Thanks in part to the movie, Nomadland, many people are beginning to consider living in a van, RV, motor home, ambulance, skoolie, etc. For most of us, becoming a nomad would make downsizing necessary. For me personally, if I couldn't find a place in the RV to store all of my crafts, I would have to rent a storage unit, and wouldn't that be defeating the purpose?
Um, no! Everything important to me would have to be with me if I were to live in an RV, and if I couldn't keep all of my important things with me, I would rent space in somebody's garage before I would part with my crafts and photos.
What about you? You pay rent, mortgage (or possibly both if you live in a manufactured home), electricity and/or gas, water, sewer, phone, homeowners' insurance, medical insurance, auto insurance, car payment, gas for the car, doctor bills, dentist bills, maybe cable, maybe internet, and food. And when you compare your income to your expenses, do you ever ask yourself, why am I just existing? I want to LIVE!
Whether you save (if you can) for a vacation or your kids' college education, you probably live paycheck to paycheck, and if something unexpected happens to sever your income, if you get sick, if you have an accident, do you have enough savings to pull you through for 6-18 months? Sadly, like many people my age, I have no savings. Life took all of my money. You might think I'm a shopaholic, but I hardly shop at all.
Five years ago, I posted a blog – Low Income Home Options – Tiny House, Yurt, Earthbag Home, or RV Living? – all kinds of considerations for where to live with a low income. I ended up living in a retirement home, and discovered that I hated living there, so I moved into a manufactured home again. Now I'm reconsidering living the RV life. Why? Because I've always had nomadic tendencies. I'm a nomad at heart and want to live my dream before I die.
Another reason to become a nomad? Look at all the bills above. What can you delete if you live in an RV? If you buy enough solar panels and have a large enough battery bank, you won't have to worry about electricity. If you use propane to cook and to heat your vehicle, because you live in such a small space, you won't use a lot of propane. You'll also use less water and if you get a membership to Planet Fitness, you can shower there after you exercise, and as of May, 2021, the cost for membership is only $10 a month!
If you can give up cable, but you still want to watch TV, you can purchase an antenna. Internet might be a necessity, though (I consider it to be a necessity). So what's left? Gas for your vehicle, insurance, doctor and dentist bills, phone bill, and vehicle maintenance bills. And maybe a vehicle payment. Can you afford to be a nomad? Can you afford not to be a nomad? Because of my low monthly income,
I believe I can be! If you are a nomad, please click on the t-shirt above and consider purchasing one of my designs to help my dream become a reality. The more products I sell, the closer to living my RV life I get!
So in answer to the question in the title, no. Being a nomad is not being homeless, because, as the shirt above says, "Wherever I roam, I'm always at home."
Here are my other Amazon t-shirts:
Thank you for visiting! And remember to always find a little joy and sprinkle it everywhere!
