Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I traveled around the USA, living in a van, for 2 years. Worked remotely or took on odd IT contracting jobs. There's no experience like it. It really teaches you about the minimalist lifestyle.
Oftentimes, you can rent a room or even an extended stay by the month for almost as cheap as an apartment.
I don't know anyone who has lived in a van/traveled the country and regretted it.
Sounds interesting. I recently took the plunge and I am not sure if I want to stay here long term. I made the mistake of signing a lease so I am stuck. I am thinking of trying the west coast.
I traveled around the USA, living in a van, for 2 years. Worked remotely or took on odd IT contracting jobs. There's no experience like it. It really teaches you about the minimalist lifestyle.
Oftentimes, you can rent a room or even an extended stay by the month for almost as cheap as an apartment.
I don't know anyone who has lived in a van/traveled the country and regretted it.
That sounds like a lot of fun. I can't do that now, because of my son. But I would like to do that in the future. I wish I did it earlier in life
I've been in a location I absolutely loathe for a long time. I had obligations & now that the situation has changed I can finally get out of this miserable state. So I have a list of maybe half a dozen places I'd like to move to. My intention is live in each different state a year. Thoughts?
It sounds like a great idea and adventure, in my opinion. As long as you can pay your bills, I say why not .
Quote:
Originally Posted by easternerDC
I have a friend who did this, although she spent 2 years traveling to different places. She spent anywhere from 1-4 months in each place.
She put some things that she wanted to keep in a storage facility, and then just kept 1-2 suitcases and had a plan of where she would go and where she would stay for at least the first few places.
My dream (which I'm currently working on) is to live in a different city every month over a 2–year period. I plan to have everything figured out (mail, car registration, what to bring, how to continue eating healthy while traveling full-time, etc.) within the next six weeks. I've got 90% of it figured out so far; I'm basically just tying up loose ends at this point.
As far as your plan OP, I say go for it! In the end, the only people who fail are those who never try .
My dream (which I'm currently working on) is to live in a different city every month over a 2–year period. I plan to have everything figured out (mail, car registration, what to bring, how to continue eating healthy while traveling full-time, etc.) within the next six weeks. I've got 90% of it figured out so far; I'm basically just tying up loose ends at this point.
As far as your plan OP, I say go for it! In the end, the only people who fail are those who never try .
I thought I would want to stay in a place for a short amount of time, but I think 1 month is a minimum I'd want to live anywhere, unless it's something like a sightseeing trip.
Wow thanks for all of these positive posts!
I love the minimalist lifestyle; it fits me. And I have been checking out rental properties in each area.....I just have to take a leap of faith with this lol
Ive never been known to backdown from a challenge. I think Id rather try it & know than sit here & wonder. Besides I hate the idea of not doing it & regretting it constantly.
I do regret not moving away from this living Hell years ago.
I would rather move somewhere and stay in an extended stay for a week or two before finding an apartment that's going to tie you down for a year. What if the location sucks? What if the apartment has roaches?
I don't know if you are opposed to roommates, but it's much cheaper and you immediately have an insider's knowledge to the city.
I traveled around the USA, living in a van, for 2 years. Worked remotely or took on odd IT contracting jobs. There's no experience like it. It really teaches you about the minimalist lifestyle.
Oftentimes, you can rent a room or even an extended stay by the month for almost as cheap as an apartment.
I don't know anyone who has lived in a van/traveled the country and regretted it.
I get the feeling u have lots of really good suggestions for me lol
Can u elaborate more on how ya did it?
(Although I wouldn't be living out of a van)
I love the idea of actually experiencing each place & finding myself in the process. Does that sound crazy?
I've been in a location I absolutely loathe for a long time. I had obligations & now that the situation has changed I can finally get out of this miserable state. So I have a list of maybe half a dozen places I'd like to move to. My intention is live in each different state a year. Thoughts?
My wife and I had that same problem... although it sounds like you may have hated your "home location" more than we hated ours. Once we fulfilled our obligations (getting out of debt), we bought a 17-year-old RV and hit the road to tour the country as musicians. We'll make enough money to live, but not enough to get rich. Part of our reason for touring is so we can investigate other areas of the country, to see where we might want to settle down if/when we choose to settle down.
I think that's crazier than your idea of living in each state for a year... and the outcome is essentially the same.
Keep one thing in mind, however. You cannot judge an entire state by the one location you choose for the year. I imagine that you intend to finance your journey by working at jobs that have a temporary nature, wherever you are. If you aren't traveling by RV, you will have to live at a rental property or at a hotel... each of which is expensive and will require income. You're likely to have to plunk down in one certain location for that year's time, and perhaps explore other nearby areas as time and money allow. Do some research to figure out which areas of a state you may want to examine, and that will be better than choosing randomly.
And hey, you may find an area you really love, before your "six different places" list is finished. If that happens, don't hesitate to stay there! (If you really want to finish the journey, you can do that too. Always remain objective about each place you visit. If you try to overlook anything because you're wearing your rose-colored glasses, you could end up getting burned. It's happened to me.)
Edit: I just read the rest of the posts. I can tell you that my wife and I have been living in our RV full-time for only three weeks, but we have yet to regret it. We were renting our home, so we were able to give it up. Where we're parked is where we live. Right now it's a Wal-Mart parking lot in eastern Indiana, and we don't even know where it will be tomorrow night. The noise of people moving carts around, and driving in and out of the parking lot, doesn't bother me. I like background noise. I also think it's somewhat exciting, not knowing where we're going to be from day to day. It gives us the freedom to choose our destinations.
Minimalism really does teach you a lot about what's valuable in life. Even before we moved into the RV, we didn't have "that much". All of our possessions that we didn't take with us fit in a 10x10 storage unit. People used to compliment us on how we seemed able to live simply and be happy with it. Our RV isn't huge - it's a 29' Class C motorhome with no slide-outs. Basically, we have about 200 square feet of living space. But really - what more do we need? We're two people with a dog and a cat. Is it tight quarters sometimes? Sure, but we're in no hurry to do anything. If we want to get outside, it's a few steps to the door and we're outside. When you live in an RV (or a van, as a previous poster mentioned), the great outdoors is your backyard.
I can tell you that since moving into the RV, my wife and I have spent more time doing things together, eating meals at the table together, and relaxing than ever before. Life is not all about making huge sums of money. If it was, why were so many people green with envy upon hearing of our plans before we left? People with nice houses, nice new vehicles, etc... were envious of the two close-to-poor people who were going to travel in an aging RV, working their way from place to place by doing musical performances! I couldn't help but think "if WE can do it, with next to nothing, why can't YOU do it?!"
People are incarcerated by their security. Their fancy houses and possessions are merely golden cages and chew toys. At the end of the day, they're trapped... and regardless of how much they may deny this, NOBODY wants to be trapped. That's why they all go on vacation so often.
Do what you want to do while you still can. Even if you end up flat broke and in a homeless shelter, later on in life on your deathbed you will not regret doing what you did. However, if you don't go on this journey, later on in life on your deathbed you will regret not having done it.
Go for it and keep us posted!
Last edited by RomaniGypsy; 05-21-2013 at 07:38 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 
.
