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Published: September 24th 2018
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Over the past few years, I've tried to take at least two to three big trips a year. Sometimes, depending on work, I've only managed to go on one. This year, about a month ago, I spent some time in
Colorado and Wyoming. It was a great trip. The states are beautiful, I visited places I've never seen before, and I got to meet some great people. It was the first vacation I've taken in a while where I wasn't worried about getting back home to make sure things were okay.
Now that I'm back home, I find myself wanting more. There's an urge to get back out on the road and see what I'll find. I've always been restless; I went to Alaska for a while on a whim right out of high school, traveled around the U.S. after that because "why not", and moved around in my mid-20's because I couldn't stand the thought of being in the same place for more than a few years. The idea of developing a safety bubble or security blanket scares me. I don't want to be like the people that live in the "Boulder bubble", where the only ideas and experiences I encounter are those that reinforce my worldview. I wanna get out, see and hear new things; I don't want to burn everyone else's world down; only mine.
I wanna travel non-stop. Well, not quite. I want to go somewhere new, hang out for a month, and then go somewhere else. Maybe I'll find a place where I can stay for longer. I'm sure there are going to be places I'll go to and want to leave within three days (Hi, Boulder!). Some people look for long-connections personal connections, but I've already got that. I want long-term experiences.
It's an expensive lifestyle, though. Forget the gas and hotel rooms; you've still gotta pay rent. I always look up articles about
traveling on a budget, and they give good advice to someone that wants to get away for a week. I want to get away for a decade or three.
So far, here's the plan I've come up with, along with some thoughts about why each is important.
1. Buy An RV Nothing fancy. I've found some RV's that cost $3,000 bucks. The problem with those is that they are probably going to be a headache. I don't want to buy something and then fix it a month later. My way of living is going to put a lot of miles on whatever I buy. I've got a 2012 Mazda 2 I bought brand new. I've put 170,000 miles on that car, and I've only moved once. I have a history of running vehicles ragged.
I've also found some RV's that cost $50,000. The problem with those is that they are $50,000. I want something I can realistically buy outright within the next two years. I'm just gonna split it down the middle and say $30,000. It's a steep investment, but there's no rent, just gas. There are some smaller RV's that you can get in the 20's, leaving a decent amount of money for any repairs you'll need, and instead of worrying about home, home comes with you. I was going to say "is it ideal? No." Then I realized that it kind of is ideal. Or at least it's ideal for me, and I'm the one typing this.
2. Mobile Hotspot / Internet I used to have a little stick that plugged into my laptop so I could use it on the go. I'm not sure what it's called, but I think Mobile hotspot covers it. I work from home, so as long as I have the internet, I have access to quick cash. Quick cash is essential to any plan revolving around traveling forever.
The plan is to find a cool place, hang out for a few days, and see if I like it. If I do, I'll stay for a month and move on, unless I love it, in which case I'll hang out longer. There isn't a set deadline for the amount of time I'll spend somewhere, except for Boulder. They get three days max.
I'm not sure why I'm being so hard on Boulder. Well, I know why, but I won't go into that here. Maybe I should write an article about that at some point?
If I stay somewhere for a month, I'll work four days and take three off to explore. Or, I could go out during the day and work at night. Either way, as long as I can make money, I can keep up the lifestyle.
3. A plan I'm not too sure where to start. That's the problem. I know what to do leading up to when I hit the road. Save money. That's easy.
What I'm worried about is this: I save the money, buy the RV, get everything ready to go. I've got the non-essential stuff in a storage building and I'm sitting behind the wheel. Where do I start? Do I just randomly start driving, pick a highway, and find a town that looks neat? Should I draw out a plan for the first three months with the help of Rand McNally and Google? I don't know.
I'm leaning towards getting on a highway and randomly stopping somewhere to start. It would work like this: I pick an interstate, drive, and exit off on one of the smaller highways. From there, I go straight and see what happens. No GPS or maps from that point, just drive until I find somewhere to stop. It's a little chaotic, granted, but it's the only guaranteed way to not let my bias towards places (like the
Boulder bubble ) take over the wheel.
If you have any ideas, or if you live in Boulder and want to tell me what a terrible person I am for not driving a Subaru, let me know in the comments!
Thanks,
Gabe
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