OK. Don’t quit your job. Having said that, I gotta tell ya: Working online from your RV is the bomb! For those of you who’ve not raised teenagers in a decade, that means it’s really great.
I know there are other ways of earning income while RVing. You read about campground hosts, seasonal park workers, etc. For normal people, these may be great jobs. But for those among us, whose aim in life is to own bra-less wardrobes consisting of daytime pajamas and evening pajamas (with minor excursions into sweats for dress up), working online from the RV is heaven. Note: my husband is currently designing an RV toga to meet the alpha male’s need for fashionable comfort.
Anyway, now that you know you’ll not be seeing us strolling on any red carpets, let me defend our honor by stating we are moderately intelligent and are able to earn our livings online. My husband is an architectural designer, photographer and artist. I blog for three companies and am a writing tutor for college students in an online writing lab.
And what makes all this possible from our RV? Bingo…our Verizon Air Card. We get high-speed internet anyplace we get cell phone reception. Our card allows five people to use the internet simultaneously; a critical feature considering our teen son is getting his high school diploma online and my husband and I work online. As my son pointed out, he could earn his bachelor’s or master’s degrees online, traveling around the country. He’s right. Note: there are other air cards and hi-tech alternatives for internet access.
Two weeks ago folks strolled by our campsite in the Tonto National Forest (Usery Park, Mesa, Arizona…gotta check this place out or life ain’t worth living). They waved to me as I furiously pounded away on my keyboard under a giant saguaro surrounded by incredibly lush flora and scuttling fauna. Some may think it defeats the purpose to be so high tech out in the midst of God’s beautiful glory, but I figure He’s the one who gave me the gift of writing, so it must be OK.
If you have a skill or talent that can transfer to the internet, you might consider getting an air card and hitting the road. It works! Skyping, Go to Meeting.com, email, all of it. If working online from your RV is your dream but you don’t have an online skill, start positioning yourself. If you want to hang out in American’s national and state parks a lot more (doesn’t take any gas to hang out, now, does it?), and earn money from the safety and comfort of your RV, check out online skills that may interest you. You’ll need to do the research, possibly some training. It’s work to educate and reinvent yourself. If you want to do it, you can.
Being able to work from anywhere means one thing to me: freedom. What a joy and privilege it is to live in the United States of America where anyone can have a dream, discover what’s necessary to achieve it, then make it happen. So, what’s your dream?
Happy tales to you and yours, Patti
Patti F.
Hi Ben, and it’s great hearing from you. I know how to make money while traveling, but it is not much per hour…it may be far less than what you need or are talking about. It is solid,however, and consistent. It’s nice how those low paying hours add up, though.
I’m going to write a blog next week about the college students I tutor online (English) and the company I work for. If you have interest in something like that, please check back.
Happy tales,
Patti
Ben
ok, if someone knows how to make solid consistent $$$$ while traveling, please contact me!
I have IT DB and SQL analysis programming experience for a Fortune 20 company and am ready to break loose on my own!
B
Patti
Hi there Glamis Camping, and how great to hear from you! Yes, I agree with you…if a person has an Air card, the world can be his (her) oyster. I’ll be writing more about this, so I hope you check back.
Happy Tales, Patti
Glamis Camping
This is incredible! I think the life you have right now is everybody’s dream (or maybe not) but travelling, camping… all those exciting things you can freely do at your own time, without any boss to reckon with face-to-face, and still make a living is awesome. Thanks for your story. As long as one has an air card, anyone can be anywhere they want, anytime they want and still get to be in touch with the world.
Patti Faustini
Hi Beachysfla, and thank you for writing. I’m glad you like the Sedona photos; my hubby took those. I’m going to start a blog series for Woodall’s on various ways to earn income while RVing. I hope you check back. Stay in touch, and
Happy Tales,
Patti
Beachysfla
Patti,
Your blog is great! Thank you for sharing. I have been unemployed for a year now and have been wanting to just get in our RV and go but, have not been able to find out how people who work online do it.
The pictures of Sedona are gorgeous and sure hope that one day we will be there to enjoy the beauty.
Patti Faustini
Hi Webtrippin, and how nice to hear from you! Yes, Sedona is pretty amazing. Are you planning on visiting Sedona’s Chapel of the Holy Cross? http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/article/id/83/page/1
It’s pretty awesome. Glad you liked the photos.
Happy Tales, Patti
Webtrippin
Love those Sedona photos! We’re in Sedona now and it for sure is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I especially love how when the sun is setting it highlights the red rock mountains’ western face while the shadow sets in the valley. The contrast is amazing!
Patti Faustini
Hi Hoby, and it’s nice hearing from you. Yes, teaching online is a great gig, I agree. I earned my M.Ed from Grand Canyon University online. I loved it that one professor was teaching me while she was touring China! I also love picturing your students complaining about connectivity, until you tell them what you’re doing! I’m currently tutoring online for a college writing lab, and that works, as well. May I ask, for whom do you teach? Happy Tales, Patti
Hoby
One option for some people, depending on your education level, is teaching online. I teach for a Masters program, and can do it from anywhere. One amazing thing is that sometimes my online students start telling me how difficult it is to stay connected–once I explain my “situation” those complaints stop right away.
Patti Faustini
Hi again Brenda, It sounds as if you have “employment-on-the-road” in the making. Good for you and Gary. Selling your crafts at area Farmers’ Market’s will provide great opportunities to connect with good people. I know; that’s a gross generalization, but the odds of meeting great people in Farmers’ Markets are better than, say, in community meth labs! If we ever know where you’re set up, we’ll stop by and pester you! Happy Tales, Patti
Brenda & Gary
Hi Pattie, yes we are still downsizing. We took a bit of a break during the Christmas season but are jumping back into it again. I will be so glad when we get rid of this monster house and it will only take a few minute to clean the RV from front to back instead of hours cleaning the house for showings and open houses. We have lots of interest in our place but no takers yet. Just waiting for a large enough family I guess. I hope it happens soon as spring will be here soon and that means RV season. About the only work we will be doing once we move into our next chapter is wood crafts. We are keeping my scroll saw and other wood working tools and will have a bunch of stuff cut out and I will paint in the evenings or when stopped for a few days and Gary takes care of the assembly. We will be keeping an eye out for farmers markets a other such outlets to sell a few items here and there and also we see it as a way of meeting people and networking for good spots and cool local sites.
Have a great day!
Brenda
Patti Faustini
Hi Brenda! How great to hear from you again! Yes, it is fun to share all these things we learn and do while RVin’ via the Woodall’s community; it seems as if we all have so much in common. I’ll be writing more about the WiFi life, so I hope to hear back from you. Say, are you still downsizing like a maniac?
Happy Tales, Patti
Brenda & Gary
Great blog again Pattie thanks for sharing your info with us. I really appreciate the tip about which cell phone has great wi-fi reception for internet connection. We plan on retiring and not working from our RV but look forward to researching ATV trails, road conditions, campsites and other destinations as well as keeping in touch with family and friends through the internet. We also will be boondocking more then in campgrounds so we will not be relying on having internet with them.
Looking forward to your next blog.
Brenda
Patti Faustini
Hi again, Butterbean, and it’s always great hearing from you. Aghhhhh! Maybe the spelling errors to which you refer are “ya, gotta, ain’t, etc.” I would absolutely DIE if readers thought I was writing with anything other than a “come sit under my awning with me” style. I guess I write that way with my RV buddies on everyone’s favorite blog site; Woodall’s! And if comes across like I really don’t know better, I had better stop. Az a madder uv fakt, eye theenk eye’l stawp rite now! (:
Thanks for sharing Nick and Greg’s names…I will most definitely check them out. I have an idea for a blog series about working from my RV, so I appreciate the references.
Take care and Happy tales to you,
Patti
butterbean carpenter
Howdy Patti,
You are doing a great job blogging on this blog.. I hate to be critical, but that’s just the way I’m folded. Surely you use ‘spell-check’ or some system, but misspelled wurdz do get thru.. I’m really an editor at heart and absolutely love writing, so please, don’t think I’ m only critical of you… Sometimes I find myself critical of Elmer Kelton’s use of words and he ‘wears words out’ before he puts them down for good; he’s my hero and I surely do miss him.. Do they still teach kids to spell??
On the internet business, you may want to contact some of the people who do have online businesses about what to expect in way of PROBLEMS!!! Two come to mind:
Nick Russell and Greg White @ Our Rv Adventures blog(I don’t have an email for him, but he’ll get back to you)…
They have both been fulltiming/working for over 10 years each.. they will shoot straight with you on ALL questions you have about RVing and fulltiming/working.. In fact Nick has a Book on the subject.
Good luck, God Bless, Smooth roads & balmy breezes…
Patti Faustini
Hi Linda, and thanks for writing back! This is all so fun! I think I’ll be writing a series of blogs about online writing jobs that one could do from an RV. It’ll take me some to pull it together, but check back if you can. I hope to have the first post in a week or so. Nice hearing from you, Patti
Linda Montgomery
Trying to find a job which we can work from our RV. Have some computer skills and ready to hit the road. Any suggestions? Love your blog.
Patti Faustini
Thank you June, and how great to hear from you. Another wifi addict, I see…isn’t Skyping just grand? It truly is almost like being with someone. And Skyping from Asis, no less. Wow!
We have a one year old grandaughter we chat with on Skype and she always recognizes us. Others have told us when we see her next, if we’ve kept up with her on Skype, she’ll think we’ve ‘been there’ all along. I hope so. Happy tales, Patti
June Morrissey
Hi Patti, I enjoyed your blog. My hubby and I also have a Verizon wi-fi card and we would not leave home without it. We take two laptops along on our travels, his and hers. it is our main form of entertainment and for staying in touch with family, paying bills, checking weather, researching our next campsite, road and weather reports and reading several newspapers each morning. While we are both retired and really don’t have any desire to work while we’re on the road, it’s nice to know that we could! I was in Asia recently while the hubby stayed home. We “skyped” daily, I uploaded videos and went on line to stay in touch. I just can’t say enough good things about the internet and how our wi-fi card has allowed us to all stay connected for just $2 a day! I look forward to reading more of your future blogs. Regards, June
Patti Faustini
Thank you, Diane. The January 8, 2011 Tucson shooting tragedy outside Safeway is just another reminder to us that life is unpredictable and can be short…let’s live our lives so that when we come to the end, we can look back and say ” I loved well, and that includes the work I did and how I did it.” I truly believe most people can pretty much do whatever they set their minds to…I hope I didn’t steal that from Abe LIncoln!
Best to you and Happy Tales, Patti
ps yes, feel free to write with any questions about writing.
Diane Berry
Loved this Patti–you must be reading my mind. This IS my dream. As a writer, also, would love to talk to you sometime about how you lined up your other blogging opportunities. Really enjoyed you post and hope to join you soon! Thanks for the inspiration!