy my surroundings and focus on my family, the natural world, and making memories that don’t rust or break.
3/ I miss the perspective of distance.
No matter where I roam and what unbelievable sights I see, Austin will always be the place I come home to. When I’m away, I miss it. Yet, I have so many responsibilities here that it can become overwhelming. After 11 months, I am burned out and in need of a reboot.
This may be my favorite part about travel: the emotional perspective that physical distance affords me. Wherever I am, I have all the tools I need to accomplish my duties. But it’s a lot easier to unplug at the end of the day and leave work behind me until the next morning. Here in Austin, I feel constantly surrounded by the projects and to-do’s that aren’t done yet.
4/ I have to wait for family and friends to come to me.
At my brother Adam’s wedding in 2014, at the beginning of our RV adventureIn three+ years, Eric and I have used our RV to travel to two weddings, one graduation, and multiple holidays with loved ones. We’ve seen my brothers’ new homes as newlyweds. We’ve reunited with childhood friends we hadn’t seen in decades, getting a chance to meet their children.
When you work a job with two weeks of annual vacation, you have to pick and choose. We have the luxury of designing our travels around the people who mean the most to us.
5/ Life is short.
Crater Lake National Park, 2016The worst part about traveling extensively is that you find out what you’re missing when you don’t travel. I’ve spent 11 months watching RV friends post incredible photos of breathtaking landscapes, wishing I was there. (Not to mention the international travel bug I’ve been feeding in my pocket for a while now.)
I don’t look down on full-time RVers who don’t travel. Far from it. From experience, I know life is made up of seasons, and certain seasons require adjustments. But I don’t want to spend my life in a rut, acquiring meaningless possessions, stressed about work and missing out on time with family and friends.
There is a difference between full-time RVing and full-time traveling. I’m glad I’ve had the chance to experience both because it makes me appreciate the abundant blessings in my life. I haven’t done anything to deserve the gift of travel, but the least I can do is keep from taking it for granted.
-B
Yes! Daniel and I just had this conversation with someone yesterday. Indianapolis is our Austin. We leave here Sunday morning for the next adventure and I can’t wait! Best wishes to your family of three. We’ll be cheering for you!
Appreciate it, @traci_bray:disqus! I’m excited to be excited about something. Ready for the adventures ahead.
Great write up! I go through all these same feelings every time we stay in one place for more than a month. We’ve slowed down significantly this past year and it’s been driving me crazy (nothing even close to 11 months in one area!) I hope you guys get back on the road soon!
Thank you, @designwithvalerie:disqus! We leave Austin on May 24 to get some RV work done in San Antonio. By June 2 at the latest, we will be on our way to Hot Springs, AR!
Had you married when Eric was still on active duty, you’d have made an excellent military wife!
We turned to full-time RV travel not long after my husband retired from a 25-year Navy career, so I describe this lifestyle as much the same as making military PCS moves, only at shorter intervals now, and without having to worry about school districts.
I do sometimes wonder if we’ll ever be able to stop. I’m guessing it will take some sort of external force over which we have no control, because I don’t think either one of us is capable of willingly ceasing to travel.
I also can’t imagine the end of this lifestyle. We may take a break from travel when Caspian is in high school, depending on his personal goals. But as far as Eric and I are concerned, stationary life holds no charm.
We’re full time in the RV but not full time travelers. Our jobs let us initiate a transfer after about 6 months at a location so that’s what we do.
I love the beginning when we get to a new place. There’s so much to see and do. The initial difficulty of getting places and finding the services we use (laundromat, dog groomer & daycare, stores, farmers market) is an adventure in itself. Then we settle in and have the comfort of routine and that’s nice too for a little while.
The last month or two though, I start to have a lot of the ‘stuck in a rut’ feeling that you mentioned. Things are too easy and I’m bored with the routine. I also notice a lot of the things vs experience problem at that point. A couple of times it’s gotten bad enough that once we have the confirmation of transfer date, I’ve had to do some frantic decluttering to get us back down to an acceptable weight. You describe those things perfectly.
I get stressed about a move for longer than a weekend jaunt but I also love it. I’m not sure I could move as often as many of the full time travelers do but I’d love to be able to move every 3 months or so. Maybe someday. Even without moving as often, I do still like living in the small RV space and the convenience of taking a weekend trip easily.
@disqus_HDfwm4Epu6:disqus , I love the flexibility of the RV lifestyle. We can do it our own way, or the way that is required in order for us to keep funding our adventures! All the best to you and your partner.
Hi Brittany, do you & Eric have any plans to travel to Alberta or the NWT to visit family? Peggy Banner – Red Deer
Hi, @bernerheaven:disqus! I have an aunt who lives in Red Deer! Eric has never been up there, and I haven’t been to northern Alberta/Yellowknife since 2005. I really want to introduce Eric to my family there. I don’t anticipate us taking the RV up any time soon. If we do visit, we’ll probably coordinate with my parents and fly in together. One of our issues is Internet connectivity. We need a connection in order to do our jobs Monday through Friday.
I so agree with this! Traveling is the way for me also. I really enjoyed reading this post as you verbalized my thoughts!
I’m so glad, @jenn_barry:disqus. I had been contemplating all this for some time. It was cathartic to finally get it down in words.
Hi, glad to see you’re getting back on the road. Sounds like you are more than ready. My wife and I will be traveling from south Florida to the upper peninsula of Michigan in August, and will be stopping in Benton, KY on the 4th thru the 6th, to watch the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series on Kentucky Lake. If you are in the area, it would be great to meet you both.
Hi, @craigwahnish:disqus! We’ll be near Mammoth Caves June 18-30 and in Somerset, KY for the month of July. It looks like Benton is 4 hours from Somerset, but we’ll keep Facebook updated with our location in case our paths get closer!
it can be such a 2 edged sword. We did full time RV travel (while working remotely) for a year and loved it. However, there were so many things we didn’t think about. The adventure of it all was awesome but the lack of roots, community, friends made kind of a lonely life. We couldn’t get involved in anything that would require more than a week of commitment. Any new friends we met, which weren’t many because we are more introverty, had to be quickly relegated to mere pen pals when it was time to go. After our year we decided to plant but try to maintain our sense of adventure. It is proving hard for all the reasons you said, routine, familiarity, responsibility. There are pros and cons of staying and going and I am so thankful we got to experience it and who knows we may hit the road again one day.
@daniel_kimberlin:disqus, everything you said resonates with me! While I’m more introverted, Eric is an extreme extrovert and doesn’t have any trouble putting himself out there. Because of that, we’ve been able to make a lot of friends on the road. Now that we have Caspian, there’s a whole new community of traveling families who we’ll be able to connect with. But the depth of relationship is definitely not the same.
Yeah for those of us that need a little time to cultivate connection a couple weeks is just to the point where I feel confident enough that you aren’t a wackadoo to even begin go let my guard down, then off we go to another gaggle of potential wackadoos….repeat. 🙂