What Living in an RV is Really Like
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Pretty much everyone we told about our plans to live in an RV full time thought it would be an awesome adventure. In fact, I have lost count of the number of people who said they are “living vicariously through us” or “wish they would have done something like that”.
Well, I have good news for those of you wondering what RV life is really like. It’s awesome! There are tons of benefits of RV living and honestly, I feel like we have only just begun to scratch the surface.
Benefits of RV Living
I will say, RV living definitely isn’t for everyone, but chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re starting to more seriously toss the idea around and see if it is all it is cracked up to be. (Or possibly you’re related to me or a friend wondering if I’ve gone off the deep end. Don’t worry, I haven’t!)
And for Joel and I, RV living has been such an amazing choice so far. It has been even better than we anticipated when we first purchased an RV. We have seen a lot of benefits to RV living that I am super excited to share with you. Here are the top benefits of RV living.
1. Life is Simpler
A huge benefit of living in a small space is the fact that less space means less upkeep/cleaning!
When we lived in a house, I constantly felt like there were chores to be done and not enough time to do them! Now that we are in the RV, I feel so much less overwhelmed by housework/yardwork.
We no longer have to spend our evenings and weekends just trying to keep things clean instead of spending quality time with each other and actually enjoying the time we have off from work.
Our house also doesn’t get as messy because living small means we have less junk cluttering up our space. Everything has a place and with precious little counter space to spare, it has to get put back there.
Given the fact that clutter has been shown to make people feel more anxious, having a clutter-free life has been such a great change of pace! Especially for someone with a tendency for being anxious as is. I don’t want to come home to a place that makes me feel more anxious/stressed, and now I don’t have to!
Even if you aren’t ready to full-on commit to tiny living, you should definitely check out how we decluttered our lives and consider lifting the weight that all your stuff can place on you. I have felt so much better since doing so and I think you just might as well!
2. We get to Explore New Areas of the Country
The United States might get a bad rap a lot of times, but one thing I think we can all agree on is that this country is FILLED with beautiful places. Another huge benefit of RV living is that we get to see so much more of the country because we aren’t tied down to one location. We usually take advantage of monthly rates at RV parks so we have enough time to really explore an area before moving on.
Additionally, with my job as a traveling speech-language pathologist (SLP), we are getting to explore some places we may have never gone to otherwise.
We just wrapped up a stint in Indiana, which I can definitely say is a place I never thought I would live. But it has been a great place to spend the late summer and fall. After living out west the last 4 years, we had really missed out on a real fall (Sorry, New Mexico, as much as you want to claim you have four seasons you really don’t. There. I said it.)
The changing leaves all around have been absolutely gorgeous. Plus this contract has put us closer to family which has allowed us to get to see them more often than we would have if we hadn’t come back to the Midwest for a spell.
We also got the chance to take a long weekend trip out to West Virginia to the New River Gorge area for some breathtaking hiking.
We just recently arrived in Northern California which will offer us yet another totally different change in scenery. Let me tell you though, that was a LOOOONG drive and I hope to not make another cross country road trip for a while!
Not many people have an opportunity to live in more than just a couple locations and just visiting somewhere for a week or so doesn’t really give you the same experience. Living in an RV has already allowed us to get to check out more of this amazing country than we could have if we lived in a regular house.
3. We Have Something that is Ours
I have some friends who have already bought houses and have a place that feels like their own, but since we still have no idea where (or if!) we want to settle down someday, buying a house just doesn’t make sense for us right now.
We may love the area at first and after a couple months find out it isn’t as good as we once thought. The hassle of having to sell a house to move, not to mention the fact that we would likely lose money if we didn’t stay in one place for a good chunk of time, meant that we were renters.
There isn’t anything wrong with renting, of course, and we made the places we rented homey, but we have just really enjoyed having a place to live that is really ours and not something we are in just for a year or maybe two.
Also, we are just a few months away from knocking out the rest of the RV loan and then our house will belong to us free and clear. Not something most 20 somethings can say given the insane housing costs we are seeing all across the country.
I know some people may argue that and RV is a depreciating asset, which is technically true, however, we were lucky to get a great deal. Our RV had already come down 60% from the original selling price. (We found the original paperwork in the far recesses of one of our cabinets and felt pretty cool).
So, since we bought used, someone else took the hit and we will probably be able to get a good amount of our money back if we ever decide to sell it. And if we keep it and live in it forever then we’ll have no payments beyond the need for a campsite.
Either way, having a place to call home that belongs to us is a pretty great feeling and now we don’t have to commit to “settling down” to have that!
I know I’m not the only one with wanderlust out there, so I’m sure some of you can relate. I mean, I literally cannot picture myself living in one place for the rest of my life, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
4. We Aren’t Tied Down Geographically
I feel like when I think about committing to one place for FOREVER or at least for long enough for it to make sense to buy a house I start to freak out a bit. We have lived in 7 different states in our 4 years of marriage after all! (Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Indiana, and now California just in case you were wondering).
Living in an RV and working as a travel therapist means we don’t have to settle for staying in one place. After all, there is so much of the country we still need to see!
Another thing we have noticed is that there have been a lot of places where we have lived and initially we thought “yeah we could totally stay here forever” only to find after a bit more time, that we could no longer imagine making that place our “forever” home.
So doing the whole RV thing gives us a chance to check out various different places before having to commit to settling down. If we ever do… The longer we do this RV thing, the less sure I am about ever giving it up!
5. Our House is Always with Us
Traveling is excellent, but if you have ever been on a long vacation you know how ready you are to get back to your own place and your own bed at the end of a trip. The awesome thing about living in an RV? We can to travel AND always be in our OWN house.
Not having to worry about packing up all our stuff every 3-4 months and find an apartment to rent short term has significantly reduced the stress of being a travel SLP. Not to mention, since we are traveling with our pupper, Luna, it is much less stressful for her to have the same house and just different outside smells.
I can’t imagine totally uprooting our life every few months without the comforts of home staying with us. Living in an RV while we are traveling allows us to keep home with us wherever we go.
To Sum it Up
We are SOO incredibly happy with our decision to sell all our junk, move into an RV and travel the country while I work as a traveling speech-language pathologist. I would say that if you are considering it to just go for it. After all there are so many benefits to RV living!
We have absolutely 0 regrets about this life we have chosen and are loving every minute of it. It’s about to get even better too, because ski season is just around the corner. Nothing like being able to chase the seasons you want to be in!
Got questions about full time RVing or travel therapy? Hit me up in the comments and I would love to help you out any way I can!
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