Last Updated on December 13, 2022
I used to think my life on the road wasn’t that different than everyone else’s. I just happened to live in a house on wheels. But as I travel more, meeting new people and trying new things, everything has changed.
Life is nothing like it was 5 years ago when I worked 9-5 and lived in a guest house in LA. RVing has changed the way I approach life, changed my mentality.
I met many RVers who all have different reasons for living in their RV. And if you think RV life is weird, believe it or not, there are people who live on boats or digital nomads who live in Thailand, and even people who have no home but travel full-time house sitting around the world.
We talk about “The American Dream” which is the white picket fence and 2.5 kids in the suburbs, but the more people I meet, the more I see that everyone has their own idea of what life should look like. Sadly, most who live the conventional life is drowning in debt, commuting hours, and working jobs that they don’t like just to maintain their lifestyle… It is a never-ending cycle.
There’s no right way to live your life. There’s no perfect path to follow. You must choose your own path but remember:
Time is your most valuable asset
We have limited time while we are on Earth. There’s more to life than just growing wealth. There’s life itself. There’s the time side of the ledger. You get less and less. It matters how you spend it.
I realized that I can always go back to work at a traditional 9-5, if necessary. I can always make more money later if this lifestyle won’t work out. But the time I have now will never be mine again. Every second that ticks away is a second I’ll never have again. And this is a fundamental truth that you should always remember: You can always make more money in life, but you’ll never be able to make more time.
So why not now? I know, you might start thinking of excuses, but there is never a perfect time. You’ll always have an excuse why not do it and no one’s ever going to reach out and give you a golden ticket saying “Take a year off and travel the world! Chase your dreams! You’ve got this!”
When people talk about bucket lists and dreams, travel is almost always at the top. But we have so many excuses for why it can’t happen. Don’t let those excuses keep you from exploring the world.
It slows me down
Living in an RV and working remotely slows me down. All that extra time that I don’t have to spend on unnecessary meetings, and buying more stuff gave me more time for things I enjoy. I enjoy being in the present more. Of course, I still have a schedule (which changes often) and I believe having some kind of routine helps to achieve my goals; but now I am able to set this routine up myself instead of living by someone else’s.
A life of full-time travel is more attainable than you think.
All too often when I explain that I live in an RV and travel full-time, people say “oh, that must be nice.” It is everyone’s natural assumption that I must be rich.
Americans view travel as decadent or indulgent. It’s something they do for maybe 14 days a year. Traveling full-time is viewed as reckless or expensive or, more often than not, impossible.
You may think you can’t travel because you can’t afford it, but I average around $2500-3000 a month although this could be way cheaper if I choose to stay more on public BLM lands. Many of my friends are able to live off $1500-2000/Mo.
You may think that you can’t travel because you need to work, but I’ve met many who work full-time while traveling. They have to log in to their computer each workday of course, but it’s doable.
Then there are others who might think I am poor. Some people are viewing living in an RV as just one step above being homeless. Many of us who live this way choose to live this way.
You learn a lot while traveling
You also learn about RVing. How? You Google things. Ask questions from others. Attend events. Spend crazy amounts of time on Youtube trying to figure out to fix your door after you break it. You become handy. You figure it out.
RV lifestyle has changed the way I approach everything in life. No matter the issue you can always figure it out.
I let things go now
“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.”
I don’t have much stress since I’ve been living the RV life. Of course, annoying things come up occasionally (especially driving in traffic) but I learned not to worry about tomorrow. Letting go means releasing anything that disrupts your happiness and no longer serves you. Letting go is about accepting what is happening right now and not worrying about what will come up tomorrow.
I also avoid drama. It doesn’t make sense to me. Such a waste of time. Of course, it’s possible to have a disagreement with someone but now I focus on the solution instead of blaming the other person.
Being outdoors and moving more
Now I spend a good amount of time outdoors. Nature makes me happy. When I am hiking, I don’t hurry, but stop and look around often. I sit down and enjoy being in the present. I usually go to parks either in the mountains, the desert or to the beach. Sometimes I like to go to a nice RV resort where I can just rest by the pool all day and relax.
Believe it or not, for me, this lifestyle is not about traveling but about freedom. When you are location independent you can live anywhere as long as you’d like. I love the fact that I can spend months with my parents in the summer, I go and help a friend or family member when they need my help, and I love the fact that I am the one in control over my life and time and stay in one place as long as I please.
