Danielle and I are coming up on our 1 year anniversary of being on the road full time. It’s been the biggest and best adventure of our lives. Today I was reflecting on our experience and the pre-travel life that we lived. I couldn’t imagine going back to that life. The Road Less Traveled has been filled with freedom and incredible experiences. Here are our top 7 reasons you should hit the road full time.

1. It’s FUN!

Camping is a blast. I look back at some of the best experiences in my life and they were spent camping. The type of activities typically involved around camping create fun memories that last a lifetime.

2. Lower Expenses

This obviously has a lot of variables so we can just speak for our personal experience. We were living in Orange County, CA before traveling and yes the cost of living out there was outrageous, we still feel based on our budget we would be spending significantly less money than living the “normal” life in most cities. We’ve paid around 2k per month for a 1 bedroom apartment. Our Road Warrior Toy Hauler is a 2.5 bed, 1.5 bath with a back deck and because it’s a home loan the payments are just over $700 per month!

3. It’s Healthy

There are two main ways the RV Lifestyle has improved our health. First we are in close proximity to food all day so we are able to easily eat 6 small meals a day. When I was working in Corporate America it was difficult to always have healthy food available, let alone get a break from the fast paced work environment to actually eat. The second reason it’s been healthy for us is we live in nature most of the time. We either walk or go on bike rides everyday.

4. Less Stuff

For the most part, I consider myself a minimalist. I don’t like accumulating a lot of stuff. Danielle LOVES stuff (no she’s not a hoarder haha). When we decided to travel Full Time in an RV we had to figure out what we would do with all our stuff. We decided to get two massive storage units in Orange County. She was concerned with how we would live without all the things we had. Guess what happened, we often forget we still have the storage units! We’re only reminded of it when we have to pay the bill for them to sit there collecting dust.

5. The People

The people at RV Parks are so friendly. It reminds me of the small town in Minnesota that I grew up on where the road I grew up on you wave to people as you pass them. RVers are wavers. We’ve also met a lot of interesting people on the road who have become our friends. In fact, we were neighbors with a fantastic retired couple in Texas. They’ve become our friends and they happen to be in Florida at the same RV Resort as us. Last night we had a housewarming party and James played his guitar and sang. His wife is an incredible cook and as I write this I’m eating her left over home made (RV Made) salsa that she brought over for the party! Meeting like minded people is a huge joy in life.

6. Learn New Things

When you experience new things you learn new things. You may pick up a new hobby, learn American history by visiting a new place, getting exposed to new cultures. One of the things that has been proven to extend people’s lives is continuous learning. That tells me that RVing helps people live longer. A few days ago I canoed down a river with a friend of mine that I met in the RV Park. He happens to be from Germany. I was able to talk to him for almost 5 hours and learned a ton about his culture and about Germany. What a great experience!

7. Adventure

You write your own book of life. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? We typically will head to an area for 2-3 weeks and spend the time exploring the best of what that area has to offer. When you travel, you are put in situations where you can experience activities that you normally may not be exposed to. A few weeks ago we took a boat in the Gulf of Mexico and island hopped. Last week we went Kayaking in Florida. This week I canoed 9 miles down an alligator infested river. Today Danielle and I went sifting in a river for fossils and found 5 million year old shark teeth! I could write a book on the fun things we’ve been able to do because we are full time travelers!