Hey guys – Anjali here! This is going to be the first guest post on The LITMO Life, and I’m happy to say it’s by one of my best friends, Amy, who was a huge part of the inspiration for my journey. I had heard of other people doing full-time travel, but I never knew anyone in my life until I met Amy. She and her husband Mike have been RVing full-time, off and on, for several years – and they are some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. I asked Amy to write a post for me about her lifestyle: why she chose it and why she loves it. Below, you’ll find the amazing thoughts of an amazing lady. Happy reading!
If you were to ask anyone who has known me at any point in my life, they would tell you that I’ve always been looking for a way out.
“I’m going to pack my car and travel the world: I’ll get an RV or maybe even a travel trailer.”
“How will you make money, though?” I was always asked.
“I’ll figure it out! I’ll sell food, maybe funnel cake at a carnival (for some reason, there was always something really appealing to me about being a carny), sell crafts, pick up odd jobs, anything! I am just going to be FREE!”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all about working hard. As a runner, I know that the payoff after a lot of work can be worth it. That said, I never wanted to get sucked into the 9-to-5 cycle, living the same day over and over. I’ve always been a restless soul – constantly looking for new experiences, more knowledge, and a fervent need to see how other people live. What else is out there? When I cross over this “state line,” what will I see? Does the landscape change that much?
Surprisingly, it does.
How is it possible that just venturing over a “line,” everything somehow changes? With every new journey over an arbitrary “line,” I feel like I’m about to begin a new adventure.
Maybe I’m not making any sense. Maybe you don’t understand this, yet. Maybe it’s just one of those things you can’t understand until you’ve done it.
Road tripping, too, is different than flying. With driving, the reward is so much greater than having that instant gratification of flying to a destination. The random roadside attractions that go back to the Route 66 days; the quirky little dive bars and restaurants that seem sketchy from the outside, but end up being the best discovery of your day; meeting locals who will entertain you, charm you, and, ultimately, give you a new perspective.
There’s nothing like travel. It gets me so pumped that more and more young adults are going back to the idea of adventure. In my view, the need for adventure and experience is inside of a lot of people – they’ve just been too scared to go for it.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s not easy: My husband and I have had our fair share of stress and doubt, but when you think about it, all life is stress and doubt, isn’t it? Are you ever really comfortable? And if you are, are you really happy being that comfortable or are you bored and unsatisfied? Even if you have a cushy job – like Anjali, who could have made partner at her law firm, if she wanted to. She was torn between pursing her carrier (living a super fancy life in fancy shoes – and she definitely loved her fancy shoes) or living a life unknown that could lead her to so much more. Something more interesting and exciting. I am so happy she chose the latter.
Well, so did my husband and I about 10 months ago (and I’m happy to say Anjali says I inspired her). But here’s the whole story: my husband Mike really helped make my dream a reality 10 years ago when I first met him. He purchased an RV that we used to travel in for work. We sold converted vehicles, at first, and later on, that RV aided us in perusing a dream of owning apartment complexes. We were able to find a niche of purchasing distressed properties in need of major renovations. I had a background in construction so we decided to save money by being our own project manager. Funny thing – our investors really loved the fact that we could bring our home anywhere and overlook a project. In the middle of doing all this we got the idea that we might actually be able to make this lifestyle a full-time thing. We knew we would have to work really hard and build up a base, but we wanted to. We decided to go after it, then rent or sell our house, sell the material things we really had no need for, and live our dreams.
Now, a lot of other things happened in the middle of all this, but the important note is that we weren’t happy with our current life, so we chose a new one, and then we worked hard to make it happen.
You may be thinking, “Well, they had lots of money and could easily afford this.” Nope. This was no easy task. When we got to the moment when we started to see our things disappear and reality started to sink in, there was major panic! We were then in the middle of building our business and still are. It’s a process. At the time, all of our money was going back into the company. Every day we’d ask each other if this was the right choice. We kept running the numbers to make sure we would actually be saving money, but if you really want something you have to keep pushing to make it a reality.
Don’t listen to the people who are jealous or negative. Don’t let them get inside your head! Don’t listen to yourself when you’re wallowing in self-pity. Wake up the next day with a fresh head and start your day with the following question: how can I make this work? Life is too short for anything else. It may be a cliché, but shit, it’s TRUE!
There is no “taking it all in,” because honestly – you won’t. It is, though, possible to take in minutes, seconds, and, if you’re lucky, hours. Get inspired. Get out of your comfort zone.
That’s what traveling does for me.
It inspires me to live. And learn. And share. I’ve realized that I get a thrill from seeing others happy. I love seeing where they’ve gone and what they’ve done. Because, damn it, they are living! And I feel like other people who know happiness enjoy this experience, too. My husband and I have been fortunate enough to become full-time RVers, but we also created our own fortune. We have been practicing this life since 2008 and have finally graduated.
Whatever you’ve been taught, whatever you thought you should be doing, it doesn’t matter unless you’re listening to your soul. As cheesy as it might sound, if you listen to yourself you can’t go wrong. We are survivors, it is inherent within us. Don’t ever doubt it. When faced with struggle, you find out who you really are. Don’t get too comfortable and don’t let your fears stop you. Go out and live.