Jerry Minchey - Motorhome and RV Retirement Living: The Most Enjoyable and Least Expensive Way to Retire

Motorhome and RV Retirement Living

The Most Enjoyable and Least Expensive Way to Retire
- Jerry Minchey

First ebook edition copyright 2015 Jerry Minchey.
All rights reserved.

Minchey, Jerry. Motorhome and RV Retirement Living: the most enjoyable and least expensive way to retire / Jerry Minchey

1. Recreational vehicle living.
2. Retirement.
3. Retirement, Places of.

Published by Stony River Media
Asheville, North Carolina

This book is not intended to give legal or financial advice. This book is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services or advice.

If legal or financial advice or other expert assistance is required in a specific situation, the services of a competent professional should be sought to ensure that the situation has been evaluated carefully and that you fully understand your obligations and risks.

The author and the publisher disclaim any loss resulting directly or indirectly from the use or application of any of the information in this book.

One last point: there are several links and references in this book to other websites and other companies. The author is not associated with any of them (except for ) and he derives no financial gain from any business you do with them. These links and references are not to be considered as an endorsement of these companies. The author has included these links and references because he thought the information they provide might be of interest or use to you. The information in this book is based on the author's knowledge and experienceand some of it is just his opinion. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

Dedicated to Henry Minshew, who is still driving his38-foot Class A motorhome up and down the eastcoast at the age of 92. Uncle Henry recently told me, Iknow I probably shouldnt be driving, but I love to getout on the road and go places.

I live in a a very small house, but my window looks out on a very large world.

~ Henry David Thoreau

This book is not intended to tell you everything there is to know about RVs. It's not meant to try to convince you to retire and live full time in an RV.

This book is meant to give you the unbiased information you need to decide for yourself if living full time in an RV is the lifestyle you want for your retirement.

By the way, the terms RV and motorhome are used interchangeably by most people. That's why I include both words in the title of the book. I will generally use the term RV throughout this book to describe both the towable and the drivable type of RVs. Sometimes I will use the term motorhome just to be different.

The appeal and dream of living an RV lifestyle has not changed much since the first RVs were introduced back about 1910. Freedom, adventure, fun, and relaxing are words RV owners frequently use to describe why they enjoy the RV lifestyle.

To me, living full time in an RV is a way to live a low-stress, simplified life and it has the extra benefit of being very inexpensive. I also find that being part of a community of people who want to do things and go places keeps me feeling young and keeps me moving. One friend recently said, I didn't want to wait until the aches, pains and stiff joints made it too hard for me to climb in and out of an RV, so I decided to hit the road now while I still can.

When you ask people what they would like to do when they retire, many of them say that they would like to travel. But conventional travel consisting of airplanes, hotels, motels, car rentals, restaurants, etc., can quickly deplete a nest egg. On top of that, it's tiring and stressful.

Compare that to the simplified, low-cost and relaxing lifestyle of living full time in an RVand sleeping in your own bed while you travel. If this lifestyle intrigues you, keep reading.

To start with I want to dispel the myth that living full time in an RV is just for the wealthy. Yes, you can spend some big bucks on some of the fancy, top-of-the line motorhomes, but you can also buy a nice used RV in the $10,000 to $20,000 range or less. I'll get into more on RV prices later in the book.

If you want to keep your same 4-bedroom brick house with two new cars in the driveway and belong to the same country club, maybe you need to keep working. A lot of people enjoy that life and want to hold onto it for as long as possible.

But if you're ready for something different, let's look at some options. First of all, living full time in an RV is not necessarily better or worse than how you're living nowit's just different. It's different in a fun, exciting and adventuresome way. It's a lifestyle many people love, but it's not for everyone.

Many people, as they approach retirement, look forward to traveling, having freedom, enjoying adventure and being around other people who are doing interesting things. In other words they don't want a boring life. They want to experience something different.

And of course, they want to do all of this well within their budget. That's one of the biggest advantages of living full time in an RVand the RV lifestyle really is one of the least expensive ways to live. I'll explain that more later in the book.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions and that there are many things you want to know about the cost and what's involved in this lifestyle. A lot of this book is about retiring on a much lower budget than most people think about when they think about living full time in an RV.

I will mainly be talking about used RVs in the $5,000 to $50,000 range. I know that's a wide range and yes, you can find nice RVs in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, but many people end up buying something in the $20,000 to $40,000 range for retirement. Of course, if your budget will allow it, you can find some really luxurious RVs when you look in the $100,000 and $200,000 range. I highly recommend that you don't buy a new RV as your first RV. I will go into the reasons why later in the book.

Living full time in an RV may be ideal for you and it may not. Making your decision on whether you want to live full time in an RV (and which type of RV) gets easier the more information you have access to. Consider your decision making process and your RV selection process as an adventure and enjoy the journey.

While living full time in an RV, I have experienced much more excitement and adventure than I ever imagined when I set out on this lifestyle. To me the freedom and flexibility are the best parts. On top of that, it's very relaxing, low-stress and inexpensive.

I also love being around the like-minded and interesting people I meet. I have more friends now than I ever had in my previous lifestyle. I find that I have a lot in common with my new friends. The things I had in common with my previous friends were that we worked together or lived near each other or attended the same church, but not so much because we had any or many common interests. I still stay in touch with many of my former friends and maybe even more so than beforejust not face to face.

Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen and some people wonder what happened. I think you'll find that the people you meet in campgrounds are the ones who make things happen. After all, if they had not made decisions and made things happen, they wouldn't be in a campground living in an RV.

I think the whole full-time RV experience is summed up by the title of the Christmas classic movie with James Stewart, It's a Wonderful Life.

Let's get started.

Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.