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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Common questions

Do you work? What kind of job do you have?
Jeremy is a computer programmer for a company in Cleveland. He had been telecommuting for them for almost three years before we left. He still has the same job-he can work anywhere there is an internet connection. Kim takes care of the kids full-time.

How do you get your mail? We use a mail-forwarding service. We have an address through them, and once a month they forward all the mail to us at a campground.

Isn't it expensive? Actually, without a mortgage it's a lot cheaper to be on the road, even with the extra cost of gas. We purchased annual memberships to museums and zoos, so we can visit those all over the country without paying any additional fees. We spend a lot of time doing free or very inexpensive things like city parks, public playgrounds, walking on trails, and playing outside. The payment on our trailer plus campground fees is significantly less than we were paying for a mortgage plus utilities.

How do you live in such a small space with kids? We only had to make a few adjustments here. In our old house, even though we had a lot more room, we weren't really using all the space. We tended to all be in the same room anyway. We can't be quite as loud if one of the kids is sleeping or Jeremy's on the phone for work. The fans generate some white noise, and the trailer is divided into three sections so that helps. But we also have a lot less space to clean! We make much better use of the space we have now, and honestly, we wonder what we did with all the room before.

What is a typical day like? We all are up pretty early, thanks to the kids. Most days we're up and going by 6:30 or so. Jeremy is trying to keep his 9-5:30ET hours, which is currently 7-3:30 mountain time for us. I get the kids ready to go and we try to do a morning activity out of the trailer. Sometimes that's grocery shopping or laundry, sometimes we go to a park or museum, and sometimes we stay and play outside the trailer. We have lunch with Jeremy back inside, then it's time for the kids to take their naps. By the time they wake up Jeremy is done with work and we do an activity as a family. Usually that's going for a walk, or going to a park, or going swimming, or something else that is a shorter activity. We come back home, have dinner, and play outside until it's time for bed. On the weekends, when Jeremy is off work, we go to the bigger museums and do the all-day type of activities. We very rarely spend a whole day without going somewhere, even if it's just to a park.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy these FAQ kind of posts about full-timing. They really help me envision how this might work out for us. I've been wanting to live FT in an RV for several years now. My husband is working his last full-day in the office today. As of tomorrow, he starts a work-at-home/regional travel job with his same company. This job change makes me feel one step closer to the RV Dream!!!

Stephanie said...

Hi Jeremy & Kim!

We are Tim & Stephanie Sheaffer, an Arizona couple with two little girls (ages 1 & 3). We recently made the decision to sell our house and most everything we own to purchase an RV and travel around the country...with the intent purpose of giving to others. Our website is: GiveEveryDay.com.

Since you've been on-the-road for a year now, we were wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions for us about RV life. There are so many considerations and it would be wonderful to hear about your experience and glean from your expertise.

We look forward to hearing from you when you have a free minute (and a good internet connection). ;)

Talk to you soon,
Tim & Stephanie
GiveEveryDay.com
tim@giveeveryday.com
stephanie@giveeveryday.com

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