Our 2019 Globetrotter is our home -- for now

[stevejones]

Hi all,

I retired in May and my wife and I sold our home of 17 years in Northern Virginia. After downsizing significantly we put our remaining stuff in storage, and on the day the movers came, we loaded up our tow vehicle -- a 2004 Chevy Suburban 2500 HD we've had for over 12 years -- and drove off into the sunset towards Ohio. We drove to Jackson Center where we took the factory tour and saw the 2019 Globetrotter we'd ordered on the assembly line. An emotional and joyful experience.

Two days later our Globetrotter was delivered to our dealership, Hadocy RV in Columbus, Ohio. Eric Davis at Hadocy gave us a pretty thorough training session on all the trailer systems. We picked up our Globetrotter from Hadocy four days ago and headed back to Jackson Center. We chose to do our "shake down cruise" staying at the Terraport at the Airstream factory so that if there were any issues with our new trailer we'd be at the best place to have them addressed. We spent three nights at the Terraport while the service center took care of the issues we found. My experience at the Service Center was very, very positive.

Now we're on the start of a camping trip in Ohio visiting six different state parks over the next three weeks. After that we haven't decided. We have a new home being built in West Virginia but it won't be finished until early August. So from now to then, our Globetrotter is our home.

Our plan once we move into our new house is to use it as our Home Base while we travel the US. We are really looking forward to meeting all of you on our travels and we are really enjoying our new home on wheels!

Our Globetrotter is perfect for us. The galley is great. My wife is an excellent cook and really likes the kitchen space and range. The sink is large enough that our 12" All Clad skillet completely fit -- handle and all -- for cleaning. That would not have been the case with other travel trailers we looked at.

The tags on our TV are ALEGRE and we are naming our trailer ALEGRIA, for Joy and Happiness all the way.

[slowmover]

Brother, you could write advertising copy (my fathers business) in that the note of sincerity in that post would sell anyone hesitant.

Genuine best wishes

[Hans627]

Congrats on your new GT.

We have one as well and are enjoying it immensely. Just curious what color options you chose?

Happy travels!

[stevejones]

Hello Hans627,

We have Natural Elm/London Gray

Thanks,

[hopmonster]

Hope you enjoy your retirement and travels! My wife and I often dream of the day we retire...we were once pondering workcamping. I move back and forth about selling my house when we retire but it's such a significant step and I have so much "junk". Was it an easy decision for you downsize and sell?

[stevejones]

Hi hopmonster

Originally Posted by hopmonster

Was it an easy decision for you downsize and sell?

I spent like half an hour replying to this yesterday but don't see the reply... not sure what happened...

Pretty much. For downsizing, my wife and I actually started the process a year and a half ago. Her mom passed away and we moved dad to an assisted care place, which meant selling their condo, which meant dealing with all their stuff. It was painful. We decided we didn't want to put our own kids through that so we started going through our stuff and trimming back, way back. We also decided to set a goal to have our house ready to sell in April 2018, whether we did or not, so that if the market was good and we wanted to, we'd be ready. If we decided not to sell, at least we would have dealt with our stuff and our kids would not.

We started repairing and replacing flooring, carpeting, painting, etc. We fixed our landscaping and cleaned up the yard. We gave furniture and stuff to our kids, sold some, donated tons of stuff to charity, and bags of stuff that just had to go went to the curb. Then in early 2018 our circumstances changed and we decided to go ahead and sell. The market was good in our area, and we were worried that condition may be temporary, so we decided to take the money and run. We worked extra hard to hit the Spring market and things worked out well for us. Our house was only on the market for three days and we ended up with 18 contracts. Incredible.

The home we're building in WV is a third the size of our old one so we had to get rid of a lot. As each thing went out the door we felt lighter. It was like a weight being lifted from our shoulders. I know once we get in our new house there is still downsizing to do. There is stuff we packed because it was too hard to part with that now we can let go. When it comes to stuff, less is more.

If you decide to take the plunge, give yourself a year if you can. Some things take time to sort through, especially old family memory stuff. But it is worth it.

Steve

[hopmonster]

Thank you for taking the time to share how your AS came into your life!

I have some time to plan...maybe 11 years but I'm trying to prepare for all the eventualities. Our housing market here has gone crazy as many people from the Toronto area move here to downsize and retire for "previously reasonable" housing...so who knows what impact that will have when and if I want to sell.

We bounce around between dreams of downsizing and buying a cabin and newer AS to simply wintering somewhere warm and keeping our house should our children ever need it.

I just finished major polish and other updates on our 77 as we are considering selling to purchase newer and smaller. I'm not even sure that is wise at this point but it seems like every time we camp something else surfaces with our trailer and my mood flips and I immediately start dreaming of decluttering life so I don't have any of these headaches. When my parents retired they had plans that never materialized due to other issues in life changing and maybe I'm just afraid of laying out all these future goals only to have life flip them upside down.

It sounds like you had some long talks and hard decisions and have made a great choice. Enjoy your new AS and retirement and I hope you have many amazing adventures with it!
Mike