What do you do when the life you have isnât the one you really want? The answer was easy for us â take a leap of faith, get rid of everything, sell the house, head out West, and see where the road adventure takes us. Without a plan or retirement!
Yeah, it seems crazy, but then we never wanted to live a conventional life.
Weâve lived in hotels and resorts, slept in a rooftop tent, moved into a camper van, made great decisions, made horrible ones, experienced epic memories and bad ones too, and through all of it there have been no regrets!
For six years now, it has been the time of our lives.
Yes, we love Swayze. âĽď¸
This is the story of a dream that doesnât seem real, but is lived every single day. Itâs about what seemed impossible being possible.
Weâll share how we got here, what weâve learned, and what nomadic life is like, without the Namaste BS and hype. So if you're curious about our road life adventure, or dreaming about living your own, youâre in the right place.
1. Why We Left Oklahoma
People often ask why we went on permanent vacation, which is NOT vacation in any sense of the imagination. If that were true, weâd be sipping Margaritas on the beach by a street taco truck every day. But itâs not anything like that. đââď¸ đ¸ đŽ
The short answer is to seek new adventures.
As a 50-something couple whoâs been married 35 years, we have always loved traveling and experiencing new cultures, and we knew that life is short and tragedy could happen anytime, so we decided to live our crazy ass dream right now. And as we get older the more likely weâd have health issues or no money. So why not?
2. Living in Hotels and Resorts
Oh, the joys of living in places filled with humans who suck. But this was a great choice for us to get started, especially because we didnât have the funds for a van and we didnât want to cause a 97-car pileup on I-75 because we canât haul a trailer. Seriously. It would be dangerous for everyone on the road.
The hotel and resort lifestyle was mostly good.
We got to learn a lot about people, rooms, perks, free stays, and how the business works. Plus there were some swanky places we got to hang out at. And drink free beer.
3. Life in a Rooftop Tent
Thanks to YouTube and an Overland Expo, we were sold on the idea of being off-road warriors with a truck filled with farkle,1 including a rooftop tent. We looked badass, but the Mad Max lifestyle isnât for mature adults.
Rooftop tents are perfect for glamping but not for living.
Climbing down a ladder multiple times a night to pee, along with bipolar weather climates and a tatami mat for a bed, it is not the way to go for those of us 50 or over. Unless you like pain and suffering. However, it wasnât horrible either.
It was also fun to be parked next to million-dollar rigs and getting thumbs up from people saying we were cool being the older kids doing it the hard way. LOL
4. Why We Got a Camper Van
The better question is why in the hell didnât we start with one? Because it has changed our lives and couldâve saved us a van load of money. But we didnât have the option back then, and we didnât want to kill folks with a 30-foot bomb behind us.
We love our camper van.
It has been far from perfect and had its share of unpleasurable moments, yet van life has opened up new opportunities, reduced our overall expenses, given us more freedom, and allowed us to have sex in parking lots. It may have also increased marital arguments, but thatâs another topic.
5. What Nomad and Van Life is Like
Well, itâs not the 25-year-old influencer on Instagram life you see with all those stunning beaches, mountains, and sunsets, but I think we could say itâs been such a groovy experience regardless of whether we wake up near the ocean or a dumpster in an alley.
There are no words to adequately describe the dream. Like. Really.
Because when you find yourself on the open road without knowing exactly what youâll see, where youâll sleep, or how much youâll endure, itâs surreal, and even when shit hits the windshield and things go wrong, it still brings a smile to your face.
6. Where We Go From Here
Life would be sweet if we could shake that Magic 8 Ball and get the answers, but the truth is we have no clue. Nada. Zilch. Though we just celebrated our Sixth Travelverary, weâre living from day to day, đť
We canât imagine not traveling or living the nomad life. Itâs in our DNA!
One of the exciting aspects of this lifestyle is just being in the moment and enjoying it all before itâs too late. So many people wonât be able to travel when theyâre older and a lot more will never make it to retirement. That sucks. Itâs our opinion that itâs better to try and fail than to never try at all.
Weâre not kid influencers living the Instagram fantasy. Weâre a couple in our fifties who actually walked away from a conventional life and weâre documenting what happens.
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The slightly functional gear that sparkles. Or better yet, âFancy Accessory Really Kool and Likely Expensive".