My passion for the open road was probably lit as a child on long road trips, spending hours in the car, only to be surrounded by a new destination at the end of the day. We would spend time here, time there, and stopping long enough to enjoy the sights before moving on. I’m assuming that I share this passion with all those RV’ers who traverse the country in their house on wheels. As I watch them drive up and down the interstate, like fish in a current crisscrossing the country I sometimes wonder what it would be like to sell everything but the necessities and set out for the open road in a chateau on wheel.
Believe it or not, the idea of traversing the country as a lifestyle is not that far fetched. I mean, gypsies in Europe wander their entire lives in communes. Logistically it’s not impossible, and honestly, I would get the chance to see all that I’d want to see from the comfort of my own “home”. The question then becomes how do you financially support yourself and make this idea logistically possible? Sure you won’t be climbing any corporate ladders as a vagabond but you will learn skill sets that may or may not be useful at future dates or with future endeavours. Either one would need a position wherein they could either telecommute from anywhere there’s internet, or find employment within the current locale.
No house means no mortgage, and so earnings would be used to survive and to save for the next leg of the trip. Now that finances have been pretty much solved, how does one go about moving across the country, do you take a state every month? Why not every year? I’ve long pondered this and figured, why not take advantage of the fact that there are 4 seasons and spend a season in a region of the state before moving on to another. Summers along the Washington Beach, spring in the Klamanth Mountain Range, fall in the oak woodlands of the valley, or winter just outside the city, the possibilities to be surrounded by a new sight are just about endless; not to mention that many larger cities have RV sites specifically designed for the road traveler.
This lifestyle in my opinion may or may not be for those with young ones, however, plenty of people have raised children on the go in this fashion since the dawn of time. The Native Americans did it, the Huns did it, and as previously stated the Gypsies still do it to this day. There is nothing wrong with this choice, and it hasn’t been proven to be detrimental to children (I don’t think) as long as there is a good support group and parental guidance. Some individuals have friends/family all over the country and why NOT use the traveling home to spend time with the people who mean the most to us but we never get to see for whatever reason.
The more I rationalize, and the more I ponder these thoughts the more I say, yeah I can do that! And, at the same time, the one thing that truly holds me back is myself. Scores of twenty-somethings backpack across Europe from all over the globe with no place to go, and they give it nary a thought. As we mature, we lose this sense of adventure for more consistency and with that loss I think all lose a part of who we are as humans. We’re supposed to move, we nest yes, but humans have always been on the move and we always will be. Will I? Who knows? Life is a truly big adventure.
