A Full-timing Stranger in a Strange Land

After living this lifestyle for a while, it becomes obvious to your closest friends and family that you are no longer “on vacation.” That’s when your choice to live away from the mainstream can make you somewhat of a curious oddity to people who live the traditional life that you left behind.

If you’re new to full-time RVing or just thinking about it, I encourage you to come up with a 30 second comeback for strangers who ask the inevitable question: “So, where do you live?

Having your comeback ready can quickly weed out the exciting conversations from the snoozers.

We don’t really live in one place

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting a highly successful local entrepreneur. Upon meeting him, he asked me the usual “So where do you live?” question that newly introduced usually strangers ask each other.

“Well, that’s a long story, but basically I live and work from my RV.

My husband and I are full-time RVers. We don’t really live in one place. We’re just visiting my family right now.”

A long pause hung in the air as he squinted at me, trying to process what I just said. I could see a big question mark lingering over his head and almost hear him wondering “Is she saying she’s homeless? A hobo? Huh?

“What, are you retired?” he said, and laughed out loud.

“No,” I said smiling. “We do work, we just do it from wherever we want, in our RV.”

He shook his head, still not really grasping what I was saying. It was as if the thought of doing anything other than running the rat race never even occurred to him.

“Oh, that’s cool,” he said. No questions asked and our conversation pretty much died there.

Later that evening at a charity event, I sat next to a freelance artist in the L.A. film industry. When he found out about our full-time RVer lifestyle, his eyes lit up.

“Oh wow! My girlfriend and I have talked about doing that when we retire!” he said.

“Why wait until you retire?” I asked, and proceeded to explain to him how he could live this lifestyle, now. He proceeded to ask me dozens of questions about full-timing, and we had a nice conversation about the benefits of living on the road.

That’s when it occurred to me: the people who question everything in life will reap the biggest benefits from the experience of being alive. No amount of money or career success can do this for people; fulfillment and happiness results from your inner desire to inquire, to be bold and take action by coloring outside the lines.

Never stop questioning and you never stop living.

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