So you want to say goodbye to suburban living, but don’t quite know how to make the leap? Here are a series of steps you can take that will outline the process so you can wrap your head around it and decide if it’s right for you.
Reassess Your Priorities
Settling down into suburban living usually doesn’t happen all at once. It’s usually a conscious decision made several years ago and conditions have likely changed since you first decided to grow roots. If lately you’ve been feeling like suburban life just doesn’t do it for you anymore, your priorities may have shifted.
Have a Family Meeting
Once you’ve determined that you’d like to have a more mobile lifestyle, it’s time to gather the family together and get a read on how everyone is feeling. Making this sort of transition only goes smoothly if everyone is on the same page. If it is going to cause a major upset in a child’s school life then it may be best to put it off until a later date. But if the family is all about travel, then you could definitely make it work!
Discuss the Realities of Full-Time RV Life
Suburban living might not be all it’s cracked up to be, but that doesn’t mean that living full-time in an RV is all butterflies and rainbows. RVs are great, but they come with a totally different list of possible drawbacks. Be honest with yourself and with each other and really try to imagine what life in an RV would be like on a day-to-day basis.
Create a One-Year Plan
Map out what one year would look like living in an RV. Where would you go? What would you eat? How would you pay for things? It’s these types of questions that you’ll want answered, but you don’t need to develop an extensive five-year plan.
A one-year time period Is perfect because you get to spend all four seasons away, including all of the major holidays. It lets you get a real sense of what life would be like going forward, and you can make a more solid decision later based on your year experience.
Execute the Plan
The next step is to execute your plan and spend a year living in your RV. Since it’s just a one-year time frame you don’t have to do anything drastic like sell your house and car, but you could if you’re just tired of them.
Re-Evaluate After One Year
After one year it’s time to reflect on all that’s happened and how you currently feel. Do you still think it’s a good idea to ditch suburbia and embrace life on the road? Or did you scratch that itch and now you’re craving the comforts of a home and a regular routine?
From this new vantage point you’ll know what to do, and if you decide to re-enter suburban living it’ll be much easier since you’ll only have been gone for a year.
If you decide to continue on with your adventure you can make more final decisions like selling your house, car, and other personal belongings.
