Fulltiming Poll Forums

neilandsue

Hello Jim, and everybody else,

It has been interesting to follow the results of your poll and we would like to add our bit;
We are in our early 50's, have been keen caravaners all our lives, and it has been our pipedream one day to "do Europe" in a motorhome and spend a lot more time seeing the places we missed in our two week at a time caravan holidays.
We had never considered "fulltiming" until we met a group of motorhomers on the Santander ferry last year, they were returning after wintering in Spain and Italy - This started the ball rolling so to speak..
So....the kids are grown up and through university, after much research have bought a three year old, low milage Frankia A class. Sold the premises of our small business and the thee staff are taking it over early next year. We are lucky enough not to need to sell the house (kids are living in it and paying the bills!) We hope to be off next May for 18 months and see how things go on from there. (Friends are taking bets on how long we will last!!)
We came across MHF a few months ago, the best thing we have done, and have been encouraged and enlightened by all your stories, tips and plans to do what we have dreamed of doing.
We have followed with interest Russ and Oscar and their plans for Lake Garda, your own brave plans and preparations to go Fulltiming with a young family - and we have realised that it is not just us, there are a lot of like minded people out there and we hope to meet some of you out on the road!
Thank you all,

Regards,

Neil and Sue

ianhibs

As an aside to the main question, I would be very interested to know where those who intend going 365 plan to go during this time.

Our plan is to travel and shown below is the rough route (at present anyway). My hand wobbled in Western France so we appear to be going in circles there - please ignore. Any suggestions welcome.

Ian

ScotJimland

Hi Neil and Sue

Good luck with your plans and thank you for the words of encouragement and kind remarks.. we too hope to meet as many people as possible by posting and leaving messages on here and our own forum..
Next May must seem ages away but it will fly in, there is a lot of preparation and planning to do, we just returned from George packing away the last few bits and bobs and stocking the larder with basic food items.. When we bought him we thought he was huge but not so now.. he's shrunk .. Shocked

Hi Ian

so that takes care of year one.. where next Laughing

Our plan is really not to have a plan.. broadly speaking to go south in the autumn and north in the spring, meandering with purpose, no timetable nor need to be anywhere at any particular time..
Europe is a large place with the EU expansion continuing year on year making it easier to travel between member states.. Morocco is also on the 'must see' list together with Scandinavia and the Baltic States..

wishing you all happy and safe travels

Jim n Jan

Rapide561

Hi Ian

For our first six months we will simply be settling in and learning the lingo!

Hopefully, with the effort I have put in up to press, the CDs and other Italian learning products, we will only need about one month at the language school.

Then hopefully straight into teaching part time and earning a crust!

Rapide561

ianhibs

Rapide561

Hi Ian

In theory we shall be here.....

ianhibs

Thanks Russell - put into into my favourites.

If you want to imagine yourself there - see below:-

houseboatdream

Hi everyone

I have voted "in the near future" though we our target date to leave is 1st September 2007. Thats 53 weeks away....yes, I am counting!

It seems like a long time, but there is a lot of planning and organisation to do. I make sure that every week we do something towards our fulltiming goal - today we took seven bags of stuff to the tip.

Russell - my advice with the furniture is to get rid of it, not to pay to store it unless it is very valuable. We had half the contents of our old house in storage for over six months when we downsized. I then worked out that if we carried on we would have paid in storage costs more than the stuff was worth so we sold it or chucked it out.

As time goes on I find we are becoming less obsessed with possessions and have cut down to virtually nil our spending on "stuff".

Good luck to everyone who is planning an adventure.

Liz