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If you are interested in a resource to help you transition to a wanderlust lifestyle, or extended travel, you can click here to receive our Wanderlust Transition Plan. It will be immediately emailed to your inbox.
Wanderlust Dreams
When I was in my early twenties, I traveled alone, with only a backpack and a wanderlust dream.
I dropped everything to travel to New Zealand and Australia for half a year. After a six-year slog through college, the last thing I wanted was to get a “real job,” and planned to work part-time to sustain my grand adventure. This was before there were such things as social media and digital nomads, so I waitressed, taught English, and made sheep whistles.
The whole transition took less than a month because I didnât own anything, had already quit my crappy waitress job, and literally had nothing to lose. It was the kind of freedom that a wealthy person has even though I wasnât rich, and it was one of the richest experiences I had had at that point in my life.
Now, as a mid-career professional, chasing my wanderlust dreams was so much harder after years of building a life around a suburban lifestyle with a home, husband, careers, and attachments. With some serious planning however, we were able to transition from our suburban sprawl to a wanderlust lifestyle within six months.
If you are thinking about leaping into a wanderlust lifestyle, or are in transition, donât fret about how long it might take you. Everyone is in a different position and has different needs. Approach it in steps and it will happen for you. If you need a resource to help you, sign up to receive our Wanderlust Transition Plan.
Make a Decision and the Universe Conspires
We made the decision to RV full-time in one discussion, after a period of chaos, and right before having to furnish our new house. You can read that story here.
A week later, for the first time in all the years I watched House Hunters, a couple was buying an RV to live in full-time! An internet search revealed that Nikki and Jason from Gone With the Wynns, were young, accomplished, and really knowledgeable about RVing. Then I came across Chris and Cherie from Technomadia, and Nina and Paul from Wheelingit. I was giddy with excitement that others in our age range were making full-time RVing work as a lifestyle. I had an incorrect perception that RVing was something you do in retirement. I showed Bryce all their websites and it was as though the universe was conspiring with our decision, and putting things in front of us to help make it happen.
Turn Your Dreams Into a Project Plan
Iâm a project manager and Bryce is a financial analyst, and we love all things spreadsheets. Through a series of planning meetings, we built this massive, ten-category spreadsheet that we fondly referred to as the “OWL” (Operation WanderLust). It was so thorough that we thought others could benefit from it if they were planning a travel lifestyle. Now, itâs become the Wanderlust Transition Plan, which you can access at the bottom of this post.
We ran the transition like a project, using Agile project management methods, which even included weekly sprints and an actual Kanban board to visualize our progress. This method enabled us to hit most of our targets and leave on time.
A visual Kanban board helps you visualize progress.
The Wanderlust Dream Phase
We started developing our plan by visualizing our travels. This is an important step because how you envision your travels will influence how youâll build your plan. Chances are youâre already dreaming. Additionally, spend some time thinking about how youâll spend your day. Will you do touristy things, backpack, read books in a hammock, cook in, eat at local restaurants, etc.?
The more you think about and get excited about your dream, the easier it is to build your plan and budget. Itâs not about needing to know everything in advance, because there will be surprises. Instead itâs about turning your dreams into reality. The more specific you can be, the more likely it is that youâll create the experience.
Finances and Employment
When I went to New Zealand, I planned to teach snowboarding at Coronet Peak to cover my expenses. But that year, the season was so bad that the ski area closed almost as soon as it opened. My plan evaporated like a weak little snowflake on a warm spring day. That’s how I ended up making sheep whistles (I mean, c’mon sheep whistles?). This is why itâs important to have backup plans and ideally some savings for the inevitable hiccups along the way.
Some people wonder what the heck theyâll do to make money, especially if youâve been working a “regular job.” We were stuck in the mindset that we could only be financially secure working our corporate jobs (we worked for the same company). It wasnât just our main source of income, it was also a large part of our identities as Bryce worked there for nineteen years and I, eleven. However, in our short time on the road weâve met so many enterprising full-time RVers running their businesses and making money. Itâs been a truly inspiring experience. A great resource for this is The RV Entrepreneur podcast.
It was not really possible for us to continue working our jobs remotely, and we were ready for new challenges and change. The good news is that a growing number of employers are becoming more open and willing to employees working remotely. With the ability to work from just about anywhere with good internet connectivity becoming a reality, employers NEED to consider remote workers to compete with what else is possible. But if you canât keep your current employment or donât want to, have no fear, there are more opportunities than ever to work remotely.
Bryce and I are using funds from savings while we develop longer-term income streams.Bryce is chasing a long-time passion of learning how to trade options and developing investing strategies. Additionally, weâre working toward monetizing our blog and leveraging it for other opportunities.
Lastly, Iâm building a remote project management/training business for creative people and small business owners who need support to finish their projects. Want to work with me? Click here.
Housing and Possessions
We rented out our house because we owned it for less than two years and would have lost money on a sale.
Even though our property doesnât have a positive cash flow, weâre continuing to build equity and hold an appreciating asset (fingers-crossed!).
In New Zealand, I rented a room in two different flats, and lived out of a car for a while. In Australia, I lived out of a tent for one month. Today, I live in an RV which is the best of both traditional and camping worlds. Different scenarios work for different people. Check out the Wanderlust Transition Plan for more on residential decisions like selling your home, and/or if you rent or plan to live in different places while you travel.
Then thereâs the important step of purging your possessions. This can be an emotional experience for people, but for me, everything had this heavy energy that weighed me down. I was happy to sell stuff on Craigslist, donate, and have garage sales. I was trying to give people things just to get rid of it, âOh hey, want this free lamp and side table to go with your picture frame?â For Bryce, it was the exact opposite. He agonized over the heavy decisions of what to keep and what to save. We know people who similarly placed possessions in storage and we know people who got rid of literally everythingâkudos to them for having the courage to cut themselves loose from all that stuff!
Argh…a garage full of stuff!
Pets, Internet, and Health InsuranceâĻAy Yi Yi!
The number of things to think about and decisions to make can feel daunting at times. What would we do with our cats (we took them with us)? What about health insurance (we changed it after four months)? And what about internet connectivity (we got an unlimited Verizon plan)? On and on the questions continued, and for every new question we resolved, it felt like three more popped up. We went through periods where it felt like a big black hole that weâd never come out of. This doesn’t even include the RV purchase phase. If you are planning to buy an RV, check out this post on heathandalyssa.
This is why a project plan can be really powerful. Putting things into categories helped us work methodically through the plan, while tamping down the feelings of overwhelm. You canât control everything, but having a plan for many things can set you up for success and lessen the pain when something doesnât go right.
A Note About Community on the Road
We found that building relationships on the road is vital to our emotional health. Weâve made many connections and developed lifelong friendships by joining the Xscapers (a membership club for working RVers) and attending their convergences. Additionally, joining some of the RV-related Facebook groups has provided many virtual relationships. I have formed great friendships with people I have never met in person, but do plan to meet on the road. I wish I had joined those groups before I hit the road because I would have learned so much more, earlier on. Check out the RV to Freedom, and Make Money and RV groups on Facebook.
The Miscellaneous Category
Our planâs last category is “Miscellaneous” for the unique situations that people have. Perhaps you have grandkids and want to spend time seeing them while also visiting exciting places on your full-time travels. Iâm a volunteer big sister with a nearly five-year relationship with my little sister. She and I planned to maintain that relationship on the road and we chat by phone or video every two weeks. I also visit her when I make trips home.
If youâre a parent, you might be looking for the kids category. We debated adding it, but we donât have kids and donât feel qualified to talk about something we know so little about. Itâs a big category for sure, and we know full-time families who have this category wired. Check out Crazyfamilyadventure and Ditchingsuburbia to learn all about how they travel with kids.
Wanderlust Wrap-UpâYee Haw!
Whew! It can be overwhelming to think through everything, and frankly you donât have to. We may be a tad detailed in our planning, but that works for us. Hopefully weâve provided you with some things to consider and a tool to help you stay organized. Please take what you find valuable from our plan and use it to assist in your transition.
If you get overwhelmed with this process, you can email us for support.
Lastly, weâll be writing more in-depth posts for each category on the planâso please stay tuned.
Now, go chase those wanderlust dreams!
Oh my goodness, what helpful information!! I wish we had this when we made the wanderlust transition. We desperately needed this with our transition to full-time RVing but we can now apply a lot of it to our desire and plan to make money and start our own business on the road. Which is another piece of the wanderlust transition too. I LOVE the idea of an OWL board!! Can’t wait to read the plan!
Thanks Lindsay! I wish we had something before having to make our own. But now we have one and it seems that people find it helpful.
Thanks for the post. We have a 3 yr date & started the purge this year, attended our first RV show (to walk though floor plans), subscribe to Heath & Alyssa and follow all the aforementioned.
Hi Josh-good for you for starting that transition now. It will make it so much easier to hit the road by your deadline.
Woo hoo! đ
Woo hoo is right! And yee-haw, heck-yes too!
What an amazing article with great insight on how people can transition to a wanderlust lifestyle! Love it!!
Thanks Bryanna! We all have different requirements to transition, but there are still so many universal items.
Great links to other great RVers. Keep Your Daydream, Less Junk More Journey, Pippienings etc other great ones. We still have awhile till we can leave but planning now. Thanks for the advice.
PS. Saw this via Pintrest
Hi Bridgette-yes there are so many great RV sites out there. It’s hard to pick just a few. I went with the ones I used, and the folks I have built relationships with, and trust their content. But everyone else you named is also great.
Your story is so real and relatable! Thank you for sharing, it is so helpful for someone aspiring to be a full time traveler to hear how to do it from someone who has or is doing it!
Hi Brittany-thanks for sharing! I’m glad you find value in it. Keep in touch, would love to hear how your transition goes.
Thanks for the mention! We’re allergic to spreadsheets so it’s good someone has that angle covered..;)
I used to hate spreadsheets too until I figured out a few tricks!
I’m so happy to have met you two!! I love that you’re really getting going on your blog too. Inspiring! Some day, we’ll meet up on the road.
Us too Sarah! Yeah the blogging was a real slow start but starting to pick up steam now. See you soon hopefully.
Awesome and inspiring! Thanks for sharing your journey and I look forward to following along online and on the road. While I’m not there yet, you and Bryce along with the other RV resources mentioned are helping me transition from home dweller to land rover.
Your remarks about connections and emotional health and wellness truly resonate with me as that IS my business and what I plan to take on the road. In fact, as you already know, I’m working on creating a worldwide #ConnectionMovement that helps everyone connecting more authentically with their personal network. In the meantime, I’m also building out my Class B and your Plan is proving very helpful.
Hi Kevin,
Glad that we could inspire you! I know how important emotional health and wellness is to you. You were the one who influenced me to talk about it more. I am so glad you did, because you are right, it’s incredibly important. I’m actually writing a post about that next. Can’t wait to see the fruits of your #connectionmovement and I’m happy to be a part of it. Good luck on the class B transition. See you on the road.
Thanks Camille for the story and ideas! The universe does conspire. My house sold immediately, I’m literally sitting here in a house that looks like the Moving Sale Faerie exploded all over, and don’t have an RV yet. And I’m single. And wrapping up my job of the past three years. And it will all work out, because the universe keeps helping me at almost every turn! I just started this, also!: http://www.whatacountry.net and FB: whatacountry.net
Thanks again!
David
Hi David – thanks for sharing your story. I’m excited for you to get on the road! It sounds like things are falling in line for you. I’ll check out your site. See you on the road.