John is a retired Navy Electronics Technician Chief. He traded the Navy
adventure for a job in manufacturing quality assurance in 1986, and traded
the job for the RV adventure in early 2005. Kathy has held jobs in the medical
office arena as well as raising two sons. We now have 5 grand children and
one great grand child.
We have done much volunteer work since hitting the road including working at
the Escapees CARE center in Livingston, Texas. We also are registered Red
Cross disaster volunteers, and served in a Hurricane Katrina shelter in San
Antonio, Texas.
Our connection to Sarasota started in 1995 when John was transferred from
New Jersey to work for Electro Corporation, later to become a division of
Honeywell. He retired in 2004 and we bought our motorhome and hit the road.
We are life members of the Escapees RV Club, as well as members of Good
Sam Club and Family Motorcoach Association (FMCA). We hold campground
memberships in Thousand Trails, RPI, and Passport America. Our
home park is Hart Ranch in Rapid City, SD.
Lately, we have worked in campgrounds in PA, IL, SD, AZ, and FL.
In 2008 we became podcasters, broadcasting our show, Living the
RV Dream on the internet. We have since yurned the podcast over to Robert Morales. We also have this blog we are having fun with.
Due to Kathy's major illness in 2014, we have hung up the keys and sold our beloved "Dream Machine" and we now have a house in Florida.
Found you via the Vanstones blog. I'm 57; my SO is 67, and we still have adult children at home, but our plan is full-time RV lifestyle when the kids are on their own, so in the meantime I'm living vicariously through those of you already doing it.
ReplyDeleteHey John and Kathy,
ReplyDeleteIt is early morning here in Belle Fourche, SD. I am on our new Verizon internet connection inside a camper. This morning, I googled, "living in an RV fulltime" and found your site.
My SO and I are new, full timers, I reckon. Not by choice. I lost my home in a divorce and John lost his years ago during Katrina. We were both living (unhappily) with our adult daughters and grandkids in Laramie & Cheyenne, WY when we met online through a dating site. We decided to meet in person.
A date later, we found that we were each other's missing link. Recently we found ourselves living in a friend's camper, staying outside of my sister's home in Belle, assisting her and her husband (and 2 poodles) while she battles brain cancer.
The camper spot is very temporary so we must find a place to move it soon.
If I'd compare full time RV living to living a dream of any kind, it would be a nightmare. In an attempt to change that outlook, I am seeking out folks that live full time in an RV and relish in it.
We know nothing about RV living. I mean nada-darn-thing. I hope to learn through you and others like you.
I have so many questions that I would not know where to start. I reckon a big one I have is mail. Which is the best service in your opinion?
Another is employment. We have no income so employment is a must. Where can we start to seek campground jobs?
Laurie (and John)
Hi Kathy. I discovered your website via Google search engine. My husband travels for work so a year ago this last October we purchased an RV. This year most of his work has been based out of California. From the research I have been doing about becoming a Full-Timer it is important to choose a home base. We are current Washington State residents and would like to remain so. However, I have been reading residency laws and in most states you are only considered non-residents if you work and reside in a state under 6 mo? Also, I have been told that we need to insure our vehicles in such state if he is going to work in that state for longer then 4 months. Trying to live the dream, but becoming discouraged. Seems there are so many laws to prevent one from doing so. I am here in Washington and my hubby is in California and I don't want to give up residency here in Washington. We purchased the RV thinking it would save us money, however, trying to hold onto our home here and maintaining an RV lifestyle there isn't as easy as we had hoped it would be. And just when I think I have it all figured out I realize I don't. I found a mail forwarding service and was just about ready to move what's left into storage, then discovered the 6 mo residency law...
ReplyDelete