What do they do when?

 Sightings over 60 posted about a neighbour who had retired and just sold their house but had not made a decision about where they would go next. I have heard many similar stories about the same situation.

A cousin of a friend of mine sold his house and bought a motor home, he and his wife retired and decided that they would love to become road gypsies and have the ultimate freedom. The motivation is simple, people dream of not being tied down, A life on the road offers greater financial freedom, a chance to embrace adventure and re-evaluate what really matters in life. 

Many others want to embrace a more economical way to live. This often means cashing in on their home’s equity and living mortgage-free. Yet others want to live in a high-cost-of-living area without the higher cost for housing.

Do RVers Truly Save Money? For the most part: yes. This all depends on your choice of the travel trailer, lifestyle, and expenses. Choosing a trailer that retains a high resale value can protect your financial stability.

However, what do they do when they find that they are not cut out to be in too close quarters all the time, which happens in an RV?  What do they do when they find that it is expensive and time-consuming to find a place to park the RV overnight? What do they do when they have to find a place to dispose of the waste they accumulate from living in their RV? What do they do when they find themselves being blown around in heavy wind or rainstorms and realize that RV's are not easy to drive? What do they do when they get tired of always being on the move and realize that the money they invested in their RV went down in value, not up like their home?

I know of people who made a decision to move to another part of the country to be close to their children, who then decide to move again because work takes them to a new location. Their parents in the meantime have moved away from friends, support groups and a place they called home for years. What do these people do when they realize that they have to find a new way to make friends and fit into a new place?

If you are retiring and have a grand idea, my advice is to try it before fully committing. My cousin could have rented an RV for six months and tried the open road before committing to the lifestyle. A friend of mine who moved to Vancouver Island could have rented a place for a year and lived there before he made the decision to sell his home and move there on a permanent basis. By the way, both of these people regretted their decisions but could not recover. My friend's cousin could not afford to buy property because his capital was tied to an RV that depreciated greatly, and prices went up so my friend who moved to the island could not afford to move back. 

I know there are many people who make successful transitions to a new lifestyle, but these people, I suspect do their research and try a new life before they commit. Retirement allows us to live our dreams but we need to do due diligence so our dreams do not become our nightmares.