What to Consider When Selling Everything to Travel

Have you ever considered selling everything you own to travel the country in an RV? There are many things to consider before taking such a big step. From budgeting and residency to RV travel style, there are several important elements that will help make your journey successful. Let’s take a look at what you need to consider when selling everything to travel the globe.

Know Your Why for this RV Travel Adventure

Think about your 'Why' for this adventure. What are you wanting to gain from the RV lifestyle? Is it to simplify life? Spend more time with your family? Create intentional moments? Save money? Show your family the country? Whatever you reason may be for considering selling everything to travel, you have to know your why. 

Budgeting

When selling everything and committing yourself to a life of travel, budgeting is key. You will need to plan out your finances carefully in order for this endeavor to be successful. Start by listing all of your expenses, including rent/mortgage payments, utilities, gas, entertainment and any other expenses that may be included in your current living situation. From there figure out how much it costs you to live PER DAY. Most campgrounds, state parks and resorts list their cost of stay PER DAY. So knowing roughly what you are spending per day will give a comparative idea on how much each month it would be for traveling expenses.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to the cost of stays budget such as memberships, monthly stays, boondocking options, slower travel, seasons of the year and locations of travel. For instance, winter in Florida, most of the prices increase at campgrounds and resorts due to demand. A monthly stay at a resort may be $2,500 a month during the winter which is about $83/day to stay but if you book a couple weeks versus a month it may be $200/day. Some locations if you stay for longer periods of time will charge for electricity which would be an additional cost for you on top of the per day charge. 

Residency and Domicile as a Full-time Traveler

Another important factor to consider when selling everything to travel is residency status. What is your home state? And will you continue to keep that state? Will you domicile? Domicile is a legal term that refers to the one state where you permanently reside, or where you intend to return and establish residency. Some fulltime travelers keep their home or continue to own property in their state and so nothing changes for them with regards to their address or residency. 

But if you do sell everything and don't own property in the state you can consider a domicile state and become a resident of a new state. Which ever state you chose, you will need to register your vehicles and RV in that state. Definitely do your research with all of these requirements as each state is a bit different with regards to their rules and regulations.

RV Travel Style

RV travel offers a great way for families or individuals who are looking for adventure but do not want traditional vacationing options such as hotels or resorts. Your travel style will somewhat depends on the RV that you have or are considering to get. Smaller RV allow for greater flexibility to park the RV in some great locations.  However the downside to a smaller rig is less living space. A bigger RV means more living space in general, however many national parks do not allow big rigs IN the park. So you could find a campground outside or near the park and drive into the National Park.  The RV travel style will also depend on your 'Why' and situation. Are you working full time and will be exploring on the weekends? Traveling every couple of days? When considering the living aspect of the RV travel lifestyle this will help to decide on your rig and what your style is. 

Health Care

It is important that travelers take into account possible health care needs while traveling the country in an RV. How is your health insurance coverage? For our family we continue to see our primary care doctors back in Iowa every year, because our family is still there we go back each year and make appointments so that well-checks can be done. If there is an emergency or need health care on the road, we just go to the closest urgent care that accepts our insurance. I keep a folder of the kids latest medical history from our doctor and give it to the physician when they are seen. 

Receiving Mail as a Full Time Traveler

If you domicile in a state, you can use mail services that are for fulltime RV travelers like Escapees, Good Sam Mail Service, UPS mailbox and more. Our fulltime travel family uses, Escapees Mail Service. They manage our mail, remove any junk mail and hold packages until we want them forwarded to our location. There are also options such as Amazon Lockers, sending packages to FedEx Pick Up Locations, UPS stores or USPS package hold at local post offices. Most campgrounds and resorts allow for package delivery, the only places that our full time RV family of 5 has not been able to get packages is at state parks or Army Core of Engineer locations.

We usually have Amazon packages delivered to the resort or campground because delivery turnaround time is quick. If we are moving quickly or the delivery of a package is unknow then we will use the Escapee's Mail Service.

Socialization and Community as RV Traveler

Many people think about fulltime RV travelers and think open road with wide open spaces. And there are certainly many opportunities for this. No knowing anyone while traveling in an RV can be a bit scary, and you definitely will have to step outside your comfort to meet people if you are an introvert. But remember one thing, everyone has the same goal as a full-time RVer. They want to live their life on their own terms. 

There are certain times of the year like summer that are a bit harder to connect with RV families for a longer length of time because this is when people are usually traveling faster. There is more flexibility as compared to the winter time when no one wants travel very far north, there are ALOT of people in the south for longer periods of time making it easier to connect with others. 

Homeschool as a Full-Time Traveler

Considering the travel lifestyle with your family? Schooling is definitely something to consider. Each state has different regulations with regards to homeschool and pending your residency status or domicile. This is something that you definitely need to look into, and actually for us was part of the deciding factor on where we chose to domicile was the homeschool laws. There are full time RV travel families that un-school, world school, use books for their curriculum, use online services for homeschool and everything in between. 

Selling everything and embarking on a journey around the world sounds like an exciting prospect but there are many factors which must be taken into consideration before making such a commitment – from budgeting & residency requirements all way through RV travel style & healthcare coverage – these items must all be addressed properly in order ensure success while away from home! So if this type of lifestyle appeals then please remember keep above points mind while planning out next great adventure! Good luck, safe travels and I am always there to chat over on social, @b.e.happe) if you have additional questions!

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