What Is It Like Living in an RV?
Life looks different on the road. There are plenty of immediate, obvious ways that living in an RV is different from living in a fixed home, but some of the biggest differences can be hard to appreciate until you’re actually behind the wheel. Here are some of the most significant ways that life changes when living in a motorhome:
Your Pace of Life Slows Down – and That Can Be a Good Thing
RV life operates at a fundamentally different pace than life elsewhere. The best parts of RVing are often found when exploring new places or unusual locales. That’s difficult to do if you’re constantly in “go” mode. Over time, you’ll naturally adapt to a pace that lets you savor your surroundings, which can look pretty different from the hustle and bustle of digital life.
This naturally comes with a change in how you perceive the world. Instead of frantically counting down the days until Friday, you begin to view each week as a chapter in a larger, ongoing journey. In time, you come to appreciate special events even more because you view them as magical moments in time, not hours in a schedule.
Traveling Means You Get Diverse Experiences From Unexpected Places
RV camping lets you see parts of the country that are easy to miss if you only travel by air. Every state is full of interesting detours, quirky towns and beautiful sights that are best appreciated from the road.
One of the most liberating aspects of RV travel is that it’s (hopefully) not subject to the same schedule crunch as trains and planes, meaning that you’re free to take your time if a place catches your interest. Veteran RVers will tell you that some of their best adventures come from unexpected places, and living behind the wheel of a motorhome makes you equipped to appreciate them when you find them.
You Meet New Friends – and Plenty of Interesting Locals
While not every person you meet at a campground is going to land in the “birthdays and baptisms” part of your life, you’re bound to make plenty of friends. RVers are a famously friendly crowd, meaning that you’re sure to find good company at almost any campsite that you visit. Over time, you may even start to notice some familiar faces at the different places that you frequent! Social media and RVer groups like AIM Club make it easier than ever to connect with like-minded individuals while attending exciting rallies, outdoor excursions, RV training courses and other fun RV-focused experiences.
New friendships aren’t always limited to other RVers either. During your travels, you’ll undoubtedly meet plenty of locals, and that provides plenty of opportunities for making new friends!
You Get a New Appreciation for (and New Definition of) Safety
When your home is on wheels, you quickly learn to appreciate all of the care that keeps it running. You also develop a strong sensitivity to potential safety hazards, and that means thinking about it in a way that suburbanites and city dwellers don’t. As an RV owner, any issues in your vehicle translate to issues with your house, and visa-versa.
Most home and apartment owners merely have smoke alarms and fire extinguishers to fight fire, but RV drivers will happily opt for something more advanced. A leading example of this is THIA by Proteng, a patent-pending fire suppression system that is heat-activated, minimizing fire damage by eliminating heat at the source.
Ultimately, It’s About the Little Things
Living in a motorhome allows you to appreciate life from an angle that’s difficult to find anywhere else in the modern world. While you’ll be sacrificing some areas–a fixed routine or consistent access to sushi–you’ll be gaining in just as many others. One of the biggest changes that happens is a newfound appreciation for the little things.
While an RV trip is ultimately about getting somewhere (like the East Coast or the Grand Canyon), the little moments that happen along the way are often what make it magical: Unexpectedly good food from a local dive; nights spent stargazing free from the light pollution of the city; grilling away the afternoons with newfound friends at a shady autumnal campsite. These small adventures are what make RV life worth it and you’ll come to develop a profound appreciation for them.
RV life is ultimately about adventure, and there’s no shortage of it to be found on the open road. Sometimes these adventures are big cross-country endeavors, and sometimes they’re as simple as an afternoon of fishing. Either way, living behind the wheel of a motorhome puts you in a unique position to experience – and appreciate – all of the magic that our big, beautiful country has to offer.
If you’re ready to take the next step and learn more about RV living, contact one of our Lifestyle Specialists today!