Alternative Housing: Living in an RV?
Written by Mrs Money on October 15, 2008 – 12:27 am -
You thought cloth toilet paper was crazy, hanging my laundry out to dry wasn’t too far out there, but once you hear about my next wild and crazy idea, you may begin to think I’m a crunchy nut case. Here’s the honest truth: I’d love to sell our house and live in an RV. Let me plead my case first. We’d save money, simplify, reduce our carbon footprint, and not be so tied down to our 9-5 (or in Mr. Money’s case, 9-9) jobs, and enjoy life the way we’re supposed to.
While I would be absolutely ecstatic over actually being able to do this, I know there are cons that we’d encounter. Let me list my pros and cons, and please help me add to my lists.
Pros:
- Save money. We wouldn’t have a mortgage payment, taxes, etc. Our monthly utilities would go down considerably.
- We’d be able to travel all over the country between Colorado and Michigan (where our families are located) and go visit places we are dying to see. We’d be totally free! Sometimes I can’t stand being tied down to our house, jobs, etc. I like to be flexible.
- We wouldn’t have to worry about home maintenance. We could sell one of our cars. We would have less stress. I think less “things” equals less stress!
Cons:
- We’d have to do something to make money. I don’t think we could make enough money online to support us.
- It would be hard with the two dogs. Although, if we did stay in Michigan long enough, my parents own 70 acres we could park on and put up a shed and run for the dogs to play in. They’d love that!
- We’d have to get rid of a lot of things, and that would be a headache.
- We love our house and we’d lose a lot of money if we sold it in the near future. We’ve owned it less than two years.
I almost wish we hadn’t bought our house, but we love it so much and it’s perfect for us. It’s not too big, and we’re in an area that we can be ‘crazy hippies’ and not have people question us. It’s not the norm for people to do things like we do here, especially living in the midwest/south where people think I am crazy for using cloth grocery bags, but the property we live on is almost an acre, which is great for growing a garden and hanging my laundry out.
Do you think I am crazy for wanting to simplify and live in an RV?
Posted in Budget, Green Living, Save Your Money | 11 Comments »
October 15th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Heck no, you’re not crazy at all! Either that or you ARE crazy — AND I am too.
My husband and I are discussing doing the same thing starting next August when our home lease expires. We have our sights on an Airstream trailer. We’ve been downsizing for years, and RV living is the icing on the cake for us. Imagine living anywhere you want to live, free as a bird, traveling and living in a cozy abode. It’ll be cozy alright, with the two of us, our young daughter, plus the dog. But I can’t wait!
[Reply]
October 15th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
My wife would sell our house and live in an RV in a second. This would combine two of the things I hate most in life, traffic and stupid people. I would rather live under a bridge somewhere.
[Reply]
October 16th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Millionaire Mommy- I am glad I’m not the only one! I think it is awesome that you downsized. I know a lot of people probably thought you were crazy because everyone wants bigger and better these days, but I want smaller and less stress!
Dusty- I hate traffic too. We’ll just have to park our RVs.
[Reply]
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
[...] example, I went through a period of seriously wanting to put my house on the market and live in an rv. While this is an idea I’d still consider, I’ve stopped obsessing about it. I’ve [...]
April 12th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
[...] house’ or just ‘one-and-done’? I have mixed feelings on this. I think I’d be happy living in an RV, so I think a small house could suffice. At the same time, I know what it’s like to want a [...]
May 27th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
i & my husband have been thinking of taking our 2 kids on the road living out of a 5th wheel & a converted schoolbus so that we can be together becuz his job has him out of town 3weeks a month but finding th money/expertise 2 rehab th bus has become an issue. boy,i cant wait to give th utility companies th middle finger!
[Reply]
May 28th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
mesha- I hear you! I hate paying utilities. I wish I could live totally off grid.
[Reply]
June 15th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Well, I have a 38 ft 2007 KZ Escalade and i’d like to sell it because i’m going nuts living in it. I owe 68K and I haven’t tried to sell it yet because my husband loves it and doesn’t think we can sell it right now. He loves the lifestyle. I miss the house, we are living in it with three cats. I’m taking more medicine for depression and he’s looking at boats. It’s going to come down to me or the RV.
[Reply]
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Camille- That’s exactly what I worry about. We actually refinanced our house and I can see us staying here for at least a few more years. Good luck with your situation!
[Reply]
July 27th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Go for it…you only travel this road once so travel it in a path that makes you happy. And, if it’s in an RV, so be it. We went “full time” and loved it…sold our home but after 5 wonderful years on the road had to return home due to illness in family, but have never regretted those years . Seen so much and met so many wonderful people….our experiences and memories are endless.
[Reply]
October 13th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
[...] that I told her to pull into the parking lot that had all the rvs for sale. I told her that if we lived in an rv, we would save so much money. I guess she didn’t think it was as cool as I [...]