There are many reasons why people choose to live in a camper/ recreational vehicle. Ours will differ from others because no two families are the same. We've considered this lifestyle for about a year and just weren't sure how to make it work with Matt being a contract business owner and me being a SAHM. This lifestyle would've never really been possible if it weren't for me getting a virtual job that pays well.
Here are a few reasons we are choosing to live this life.
1. Simplification -
I think simplification was the main driving force for me. We live in a four bedroom home with a full basement. After years of living here things have really started to accumulate. Now, we aren't hoarders and everything is clean and organized (minus the girls' room LOL) but I have been telling Matt for so long that I am exhausted from trying to keep up. I wanted to hire out help to clean my house because just everyday chores take so long that I end up not wanting to deep clean and declutter. Its like I was being swallowed up in our huge house. I have started resenting my cleaning chores because I felt like I was in a losing battle and didn't know how I was going to keep up. Moving into a camper is forcing us to simplify our life and possessions, which will also help us avoid the constant need to accumulate more shit we don't actually need.
2. Slowing down -
Most who know us know that we don't take participate in sports and all of the extra curriculums they offer to families. Mostly because my kids aren't interested but also because the extra curriculums always take up so much of family time that it can literally drain the life out of you. How do I know this? Because I grew up in a home with 6 daughters and each of us participated in MANY extra curricular activities. This meant my parents spent a lot of time and money traveling for these events. Every night was dinner on the road. Everyday all 8 of us went separate ways. It literally drove our family apart. It's one of those things that "I'm not going to do what my parents did" kind of things. Of course I know there is some importance in these activities but the cons outweigh the pros for our family. We can find fun ways to be competitive with each other and play with our friend and family and still learn the same lessons without having to be gone every night. Our only EC is Girl Scouts and we absolutely adore our Girl Scout family. And although we love Girl Scouts, it has become a full time job for me and an exhausting and thankless position at that. I am ready for a break from hurrying to get here and there for Girl Scouts. I am ready to not have to plan ANYTHING except things for our family for awhile. I am ready to focus that energy back into my kids and husband. I want to be able to adventure and scout as a family. To learn about our world together. I am hoping this life will bring us more time to enjoy the simple things, like a cup of tea in the morning or a walk in the park without having to check my phone.
3. Pursuit of passions -
With more time and flexibility, I want to chase my kids dreams and passions. Those dreams of seeing the ocean for the first time, climbing a mountain, swimming with manatees, following an animal migration (and actually seeing it. Not just in a book) and just being able to be children. Letting their minds explore new places and climates. Living in a camper will allow us to pursue our passions and interests more fully. We can focus on hobbies, creative projects, or other pursuits that may have taken a backseat while living our traditional lifestyle in a sticks and bricks.
4. Cost Savings -
For our family, it's important to us to live a debt free as possible. We own our home and plan to rent it out which will help our income substantially. We will make more money living in the camper than staying in our home, obviously. Our cost of living and traveling fulltime will be very close to the same price as us living in our sticks and bricks. So adding the house as income will be what makes it so we can continue to build our savings or continue to invest in our passive income stream. Compared to traditional housing, living in a camper can be significantly cheaper depending on the situation you're in. For us, its exactly the same cost. BUT NOW, our home moves. So we get to live with the same expenses and travel at the same time!
5. Adventure and Connecting with Nature -
I'm just going to come out and say it, we have never been on a family vacation by ourselves. My mom paid for 2 family vacations that we all took together but we have never actually planned a trip together, just the 5 of us. Living in a camper is going to allow us to actually travel! We are so excited for an adventure together that we cant even describe the joy we feel right now. We know it isn't going to be sunshine and rainbows everyday but we are excited to tackle the hard times together. We live in a small town currently of about 250 people and we're surrounded by cornfields. There isn't much to explore where we live and if there is, we've probably explored it. We can't wait to chase waterfalls because we are sick of sticking to the rivers and the lakes that were used to. (Hope you caught my TLC reference there).
Ultimately, the decision to live in a camper is a personal one, and each person or family may have their own reasons for choosing this lifestyle. Living in a camper can provide a sense of freedom and liberation, allowing you to live life on your own terms and enjoy the journey. For us, we just choose to not be a part of the rat race and we want to live as unconventional of a life as possible. We don't want to fit in and we don't want to keep up with the Joneses because THEY'RE BROKE!
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