Lifestyle options after retirement: Why we chose slow travel...

 

Grayden Paul Town Park, Beaufort, North Carolina 

George Bernard Shaw:  “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old.  You grow old when you stop laughing.”

Whenever we mention to anyone about retirement or early retirement, the most popular option people ask about, seems to be RV (recreation vehicles).  A variant of RV’ing is ‘van life’, which takes the RV concept but it goes even more extreme, in that the space is even smaller with less amenities compared to an RV.  

For awhile, we’ve been following the tiny house movement thanks to hit TV show ‘Tiny House Nation’, which showcases people downsizing to a home about 1/10th their current home!  

We also thought about house sitting wherever possible for some time.

In the end, we chose slow travel using services like AirBNB and Vrbo, to stay a month or longer at one destination.  Below are our reasoning behind why we decided this way and our reasons for/against each lifestyle option:

  • RV (recreation vehicle):
We seriously considered buying a RV (a class B RV, which is smaller than larger class C and more nimble) for some time, as the appeal of moving your entire ‘home’ was really appealing.  RV would provide the following advantages:  the ability to take your own bed sheets, pillows/pillowcases, everything else you usually have at home, and bigger space inside means more comfortable, than a car or a van.

We also liked the idea that we can move anywhere if we wanted to or if we didn’t like our neighbors.

Disadvantages are:  the dreaded ‘black water’ (human waste and disposed water), need to regularly clean/maintain the black tank, may need to stop at campsites (most of which will charge you to stay overnight and to hook up to electricity), safety, must use fuel (propane, diesel, solar, etc.) to heat or cool the vehicle, and cost of gas to travel using a heavy vehicle like a RV.

  • Van Life:
I got hooked on van life from watching YouTube videos few years ago.  The idea to travel extremely light, to fit all of our belongings in a van, seemed sensible to us, if a bit scary.

Van Life advantages are:  carrying your personal belongings but traveling even lighter than a RV, costs less than a RV, eat less gas to travel, and smaller size makes it nimbler than a RV.

Disadvantages are:  toilet situation once again (except here you have to either carry a portable toilet with you or find a gym, a restaurant, or a shopping center), safety, fuel to heat / cool the vehicle, and condensation inside the van causing mold growth as it’s not designed to be lived in like a RV.  
  • Tiny House:
As mentioned above, the TV show ‘Tiny House Nation’ got us hooked on the idea of traveling with your house in the back of a trailer.  

Tiny House advantages are:  vehicle and home can be separated (you can leave the home, then take the vehicle with you to shop), all of your belongings in the same place like a RV, and the novelty of having full sized windows/doors to enjoy the view from inside.

Disadvantages are:  toilet again, safety, fuel to heat / cool, can’t park anywhere like I initially thought, and some places do not like tiny homes on wheels in their town.

On top of that, the ability to resell a tiny house may be a challenge...

  • Staying long term in motels/hotels:
I looked at whether staying long term at motels and hotels was an option, but it turned out, there were logistical challenges to staying at a motel/hotel.

Here are the advantages:  some places offer free breakfast, some have gyms, safety is less of a concern as at least a front desk person is usually present, I can get frequent / loyalty points resulting in free nights, and some offer house cleaning services.

Disadvantages are:  with our traveling companion (our dog), we needed a place to get in/get out quickly for his ‘business’ needs and some motels are located in areas that are not safe.

Cost was the other issue.  Generally we couldn’t find a motel/hotel in a decent area for around $1000 per month.  If we found one, it was usually in a location that was in the middle of nowhere, not close to any attractions or scenic spots...
  • House Sitting:
The idea of house sitting came up as result of me searching online for creative housing alternatives.  This turned out to be one of those options.  

Advantages are:  free to stay at someone else’s house, usually in a nice part of town (safe), and once you’re well known and reliable, these gigs will be easier to come by.

Disadvantages are:  you usually have to do some upkeep and maintenance of the house while house sitting, gigs may not come often enough, and may have to travel quite a distance to find the next gig.

All of the lifestyle options above had some advantages and some disadvantages.  For us, the biggest determining factors were safety and toilet!  In all the scenarios where a vehicle was involved, we couldn’t get over the fact we had to deal with our own waste.  Each and every time we discussed the pros and cons, this would ultimately be the deciding factor...

We chose AirBNB/Vrbo as it gave us a nice balance between safety, not needing to worry about cleaning our own waste, and the opportunity it provides to see destinations like beaches, mountains, or cities.

It works for us, but like anything in life, do what feels right for you.  If you’ve always camped, then the black water thing shouldn’t bother you too much.  If you’re traveling solo or duo, then motel/hotel should work fine.  Discuss your options like we did, have constant communication with your significant other (if applicable) to come to YOUR conclusion of what your retirement lifestyle should be.

I’ve spent many hours exploring these options.  I hope it helps someone out there who’s exploring their own lifestyle options for retirement.

Thank you all for reading!


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 


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