We left Tyler, Texas on June 17, 2007, the day after I retired.   Dave had retired about 2 weeks earlier, thus two refugees from Higher Education set out to see if there really is life outside of a college campus.   We are right at 10 months, which is a relatively short period of time; yet it feels so comfortable that it seems we have been doing this for much longer.    

We travel with two very spoiled cats.   Shadow, who will be 10 years old this summer, is the dominate one, behaving like a very young cat.   She has trained us to take her for walks on her leash.   She tolerates wearing the leash, as that is the only way she gets to go outside.  Actually we believe that she feels a sense of security when wearing it!  An extremely good traveler, she lets us know after about 10 days that she is ready to move and see something new.   When on the road her built in time clock lets her know when we get close to 2:00 pm.   That is her stop time, because by then she is very hungry as they are not feed the mornings we travel.   Why don’t we feed?  Well that brings us to our elderly cat, Kit, who will be 17 years old this summer.   She is a very small calico and, as with most of us, increasing age has brought on a host of health problems.   She suffers from motion sickness, hence no food in the morning.  She is hard of hearing – well perhaps she is really totally deaf!  Because she also has arthritis, a stool is in place for her use when climbing up onto the nightstand where she sleeps.  Finally, she requires daily medication to treat her overactive thyroid.   In spite this plethora of ailments she travels well.  She has taught us a great lesson  – just keep on keeping on.

We both retired after 40+ years of being at various universities, first as students and later as faculty/administrators.   We often joke that we went to college and never left.  We just kept taking classes and getting degrees until they hired us.

Barbara's parents provided us with the first reason for becoming full-time RVers.  They were on the road for a number of years during the 80s.  It was such fun to get telephone calls describing a little out-of-the way place that they had found with great homemade pies (Barb's dad could spot a place with great pies just driving down the street), interesting local characters and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. They even went to  MUSEUMS (much to Barb's surprise - dad didn't do that when she was growing up).  Most of all they enjoyed being together.

The second reason is a promise we made to each other while Barb was undergoing chemotherapy in 1993.  As soon as we were able, we were going to take the time to enjoy life and each other as full-timers. After Dave's “large” small stroke in 2000, we took a good look at the calendar, did some figuring and looking at our finances, and put summer 2006 as our target date for retirement.   We could have worked longer - the university wanted us to stay.  However we had reached a point in our careers where we felt we had done everything we were going to do. We were no longer driven to make that difference in higher education.  We also had seen so many people save and save until they had “enough” only to succumb to a fatal illness before being able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The smartest thing we have done was to retire as soon as we were able to do so.

Having moved nine times during our 40-year marriage and owning five different houses in as many states, we were definitely relieved to sell our last one.  The idea of keeping a house, with all of its hassles, didn’t appeal to us.  Ready to be free we were!  Our house actually sold a year before we retired – after only four days on the market! We had to quickly find a place to live.  We rented a small townhouse for that final year.   In retrospect selling our house sooner than expected turned out to be a good thing.  It allowed us to downsize (i.e. get rid of stuff!) in steps - from a large house, to a townhouse, to a recreational vehicle.

This first year of retirement has been so enjoyable in part due to our decision to join the Escapees “Full-time Graduating Class of ‘06”.   The class is made up of people, like ourselves, who began fulltiming during 2006.   We have shared triumphs and tragedies, tips and strategies for the process of going full-time, initially all on the Internet.  

Then as we started our travels it was great to meet some of or fellow classmates during the first year.    In January 26 rigs from the Class of ’06 met at Quartzite, Arizona for a rally.    From all walks of life we came, all with one common experience – we were new fulltimers!   To finally meet people you have been corresponding with for several months was a great treat.  We gathered as a group in the desert on BLM land and shared our experiences, hopes and desires.  Then on the last evening we scheduled a mock home mortgage-burning ceremony!  Now we look forward to meeting with those members of the class who were at “Q,” as well as others unable to attend, at different places as we travel.   We have become an extended family sharing the joys and sorrows with other members of the group as we travel across the country.    We also post notes on the Escapees “Graduating to Full-time” forum on the Internet, indicating where we will be next so that if someone is close we can arrange to get together.

The primary reason we chose a motorhome is that it fits our RVing style.  We purchased a used 36’ diesel-pusher to be our home on the road.  We stay about two weeks at one place and use our small Subaru to geocache, visit museums, sight see, etc.   Thus we are not burning expensive diesel fuel at 8.5 mpg, rather using a very fuel-efficient car.   Another reason is that we do not have to move the cats from their home to travel.  No loading them into a carrier, transferring them to a truck, then back to RV when we stop.  As soon as they feel the purr of the diesel motor they settle into their places in the coach.   Each of them has a particular spot and each has been known to become vocal about someone else being in their spot!   Thirdly, we can stop for a break at a rest stop and, if raining, never have to venture outside.   We can use the bathroom, wash up, fix lunch, and take a nap, etc. without having to go outside.    Being able to use our “own” bathroom without stepping outside is one of the reasons we have a motorhome. The motorhome fits our style of travel.  Most stays are two weeks or less.   We have stayed in one place for three weeks, but suffered a severe case of ‘hitch itch’ during the final week.   And there is only one cure for ‘hitch itch’ – firing up the engine and getting on down the road!

In preparation for becoming full-time RVers we moved all of our financial accounts to online systems.   Very seldom do we have to write a check as almost everything is done online.   To facilitate our being able to get online, we purchased an air card to use in our notebook computer.   We had already been using  Verizon  for cell phone coverage and have found that we also get excellent coverage for the air card.   Having the air card means that we almost always can get online.   This helps us maintain our blog  and  homepage where we post descriptions of our travels and pictures of the places we have visited.   This originally was done so that our families and friends could track us as we moved across the country.    We have since had correspondence from as far away as Japan from individuals interested in what we are doing.

Since we were already residents of Texas, using the Escapees Club for our mail service and their facility at Livingston, Texas as our ‘official’ residence was a ‘no-brainer’ and the transition almost painless.    We also kept our physicians in Tyler, Texas for the time being.   Since our health insurance is Texas based, it made sense to keep our primary physician as part of the “network”.   We use a mail order pharmacy covered by our health insurance for obtaining our routine medications.   Again, the mail service at Escapees has proven over and over to be one of the best.   We have everything sent to our Livingston address and once every two or three weeks we call them and 2 to 3 days later, our mail is ready to be picked up at the General Delivery window of the U.S. Post Office in whatever town we are in that week.    We even use the system for getting Kit’s thyroid medication!

Probably the biggest mistake we made was not getting an independent inspection of the motorhome before we purchased it.   However, I’m not sure that even then the problems we have had would have shown up.  In any event we have learned that even when you have to stop for a while for repairs, you can find things to see and do!  So ‘downtime’ can be more bearable, even enjoyable.  I subsequently  developed a short list of items to make easier entitled “How to Live While Waiting For Repairs” that is posted at the link up at the top of the page.

People always ask what it takes financially to be full-time RVers.  The standard answer is that it takes as much as you have!  Budgets very dramatically among full-timers.   I know there are individuals and couples who do well on less that $2,000 per month, while others have difficulty with $5,000+ a month.   So much depends upon the style of RVing that you choose.  Some of the differences include is the RV paid for or are there monthly payments?   Eating in or eating out makes a difference in the monthly budget.   What kind hobbies and other activities are involved.   Geocaching is pretty inexpensive, golf can be costly at times depending upon the area.   Health insurance is an ongoing problem for fulltimers who retire before they are eligible for Medicare and is another item that can increase the budget.  The kind of RV also makes a difference.   Gas motorhomes aren’t as expensive to service as diesel ones, but diesels don’t have to be serviced as often.   And whether or not some of that service can be DYI also affects the budget. 

And the first year is much more expensive – especially the first six months while you are trying to get things settled and figure out a routine that matches your style of RVing.   It is amazing how much the things you didn’t realize you needed cost.   I think most fulltimers spend the first six months in vacation mode – driving to far, to fast, trying to see everything and visit everywhere they have thought about for the past few years.    After about six months you start to settle down and do longer stays in an area.   Longer stays lead to reduced costs because of lower campground fees and less fuel for the motorhome.   We are probably about average for fulltimers – somewhere around $3000/month.    We have a campground membership in Western Horizons, and for us this has been very beneficial.   We have stayed in several of the membership parks during this winter at an additional cost of approximately $3.00 per night.      Membership parks aren’t for everyone; but, for us and our style of travel, this has proven to be a good investment.    We also use Escapees Parks, RV parks that give Escapees discounts, and Passport America for overnight stops.  

In reviewing our budget for the first year we haven’t spent as much on restaurants as I had projected, but have spent more on groceries.   At first I was perplexed as to why I was seeing this trend.   We ate out a lot more when both of us were working incredibly long hours and didn’t feel like cooking at the end of the day.   Now mealtimes are less structured and we often will have a late lunch out when we are sightseeing and then a lighter dinner at home.   Having lunch out reduces the cost and also helps keep weight down – RVing can promote a sedentary lifestyle.   That explained the smaller amount for eating out.  And then one day in the middle of a supermarket I figured out why our grocery costs were higher – there are two of us doing the grocery shopping now (before Dave seldom went to the supermarket) and we are doing it in unfamiliar stores!   So we are trying more different and unusual things and going down unfamiliar aisles, which leads to more impulse buying.   So the two offset each other and part of the fun of fulltiming is explore new areas and that includes local grocery stores and different regional foods.    Whenever possible you should go ahead and get the chain’s loyal card (or whatever they call them).  Not only will you save some money on the food in the store, but a lot of them will also have savings on gasoline after so many grocery purchases.   We have filled up our toad many times with $0.10 a gallon savings from Safeway.