Why Did We Choose Full-Time RV Life?

Why RV Life?

In this video, I talk about why we decided to live full-time in an RV.

Jeff and I went to our first RV show shortly after moving to Florida in late 2011. That's when something silently clicked in the back of our minds. We have always loved to travel and explore new places, but it was so expensive to go on vacations! And we were always limited by his vacation days at work. 

We went to several more RV shows throughout the next few years, and we also went on vacations. We had fun our trips, but it always seemed like a race to get as much done as we could at each destination... all while watching our spending budget. 

Another consideration was the overall cost of living in the Tampa Bay area. It was getting expensive! We had already downsized to an apartment of about 550 square feet, and we were still spending a tremendous amount (to us) on rent. It seemed like such a waste of money! We were not interested in purchasing a home, either, as neither of us wanted to be locked into one location. Neither did we want the cost and time of home maintenance and repair, or the home-owner's insurance that costs a fortune in Florida.

In 2017, after a road trip up north through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Ohio to visit family and friends, we decided to begin researching the viability of living in an RV. We started looking at YouTube and were astounded to find channels like Keep Your Daydream and Long Long Honeymoon, just to name a couple. Between watching these channels and researching many RVs and RV camping memberships (like Thousand Trails), we decided that this was indeed an option for us. It was time to get serious about making our plans for the future.

Thankfully, the YouTube channels that we focused on stressed the fact that full-time RV life is not for everyone. We understood the sacrifices and hardships we would encounter from the beginning, and we researched like crazy to prepare for our new lives... everything from the actual purchase of an RV to common repairs and maintenance we would have to be able to do. 

In November of 2019, we finally pulled the trigger and purchased a used travel trailer. It was a 2004 Fleetwood Wilderness 270FQS, and we still own it today. 

Would the research we'd done be enough to get us through our transition to full-time RV life?