People are funny. You buy a camper and make it a point to start traveling…EVERY WEEKEND! When you do, other people start saying the most curious things to you. I don’t know if its envy, disbelief, or maybe it’s just too out of the norm for them to accept. At any rate, other people will give you all kinds of reasons why they could not travel like you do.
#9: I could never afford traveling!
Ok, this is a fair concern. I did a post on how to afford RVing that you might find helpful. Even if you don’t want to buy an RV, and just want to start traveling, the ideas are the same. You just have to decide that’s what you want to do and start finding ways to make it happen.
- Use rewards cards to build up points for flights and/or hotels.
- Get a second job on the weeknights.
- Reduce debt responsibilities at home to free up your income.
- Stop eating out.
- Cut off your cable tv.
- Have a yard sale or an estate sale.
- Sell expensive cars for cheaper ones you can pay cash to get.
- You’d be surprised where you can find money when you really look at your budget.
Camping doesn’t have to be expensive, neither does traveling in general.
Here are a few cheap travel ideas:
- Book a cruise. Since they’re always paid for by the time you get on the ship, they can be a VERY cost effective way to travel. It’s also a great way to see multiple countries on one vacation.
- Buy a tent (you could even check out a local second-hand store, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist for used camping equipment). I live in Arkansas, so tent camping is not for the faint of heart in the heat of summer, but it’s super nice in the spring and fall especially near swimming holes, lakes, and rivers.
- Look up places to boondock for free. Campsites (especially state parks) are usually cost around $20-25 per night unless you’re in a touristy destination location like a beach or the mountains or something.
- If your budget allows, buy either an old RV camper or a smaller new one. If you can manage to keep your payments low (or pay cash) for the camper, then the campground fees are cheaper than hotels.
- See if you know anyone with a vacation home that might be willing to let you use it for a few nights or a week. One time we had a friend invite us to stay at their place in Puerto Rico. Flights there were not expensive, and since lodging was free, it was a VERY cost effective way to travel. We did two trips to Puerto Rico one year for less than $3,000.00…TOTAL!
- Check flights to nearby cities. Cheap flights are usually unheard of where I live. However, there is one airline that goes to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orlando for about $100 each way. If you could manage to find a cheap hotel or Air BNB there, you could have a cheap weekend getaway!
- If all else fails, just take a drive for a day to a neighboring city. Traveling doesn’t have to be exravagant…just break the monotony of life! Go antiquing. Try a new restaurant. See if there are any festivals happening in nearby cities.
- This one is a bit more extreme, but you can always sleep in your car if you really can’t afford hotels or travel. We did this to save money and time in our Pathfinder on a recent trip. We slept several hours at a time at rest stops. I might not do this with kids, though. A lot of RVers will boondock at Walmart stores, though!
#8: I don’t have the time for traveling.
We all have the same amount of time. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. What are you currently doing with your time that makes travel less likely?
We travel with a couple that works full-time (not that we don’t, but we’re self-employed). They pack up their RV on Thursday evening and meet us at our chosen location on Friday afternoon/evening. We all stay together Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday through checkout time. Glynn and I stay through Monday afternoon since we’re self-employed and don’t have to return to work until Tuesday.
We’re rarely much more than an hour or two from home (which saves both time and money), but we make memories that we could NEVER have at home. Occasionally, we take a week-long vacay and truly enjoy our time together!
The point is, we all make time for what’s important to us. Travel has become important to us as a couple since the kids moved away. Now that it’s just the two of us, RV camping is our thing…it identifies us so we make time for it!
#7: I don’t know where to go.
I’m not even sure this is a real thing, is it? Maybe it is.
Here are some suggestions to find great vacation spots:
- Ask your friends or coworkers where they like to go.
- If you like biking, kayaking, climbing, or anything else, find a local store that supports those hobbies and ask the clerks in the store. I play guitar, so I’d most likely go to Guitar Center and ask them if there were any music festivals nearby that I needed to know about!
- If you have a Facebook account, ask your FB friends.
- Join a Facebook Group based on travel and ask them if anyone has suggestions.
- Do a search on your favorite search engine and see what’s around you. Chances are pretty good there’s a lake, or forest, or desert nearby…SOMEWHERE SCENIC that you can find peace and relaxation for a weekend.
- If you’re on Instagram, search your state’s hashtag and see if anything jumps out at you. You might be surprised at the wonders just waiting to be explored!
- Search Pinterest for traveling ideas in your area. We tend to not think of Pinterest for local activities, but they do exist. After all, Pinterest is just a visual search engine! 🙂
People love to help when given the opportunity. That’s why I say ask others first.
#6: Traveling along is scary.
I do get this, as always have my travel buddy with me. That kind of disqualifies me to speak on this subject except that I’m well-traveled enough now to know that traveling alone isn’t that scary or lonely.
We met a lady in Biloxi whose husband had passed away right after they started RVing. She decided out of respect for him and their travel adventuring dreams, she’d continue traveling. She is having the time of her life seeing places and doing things she had never dreamt of doing. I’m sure this softens her loss and helps in the healing process.
I also have a cousin who is single and is traveling the country in her tiny home..she’s amazing and adventurous. She meets new people all the time and does what she wants when she wants. Without having to seek the approval of another, she enjoys having the freedom to change her mind and plans as she sees fit. This has allowed her to go all the way from south Florida to Washington state and back with no resistance from anyone else!
#5: It’s too hard to travel with kids
This is another point I can’t disagree with, but I still think traveling with kids doesn’t HAVE to be hard! Do your research, plan well, and think ahead. As long as you properly prepare for trips and have all the necessities, traveling with kids is a great idea.
I have an uncle who was a college professor before he retired. When their kids were young (VERY YOUNG), they would pack up their white Chevy van every summer and hit the road. I used to think they were SO ADVENTUROUS (they were…and they still are) to do so. They toted my cousins all over the place and created an insatiable wanderlust in most of their four children.
The kids never knew the difference. It was normal for them to be hanging out of the back of the van and camping from the back of it. They did travel budgeting like no one else!
When our kids were super young, we camped a lot. For at least a few years, we had a pop-up camper. We took that thing all over the place. Each person had their chores and as long as everyone did what they were supposed to do, we got along just fine! The girls slept on one end, our son slept on the drop down dinette bed, and we slept on the other end. Our minivan pulled it just fine and we had a BLAST!!!
#4: I don’t know any other RVers
This isn’t exclusive with RVing. I’ve heard this complaint about all forms of travel. The truth is, you only have to follow two or three travel bloggers to know that the best way to get to know other travelers is…well, to travel! I am a hopeless introvert, but I am also a hopelessly nice person. I cannot refuse anyone if they speak to me. Most of the people we meet are through my husband.
That being said, we DO meet new people…almost every single time we camp.
We actually met some friends recently that are full-time travelers that I suspect we will be friends with for a VERY long time! They aren’t even from Arkansas, but they have been willing to come here one other time to hang out with us for a long weekend. My first inclination was to pass on by, but another friend of mine struck up a conversation and now we are all BFF’s! 🙂
Another important thing to mention is that the more you travel, the more travelers you meet, the more you want to travel! Travelers are an interesting conglomeration of people. You meet conservative AND liberal people alike…black, white, red, yellow, etc. None of this matters as you’re all there to relax. Most folks are SUPER laid back and chill.
You can also meet people on Facebook RV groups. Try this RV Tips group…it’s great!
#3: I prefer to stay home.
In my own way, I can sort of understand this, too. I like home. Hanging with my kids, siblings, and extended family is awesome! Holidays are my fav, too!
At home, I have ALL of my stuff…guitars, crafting stuff, clothes…within an arm’s reach. I have places and people that I’m familiar with. I know what to expect on any given day. Heck, I even know the weather patterns and roughly what to expect with each passing week and month!
But I also like having my comfort zone stretched. I’m a SUPER DUPER scaredy cat! Ask Glynn…EVERYTHING makes me COMPLETELY stressed out. This past weekend, we changed our plans from traveling to a state park about 3 hours away from home to going to Montana over a four day weekend. I stressed out…like 10,000 “what about this” scenarios in my head.
He convinced me it was the right thing to do and we had the BEST TIME EVER!!! Getting out of your comfort zone often leads to UNFORGETTABLE experiences! You will NEVER regret taking that first step!
#2: My friends will think I’m CRAZY!
This point is actually true. Your friends WILL think you’re crazy…and maybe you will be a little bit nuts. If being different means you’re crazy, then that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I’ve come to think being normal is CRAZY!
Is it crazy to do the same thing day in and day out until you feel lost and numb? Traveling is exciting and new…each new place you go to provides new experiences and new opportunities to be DIFFERENT!
Our friends and families began thinking we were crazy last year when we were just traveling every other weekend or so. We have been gone much more this year and taken more trips…and IT’S ONLY MAY!!!
The comments: “WOW! It must be nice to be y’all!” – or – “I wish I could travel as much as YOU DO!” – or (this one cracked me up…from a close friend to my husband) – “I should’ve married YOU! My husband isn’t that adventurous!” 😂
I’m not sure if it’s envy or true concern that drives the comments, but I just have to say, “YOU DO YOU!” It’s our thing now and it’s almost what defines us as a couple.
#1: I might have TOO MUCH FUN!
At this point, you already know this list is in jest. I can’t think of any good reasons not to travel. My youngest daughter just asked me why we didn’t travel that much when she was in high school. We had years where we did travel a lot early on, but after the 2007-2008 recession, we got hit pretty hard and making money was considerably more difficult.
We also started a debt free journey around that time which stretched every dollar we had to the limit. I wish I had known about boondocking at that time. I wish we had either kept our little pop-up camper or purchased another to replace it.
The thing is, you don’t know what you don’t know…until you try it. Camping is so much fun to us, we have a super strong desire to travel all the time!
Go places you’ve never gone. See things you’ve never seen. Do things you’ve never done.
Travel makes us different, it’s true, but it also makes us happy. Be different…be fun!!!
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