Beautiful AS myth and painful reality of life on the road... ??

[rmkrum]

As a formerly retired person that got dragged back into the work force, I live in SoCal, but high up in the desert, as far from LA as I can manage.

If required by DW, we spend as little time as possible in LA for stuff like Disneyland trips, special restaurants, and other entertainment. Otherwise, we stay out of that mess. Nice houses far from the madness of LA can be found....ditto well-paying jobs, if you have somewhat rare skill-sets. (Guilty...)

[Countryboy59]

I get the jist of the article. But life isn’t fair. I find the harder I work, the better luck I seem to have.

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

I get the jist of the article. But life isn’t fair. I find the harder I work, the better luck I seem to have.

Isn't amazing how when you work hard and do good things in your life good things happen to you.

Luck has absolutely nothing to do with it!

[Joannadannna]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Just read that LA Times article again....

Typical fluff and BS the Times puts out, where the author seems to be secretly envious of the freedom that having an Aluminium-wrapped way to enjoy the open road and the beauty of the U.S. that is out there. Yes, I may be an old Phart, but I'm still breathing and moving about, and I enjoy travel and seeing things still.

As a SoCal resident, I am all-to-familiar with the 'joys of the big city of Los Angeles'...crowded, polluted, hectic, ugly for the most part, and loaded with far too many people, some of which write pointless puff pieces for an obsolete newspaper, while eating their $11.45 Avocado toast and a $5 cup of overpriced coffee from whoever.

I'm sorry, these folks that write stull like this need to experience something other than the hubbub of an overcrowded metropolis, and see what the rest of the world really looks like. Maybe ditch the digital interactions, and get out there and smell an unsullied sea breeze, or see the first crack of dawn from a campsite high in the Sierras, where you can't even hear the traffic noise or fleets of news choppers looking for the day's police pursuit. Just "shut up, and really listen..."

I am willing to bet you that these folks have never stood in the loam at the center of a massive redwood grove, feeling the spiritual quality of the light, the majesty of the largest living things on earth, the sound of the occasional drop of water falling from the mist high in the trees, and the gleam of sunlight making its way in thin beams through the massive canopy.

Then consider a spot in the high desert, just a few hours away from Los Angeles, where the entire universe, the Milky Way, and all the stars from the dawn of creation shine down on you, filling your gaze horizon to horizon, wheeling in their majestic dance since the dawn of time, are laid out in front of your eyes. The sky is so crowded that it invokes the line from '2001, a Space Odyssey', "My God, its FULL of stars..."

Then, and only then, will you truly appreciate just a tiny, infinitesimal bit of the beauty of the world we live in, and see just how insignificant a single human being is, out alone, on the face of a relatively minor planet, third rock from it's primary star. Think too deep upon this, and you will find yourself spreadeagled on your back, instinctively clutching the ground you repose on, as the planet rocks and rotates at dizzying speed and rushes through the void at even more frightening speed...try not to think about this too much.

Then realize just how truly shallow this LA Times article is, and walk away, laughing...

Nailed it!

[ROBERT CROSS]

I follow a couple of tubercruisers on the interweb, one Family had to abandon their boat mid-Atlantic, the Family was rescued and shortly after returning home they opened a go fund me website. 😢
BTW this was no 60k boat, more like 350k.

Did i miss out when our boat's storage building burned to the ground?


Life dreams on a shoestring.😳

Bob
🇱🇷

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

I get the jist of the article. But life isn’t fair. I find the harder I work, the better luck I seem to have.

Originally Posted by vintageracer

Isn't amazing how when you work hard and do good things in your life good things happen to you.

Luck has absolutely nothing to do with it!

Chance favors the prepared mind.

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Just read that LA Times article again....

Typical fluff and BS the Times puts out, where the author seems to be secretly envious of the freedom that having an Aluminium-wrapped way to enjoy the open road and the beauty of the U.S.
...

The author is doing a book review and speaks from experience.

She states in paragraph 4 "I know how easy it is: I'm a former Airstream dweller.", and further says "Flett cautions against ambitious DIY Airstream renovations, a message I wish I'd heard before embarking on my own, which swallowed time and money and left me in debt ...".

After reading the article, I had a different take-away. I don't think she was critical of the nomadic lifestyle for those who can afford it, but rather be cautious, after reading the Flett's book, to think twice about trying to do an Airstream reno and embarking on the adventure on the cheap.

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Heh, even just working on it in preparation for using my AS is a joy.

This is where I find a lot of joy.

[GettinAway]

Random thoughts..
Interesting thread. When I read similar articles, and hear similar commentary on the tube, I begin to think, “I’m just out of it.” I just don’t have these type of thoughts, like our author here. Then I read all the comments here, and I’m happy to know, I’m not alone in being out of touch. (Compared to this enlightened journalist. I hope I haven’t offended anyone)
For the price of a 2011 23FC FB, I’m sure we could have taken a nice European vacation (or two) maybe get some culture.
It’s a lot easier dreaming or talking about a nice “camping” vacation, than it is to actually take that vacation. Of all our immediate family and friends, we are the only ones that have a camper. (AS)
I think it’s more than just having available finances for an AS, it’s the willingness to put in the effort to have a successful trip. We’ve had a camper for the last 25 years. I’m wishing now it wasn’t so popular, as I try to reserve campsites.

[InterBlog]

As others have noted indirectly, oftentimes the sequence of events is:

(1) Decline to plan, take adequate personal responsibility, and defer gratification as needed in the process of obtaining security through skills building and financial saving,

(2) Adopt some 'alternative' lifestyle (such as an Airstream fantasy)

(3) Predictably fail at said unrealistic 'alternative' lifestyle

(4) Attempt a face-saving placement of the blame for the failure on (2) instead of where it obviously belongs, which is (1).

I see this a lot in the #vanlife community where a steady stream of individuals, hit each in turn by a flash of brilliant insight, will suddenly conclude that their ticket to life success is to buy a van, live on the road, and "be free" of the trappings of society. They don't know how they'll support themselves financially in this endeavor, but they are sure that the solution will come to them as soon as they get started, because the whole idea is so brilliant that the solution simply must materialize.

To these individuals I routinely say, "Do you know how much time passed between the day when I first decided that I wanted a camper van, to the day when I actually GOT a camper van? Forty-five years. No exaggeration. And in the intervening 45 years, I was busy working my butt off in school, building a career, maintaining my heath and fitness, and saving money. So it's not a big surprise that I've been able to make a success of the van thing - I fulfilled the prerequisites of (1). Anyone who thinks they can take a short-cut... well, that's their choice, but they'll get no sympathy from me when they experience (3) and attempt (4).

[Mollysdad]

I found over my life that I needed something to dream about.
It might have been that '67 Corvette, a beautiful woman, a sailboat big enough to stand up in, a 40' motorhome, and eventually an Airstream.
I spent a lot chasing that dream, met interesting people and I developed new skills. None were perfect, and yet I don't regret a moment of it.

[Bill M.]

Myths versus painful realities.

Seems like one has to deal with this thinking every day with almost everything one does.

I really like some of my "myths" and try to stick with them in the face of reality.

[smithcreek]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

The author is doing a book review and speaks from experience.

She claims she was an "Airstream dweller", and goes on to briefly describe her less than successful attempt to restore an old trailer. Not sure if she ever really lived even her version of the "Airstream life".

Under this consumerist vision of democracy, freedom is a brand to be bought, rather than a natural state or one to be achieved by active engagement in civic affairs. The Airstream that Flett so uncritically presents is the ultimate brand of this bought freedom. Messaging like this is insidious. Presented with all these pictures of beautiful trailers in majestic settings, it's easy to fall for the narrative that you can buy freedom.


The great trick of democracy hijacked by consumerist capitalism is to give the illusion of choice (so many pretty things to buy!), thus obscuring our essential choicelessness in determining the kind of society we inhabit. Where Karen Flett enacts this trick, Jessica Bruder shows its endgame and the battle being quietly waged against it in vans and RVs around the nation.

Again, I'd argue this was a socio-political / economic rant disguised as a book review, written by someone that did not have the time, money or skill to own or rehab an Airstream.

[HHPJ]

In all capitalist systems, you can point to the number not in poverty as opposed to those who are in poverty as proof of a secessful approach.
Since the war on proverty, over 4 Trillion spent on programs, and the percentage of those in poverty still hover %8-10%

YouTube is full of work campers who love what their doing.

My move to full timing was simple math: Buy a 55+ RV lot in a gated community for $28,000 with 270 HOA fees and free water and trash with pools clubhouse as a home base for the winter (Palm Springs Area), and take off with my Elks membership and Thousand Trails membership in the summer. Lot paid for.

I just got tired of carrying a House mortgage in this area 350,000 with property tax, 500 hoa fees, electric bills, etc.,

I could afford to carry the expense, but now It costs me a third in expenses now, with much more disposable income, and the adventure in the AS is fun, challenging, and the quality of life is amazing.

[vintageracer]

HHPJ

You should be ashamed of yourself "Livin The Dream"!

Remember: "Stay Calm and Stream On"!

[HHPJ]

Indeed!

[TayaraTravel]

For us, the RV decision was never based on an economic argument. It was a life-style travel choice. A quick mental exercise convinced me that if we use the Interstate a lot, the money we spend is about the same we would otherwise be spending on overseas travel. Since we now mainly want to see North America, it wasn't very hard to rationalize.

[TayaraTravel]

An earlier post in this thread posed questions about RV lifestyles. I was also curious. The only research I could find (other than RV industry marketing) was this:

Over the Next Hill: An Ethnography of RVing Seniors in North America
https://amzn.to/2Ix2wZv
written by a couple of Canadian anthropologists. It includes a lot of actual interviews with RVers in various stages.