When we decided to make the transition to full time RV living, we were often asked the question (with a strange look) “Why?” People where unsure why you would want to sell your house and stuff to live in a small space, a camper for that matter. I remember I dreaded this question, because if I am going to be completely honest here, it was because I was simply embarrassed.
I was embarrassed because I know it seemed crazy to people. I knew they didn’t have the same views of life or the desires we had as a family to live this lifestyle. I was embarrassed because you normally “move up” in life. You get bigger and better houses, cars, and you become more “successful” in your career.
Most people don’t live smaller and below their means by choice.
It wasn’t until a couple months into our transition, that I quit being embarrassed of our transformation and I became more proud of our where we were in our lives. I was no longer embarrassed of our situation, but I was now excited to share my love for the RV lifestyle and the amazing opportunities it had brought to our lives.
Now that most people in our lives know our story and situation, we don’t get that question as often now and I actually miss it. I’m passionate about sharing what this lifestyle has done for us as a family and as individuals. Then this week, a magazine reached out to us and was asking full time families, Why do you RV?
This got me reliving these initial thoughts of our motivation behind this lifestyle and I wanted to share all the reasons why!
Family Time
Family time was the spark that set fire to our desire to hit the road in an RV. We came across this lifestyle idea from a video on the internet and were immediately intrigued. I was currently on maternity leave and = being faced with the impending doom of returning to my full time position as a nurse working long stressful hours away from our new miracle baby. I was devastated! Not because I hated my job, I loved my job, but because spending time with my family became my new priority and if it took selling my house to get that opportunity, consider it sold! Downsizing and moving into an RV was the perfect way for our family to make this happen.
Freedom and Flexibility
Living in an RV broke our chains! Having freedom and flexibility in our lives has been an incredible burden lifted off our shoulders as individuals, a couple, and a family. We now have more time to spend as a family and the shackles of debt and a mortgage no longer boss us around and tell us what to do with our time. We now have time to read books, take walks, and create amazing family memories together.
Yes we still have to make money to survive and we still work and have jobs, the difference is the job does not control us. We control the job and that has been life changing and invigorating at the same time.
Travel
When my husband approached me with this idea that by selling our house we could have more family time, I was immediately on board. Once we started looking at it, we thought “Well if we are selling the house and living small, why not buy a house on wheels and travel”? Pretty genius right?
If you live small and could be mobile, the possibilities of traveling the country where endless. We could wake up in the comfort of our home with the beach, mountains, desert, whatever our hearts desire as our backdrop. The country would be our backyard and we show our daughter the beauty of the world. We no longer had to just point to a mountain in a book, but we could say, “Let’s go climb that mountain!” Through travel we have explores parts of the country that only an RV could have taken us.
Why Not?
Why Not RV? That was my initial reaction to the question I received this week. Why not create family memories? Why not travel? Why not live on less so you can actually “LIVE” for more. I know this lifestyle seems scary and crazy. I get it. I had those same though and fears, but what it came down to for us was, WHY Not? If we hate this lifestyle and it is not all that we had hoped for, we could always just go back to the lifestyle we had before this idea. That thought helped us face our fears and we decided, Why Not?
So what’s the quote I sent into ROVA Magaizine?
We RV because we crave a life of less junk and more journey. Less house, more living. Less cleaning, more mingling. Less monotony, more memories. Less commute time, more family time. Life is short. It’s all about the journey and having no regrets!
That’s why we’re on our journey. What’s your journey?
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