Personal

by

Fourteen Year Anniversary of Living With the Internet

November 23, 1996, at about 6PM, I took my first steps onto the information super highway. I made a note of this occasion in my diary because I could recognize that it would be a watershed moment in my life.

I am at an age where I can cleanly separate life pre and post internet. I have lived just about exactly half my life at this time in both eras. The technology grew during my college and university days and I saw the world change overnight. In April of 1998, I was still doing homework on a typewriter; six months later I wasn’t allowed to use a dot matrix printer for churning out essays; and two years later I was getting bonus credit for submitting my papers as web pages.

Ultimately, I am grateful for the internet, even if I am much too dependent on it. I have always had a thirst for knowledge that libraries and bookstores couldn’t slake and now I have all the knowledge I could want at my fingertips. I have also made some truly remarkable, life-long, friendships through the web. I sometimes spend too much time mindlessly surfing and not enough time reading books, but when all is added up, the internet has been a Good Thing in my life.

by

Being 'Canadian'

On Mondays, I write about personal issues related to full-time RVing life, from philosophical debates to homemaking topics.

Unless they have traveled extensively throughout their country, Canadians tend to be unaware of the profound differences between provinces. These differences run deep; they are linguistic, social, cultural, legal, financial, and administrative. It is enough to make you wonder ‘what makes me Canadian?’

For example, a BC RVer spending a summer in any other province or territory might question why they have to pay a health care premium every month or high vehicle insurance rates. Quebecers have the highest tax burden in North America and don’t know to question it, even with health care shortages and terrible roads, unless they step outside and suddenly see their tax burden drop by 10% or more, and this without giving up their culture thanks to the pockets of ex-pat Quebecers all over Canada.

Canadians also have negative preconceptions about other regions and cities. East thinks the west is uptight. West thinks the east too buttoned down. It’s freezing in Winnipeg, Toronto has nothing to offer, and the Transcanada would be better without the section between Thunder Bay and Calgary.

As RVers travel around Canada, they have the opportunity envision many different lives for themselves and to break through those hurtful stereotypes. Is it any wonder, then, that so many cannot envision themselves ever settling down again? Canadian full-timers become much too aware of the compromises they must make, such as giving up a lower cost of living for a better climate.

Something else is gained through these travels, a tangible, yet inexplicable feeling, of being Canadian over being an Albertan, a Martimer, a Torontonian… Part of this feeling comes from interacting with foreigners and seeing our country through their eyes and the rest from little things that are province-independent… like Tim Hortons and Canadian Tire money. 🙂

by

Transitioning to the RV Nomad Lifestyle

Many people who transition to the full-time RV nomad lifestyle do not realise that they are moving to another version of ‘real life’ and that full-time RVing is not a perpetual vacation. You will find yourself facing the same responsibilities, from bills to housekeeping, and ‘tourism’ will eventually become less of a priority as you discover that every town is pretty much the same.

There will probably always be a bit of an exploration component, a given when you move from one strange locale to another, but there is more to discovering a community than hitting every museum. You can learn a lot about a town by spending a morning at a diner listening to the locals.

Moreover, full-time RVing does not change who you are at the core. A homebody recluse will most likely not become the star of the Sunday potluck and the neatnik won’t forgo the Saturday morning housekeeping blitz.

For more on this topic, read Jennifer’s post Learning Nomadism at livinginmycar.com

by

Lifestyle Design

Today’s post is for those who are dissatisfied with their lives and unaware that there are other ways to live. Did you know that pre-retirement age RVers are lifestyle designers?

Corbett Barr claims that there are five categories of life plans, of which life style design is one:

Lifestyle designers believe there is a better way. They essentially ask, “why wait until you’re rich or retired to live the life you really want to live?” They start with the concept of an ideal lifestyle and work backwards to plan a career that will suit that lifestyle.

He also has this to say about lifestyle design:

it’s about examining your life and your goals and thinking unconventionally about how to make things possible now instead of later. It’s about designing your life instead of letting society design it for you.

Many pre-retirement age full-time RVers are living their dreams right now, instead of deferring them. They are committed to the notion that life experiences, not material goods, are what truly make you rich. They may camphost long hours during the summer and then spend the rest of the year living frugally in a warm climate. They might decide on a smaller and less flashy rig so they can have better gas mileage and stealth boondocking capabilities. And many choose to work longer and defer retirement since they are already doing what they planned to do when retired.

Lifestyle design does mean choosing an unconventional path. But that does not mean it has to be a difficult one. After all, what is harder: getting up in the morning every day when you hate how you will spend it, or working long hours at something you love that let’s you feel free?

There is certainly more to life than ‘this.’

by

Fear and Loathing in the Okanagan

It wasn’t until I passed Oliver town limits this morning that I realised just how much I loathe that town and had no desire to come back to this part of Canada.

I know that ‘loathe’ is a loaded and serious word, but I do not use it lightly. Other than the friendships I made, nothing good came out of that place and I am a worse person for having been there. Since then, I have found myself to be wary of people in a way that is completely unjustifiable. I have been treated so well by so many since I hit the road, but the experience in Oliver poisoned my mind. I can barely recognize who I was while I was there and I know I am not the same person who pulled into that town just a little over two years ago.

In some respects, the changes are good. I’m more self-assertive and take much better care of myself, but in others the changes are devastating. I’m so wary of people’s intentions now and so much less willing to work hard and pitch in without a clear job definition and remuneration agreement.

It’s been two years and I’m still ‘not over it.’ Perhaps this winter in Osoyoos will help me pass through whatever mental obstacles I need to pass through. This RV park will probably be a refuge: it is beautiful and a good distance from the southern part of Osoyoos so I do not feel like I am even remotely in familiar surroundings. I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil surprises for Donna, so I’ll share pictures when she gets here. 🙂

The game plan now is to take the weekend off, tidy up the rig, and then start looking for income on Monday. I have a head start on that this time around in that I know that going to the wineries and handing out resumes on foot is a waste of time. Instead, I’ll head straight for the employment office and see what’s available. I’d really rather find contracts than a job so that I can have better control over my time this fall, especially since I’m flying to Montreal for a week on November 4th and I also have a lot of stuff to put together for that thing that’s coming up that I still can’t talk about.

I’m hopeful that coming back here was not a terrible mistake and will instead help me to close one of the darker chapters of my life. Knowing that I will literally be surrounded by friends soon enough makes all the difference.

That, and a pool. 😀