Anybody on here who is NOT an AARP member take up the snowbird life?

[Anchor Zero Six]

Financially and logistically there is really no reason why I cant quit my job buy an RV and travel with the wife and kids (3yr old and 9 mo old) for 2-3 years until the boys are at an age where they need more social interactions.

I'm 42 and retired military so there would be money coming in each month. SoCal housing market is a racket but on the positive side I know if I sold our house we could buy a nice new or newer RV outright as well as a paid for tow behind vehicle and still have 30K or so to keep as a reserve fund.

Currently going to school full time to finish BSME and BSBA degrees which I can continue online while traveling. With disability rating I recently found out you can stay for 30 days for free in Natl Parks and can return again 7 days later. Many state parks have similar deals.

My grandparents were "Snowbirds" and I traveled with them extensively as a young kid in the summers growing up. Very fond memories and 20 years in the Navy aided my ability to live in crampped accommodations.

I have a great job now which I enjoy but its still a job and it requires too much of my time when compared to what I feel I'm missing out on with spending time with my kids.

My wife surprisingly is not opposed to the idea but like me it seems like a huge leap of faith to actually sack up and do it.

Curious if anyone here who isnt a senior citizen has said F-it to the corporate grind and hit the road particularly those who have done so with a family.

Also curious about possibly ways to pick up extra cash such as campground host, auto transport, online work etc. Really wish I would have gone into some type of computer field that I could work from anyplace with an internet connection but my dumb ass had to go be an engineer.

A06

 

[Maggot]

Im ancient so Im a Senior Citizen...damn that sounds scary just saying it....so I may not qualify but I like to run my face so...

I travelled a lot with my dad when young and those are some of my best memories.

Go for it. Youll never regret it. My dad and I always talked about getting a sailboat and doing the world cruise but never did. I wish we had.

 

[thejeep]

Do it! The first day of school blows. All the free time is gone and you are back on a schedule.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[shoot4fun]

First, I don't know why anyone who frequents this forum and values 2A would be an AARP member. They are rabidly anti-gun and contribute greatly to the Democrat party.
I think your children would benefit greatly by a "living education" seeing, touching and experiencing first hand our great country.
Your wife seems to be a supportive one and that will make the time even more valuable. You have served your country and I thank you for it. As the Travelocity ad gnome says "wander wisely my friend".

 

[mattj]

From a life experience perspective, it may be worth it for you-- in terms of financially preparing yourself for 'retirement age', in my opinion it would be a terrible financial decision. You'd be pulling funds out of something that (generally) appreciates and dumping it into something that depreciates like crazy. Sit down with an actual financial planner (hopefully one who doesn't get paid to sell you financial instruments) and run the numbers for the various scenarios and look at what it will mean for your income and quality of life in 20 years (hopefully your live ain't over by 60), and in terms of what you want to be able to do for your kids.

Just make sure you really understand what the long term financial implications of such a choice would be before you pull the trigger -- I suspect they are larger than you think they are.

Edit to add: the cost of the RV isn't just what you pay for it, it's what you pay for it plus what you lose from not only depreciation, but also not having that money someplace that it is compounding / appreciating. Also note that you may find a used RV (especially one heavily lived-in for a few years) quite difficult to offload when the time comes (at least without losing your shirt to get rid of it).

 

[bogeybrown]

mattj raised the very valid point of the RV being a shitty "investment" compared to the house. Other than that, the ages of your children is what strikes me: at those ages one won't remember a single thing of the trip and the other won't really appreciate what memories he has.

My in laws are basically snowbirding now and loving it, in fact I think they're going to "camp" in my driveway this year. In addition to the national parks, as a mil retiree my FiL has found a ton of bases around the country with RV parking that he only pays a few bucks a day to utilize. Only you and your wife can really know if it's the right choice, but I'd spend some time evaluating "able to do it" vs "should do it". Y'all may determine that you're better starting the planning process now, working with a good financial guy, with a "fuck it" date a few years down the road.

 

[Maggot]

From a life experience perspective, it may be worth it for you-- in terms of financially preparing yourself for 'retirement age', in my opinion it would be a terrible financial decision. You'd be pulling funds out of something that (generally) appreciates and dumping it into something that depreciates like crazy. Sit down with an actual financial planner (hopefully one who doesn't get paid to sell you financial instruments) and run the numbers for the various scenarios and look at what it will mean for your income and quality of life in 20 years (hopefully your live ain't over by 60), and in terms of what you want to be able to do for your kids.

Just make sure you really understand what the long term financial implications of such a choice would be before you pull the trigger -- I suspect they are larger than you think they are.

Edit to add: the cost of the RV isn't just what you pay for it, it's what you pay for it plus what you lose from not only depreciation, but also not having that money someplace that it is compounding / appreciating. Also note that you may find a used RV (especially one heavily lived-in for a few years) quite difficult to offload when the time comes (at least without losing your shirt to get rid of it).

Valid points here, and what was said about the ages of the kids.

How about postponing it a bit, talking to the planner, and if you decide to do it rent the house, Take out a small loan to buy the RV, or lease it,and let the rent make the payments. that way the home continues to accrue value and you have it to return to in a couple years. If you do that use a well known rental agency and be happy to pay them 9-10 %.

 

[BountyHunter]

Not AARP, you want Sams Club which is for RVers

 

[jrassy]

Go for it, even if it turns to some kind of shit you got plenty of time to unfuck it

 

[vh20]

Not AARP, you want Sams Club which is for RVers

That's Good Sams Club, right? Not Sams Club, the retail warehouse club.

 

[sandwarrior]

Financially and logistically there is really no reason why I cant quit my job buy an RV and travel with the wife and kids (3yr old and 9 mo old) for 2-3 years until the boys are at an age where they need more social interactions.

I'm 42 and retired military so there would be money coming in each month. SoCal housing market is a racket but on the positive side I know if I sold our house we could buy a nice new or newer RV outright as well as a paid for tow behind vehicle and still have 30K or so to keep as a reserve fund.

Currently going to school full time to finish BSME and BSBA degrees which I can continue online while traveling. With disability rating I recently found out you can stay for 30 days for free in Natl Parks and can return again 7 days later. Many state parks have similar deals.

My grandparents were "Snowbirds" and I traveled with them extensively as a young kid in the summers growing up. Very fond memories and 20 years in the Navy aided my ability to live in crampped accommodations.

I have a great job now which I enjoy but its still a job and it requires too much of my time when compared to what I feel I'm missing out on with spending time with my kids.

My wife surprisingly is not opposed to the idea but like me it seems like a huge leap of faith to actually sack up and do it.

Curious if anyone here who isnt a senior citizen has said F-it to the corporate grind and hit the road particularly those who have done so with a family.

Also curious about possibly ways to pick up extra cash such as campground host, auto transport, online work etc. Really wish I would have gone into some type of computer field that I could work from anyplace with an internet connection but my dumb ass had to go be an engineer.

A06

Ask for the lifetime pass when you get to a national park. You get in free for the rest of your life as a disabled vet. I'm not AARP and not a senior citizen. You gotta watch your penny's for sure, but you'll find that you don't have much room for your stuff anyways. So, you won't be buying a lot of "stuff". Keep grocery runs small, as you won't have room for that much either.

I spent most of the last year in an RV (not by choice) and that's how I know. I didn't have kids, but met a lot of people on the road who did. The biggest cost to us was finding a decent RV park that didn't cost an arm and a leg "in season". We stayed in Zion area all winter for $400 a month.