Preparation

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Going NFA is more than just buying a caravan and taking off. There are a lot of things to consider and lots to do to get ready before leaving. Our plan is to travel for 5 to 10 years so lots of decisions had to be made about our home and belongings.

The caravan took a while to find - we didn't have a large budget so we opted for a used caravan. I made a list (as I do) of our needs and wants and we did a lot of research and visited a lot of caravan sales yards. It took two months to find what we wanted, but in the end we got a great caravan at price we were willing to pay - and didn't have to compromise on our 'must haves'. We now have a Blue Sky Radiance - it has a six inch chassis and draw bar, roller rockers, and outside storage (what Kevin wanted), a large ensuite with wardrobe space and a spacious kitchen/dining with full oven and 3 way fridge (what I wanted). It is setup with solar and batteries (for off-grid), has fresh/grey/black tanks, and the weights were within our comfortable towing limit (what we both needed). And it came with a brand new full annex!

We have a large family home in Grafton - our options were keep it, sell it, or rent it out. It made most financial sense for us to rent it out, but this also meant we had to do a few minor renovations to spruce it up a bit. We will use one of the rooms to store the things we want to keeps but not take with us, as well as one of the sheds (for garage/yard stuff). These can be locked off so the tenants wont have access to them.

Reno's started with new tiles for the bathroom (the old ones were falling off the wall), and then a paint job for the upstairs rooms to freshen it up - the last paint job was almost 20 years ago. As with all renovations, one thing led to another... the new paint job made a big difference, but then we needed new window coverings, the old ones were tired and the wrong colour.

While the renovations were happening we had to decided on what belongings to keep and what to sell or give away. Downsizing from a 5 bedroom house to a caravan makes you realise how much unnecessary 'stuff' you accumulate over the years. After giving the kids anything they wanted we had a couple of garage sales (won't ever do that again), sold a lot of stuff on facebook, and took a lot to the charities (hopefully they will help the bushfire victims). It's hard giving away perfectly good things that you've spent hard earned money on - but we were tough and did what had to be done.

Cleaning everything ended up being quite a large job, even though it didn't look that bad to start with - it all has to be 'bond clean' in preparation for leasing. The carpets had to be professionally cleaned, a plumber was called to clear the kitchen drain that had been slowly getting worse, and we got the pest man to treat the house and caravan.

While this was all happening, we have been living in our caravan in the back yard. We've managed to have a few short trips away to make sure we had everything we needed. There were a couple of minor things that needed fixing on our first trip but all good since then. The caravan is now set up as our home, with everything we need.

Having no fixed address has some challenges of it's own. Where do you get mail sent? We have changed everything possible to electronic communication, but there's always some things that need an actual address. We now have a PO Box in Grafton (that our daughters will be able to access) and a redirection for anything that falls through the cracks. Then there's insurances to change (caravan, roadside, landlord building/contents) and I've discovered that it is almost impossible to insure contents in storage or electronic equipment (computers) in a caravan. We have also registered as itinerant with the electoral roll - which means we will no longer be fined if we don't vote.

So, current status (as at 28 January) - the house is ready for tenants and has been put into the hands of a real-estate property manager. Hopefully they will find the right people for our house (that has been our family home for 20 years). Then we will be off to who knows where... Oh and I guess I should start looking for a job soon :-)

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Photos

Bluesky
Finally found what we wanted...

Renovations
Fresh paint, new vertical blinds...

Comments

[Bronwyn]

Blessings on your new adventures
Wow, what an amazing adventure you’ve started. I’m sure you are going to love it. May God direct your wanderings, the people you meet, the places you stay at and the work you need. May He protect and keep you. Look forward to reading all about it.

[snikpohKS]

Thanks Bronwyn
We actually plan to go to Dubbo sometime in the near future (to see Kevin's dad), so we may just drop in and catch up with you guys. I'll let you know when we can confirm our dates :)