THE GOOD and not-so-good OF RVING PART 1

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers

RVing is Great! We all know that, but let’s face reality – there are plusses and minuses to it just like every other situation you encounter in life.

Since I’m basically a positive kinda guy, I want to tell you what I think are the major good things about RVing.  In my next article, though, I’ll put on my black hat and give you a list of what I think are the biggest negatives to the RV life.

Two ground rules, first.  No. 1 – These are the good things that we have enjoyed about the lifestyle over the past five years, so I encourage you to add your thoughts in the comments section below.  How else will those thinking about taking off in an RV know all the benefits?

No. 2 – PLEASE do not write any negatives today.  Save that for the second part of this series, which will talk about the dark side of the RV life.

Now, in no particular order, here are what we consider to be the 11 Best Things about RVing:

1)    Freedom to roam.  You can set your sights on journeys or destinations and head off in that direction, or you can step on the accelerator with no direction and still get somewhere.  Go, stop, stay, go. You can roam to your heart’s content, with only the weather, budget and health concerns to factor into your travels.   Plus, grandparents can drop in on the kids for a while; then hit the road again when it’s time to go.

2)    The dogs in the next rig are barking all night, a baby is crying, the campground is less than your standards.  What do you do?  Move.  You can always move.  What a concept after living in one place for years where you sometimes have had to accept nuisance neighbors.

3)    People traveling in RVs have one thing in common.   They have chosen to travel by RV.  You often meet very interesting people, most of whom share many of your interests.  It’s a natural way of making friends.  And a few times, you run into people who become long-term friends, people you call or email every once in a while… and maybe visit or meet up with on a trip.  We have made some very valuable friendships in our travels.

4)    This is one of my favorites:  Every night you climb into your own bed.  Having the luxury of the best hotels still isn’t as comfortable as snuggling in your own bed.  It’s a wonderful sense of being home and secure.

5)    We’re in Minot and hear of a music festival in Fargo.  In a few minutes we have pulled up stakes and are on our way.  For you racecar fans, the toughest part is finding a trackside parking space, but what a view of all the action! Whatever the event, your RV can get you close to the center of the attraction.  That’s why we call them “Recreational Vehicles,” right?

6)    You may be proud of the place where you live, but how does that compare to the pride of accomplishment of living the RV life, if even for a short spurt.  Without a willingness to do whatever needs to be done, instead luvin’-the-life, you may get preoccupied with the setbacks.  It broadens the mind to learn a little about plumbing, electricity, carpet cleaning, propane, hauling, maneuvering in crowded parking lots … The list goes on and on.  You earn your comfort in an RV.

7)    Sell your home and be careful with your spending and you can live for less on the road.  That’s a good thing.

8)    You’re living in what I call a “different time zone.”  In most cases, when you’re living the RV lifestyle, you don’t have regular events, like meetings.  Your schedule is open to your own whims, unless, of course, your snowbird buddies expect you on the first tee every Tuesday and Friday at 8 a.m.  You just have to adapt. Or the bridge game is on Wednesdays at 7.  And then there’s that “5 p.m. Somewhere” group you don’t want to miss.  Well, there are exceptions to every rule, I guess.

9)    From one of our sons:  “A different backyard.”   You can’t get bored looking at a different lake, meadow, mountain, etc., if you travel frequently.

10)  You can control your life, or as Monique puts it, if you sell your home to travel, “Your house doesn’t own you.”  You want to go, you go.  You want to stop, you stop.  Maybe that should be No. 1 on the list.

11)  “Fly-in-and-stay travelers” can see a lot on their treks, but it’s usually 2-dimentional.  When we travel, if we find a place interesting and we have no commitments to meet (that’s most of the time), we can enjoy the area.  We can walk the streets of the town, visit the local museum, sit down casually in a diner and have people ask us, “Whereyafrum?” We get to know the locals, what they like about their hometown and what we shouldn’t miss seeing while visiting.   The storefronts come alive and gain character.  We delve into the depth of the area – its history and culture — and, in turn, it adds to our depth.

And now to re-emphasize the two rules I mentioned at the beginning.  Please add to the list (or modify it) in the comments section and don’t write any negatives.  Sit on them until Part 2 is posted.

Finally, a bit more about item 3 above.  The reason this blog-site is so well read is that we all have so much in common.  We are a community across state lines, national boundaries and oceans.  If you’re like me, you find lots of articles and comments of direct interest to me/you in these daily blogs.  There are lots of good things about RVing; if not, we wouldn’t do it.

From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.

© All photos by Barry Zander.   All rights reserved