When we accepted the job we knew it was for at least 1 year. The company Alston works for has a 2 year contract to finish this project, and they just celebrated their 50% mark. We had originally been looking for a place to rent... rent here is HIGH. High to the tune of $1600-2200 a month to RENT! But we knew that when we were researching the area. But... the week before we were to leave, we went and visited my in laws and my MIL asked if we would like to use their 5th wheel. I was floored... ABSOLUTELY! They even offered to pull it up here and show us how to set it up.
So instead of $2200 a month (not including any bills) we now pay $400 a month- lot rent, electric, water and trash. We just recently added internet... poor Aubrie was having a hard time adjusting to her tiny house. (more on that in just a minute). The park we are in is very nice. It has storm cellars and 2 swimming pools, very clean,quiet and 10 minutes on Alstons commute. Alston has NEVER had a commute this close. He gets off a 4:30 mon- friday and is home by 4:50 most days.
Another reason we decided to jump on the full time RV bandwagon is from a financial standpoint. We got married later in life, so we both brought debt/bills to the table. Nothing huge, but with 1 income we were barely touching them. We want to be debt free... not total debt free. just past debt...college debt..medical debt. The only debt we want to have is car and home. We want to buy land somewhere and build our forever home. I want Alston to only have to work 40 hours...just a normal work shift. There is very good money in traveling, so we decided to jump on this opportunity while the girls are young and start a new journey- our new adventure. Right now, our goal is to do this for 3-5 years.
The company we are with offers a lot of opportunity for travel. I'm excited to see new places with my cfamily (and be paid while we do it). They even offer international travel! Oh to see the world!
So...about this tiny house.
Our tiny house is basically 2 living areas: our bedroom, which has a queen size bed and the livingroom/kitchen...this is where the girls sleep at night (nap times we have to be creative). Olivia sleeps in her pack n play in the little nuke where the table goes...this is also basically our "couch" area. Aubrie sleeps on a little fold out couch, its a small step up from a futon. So when Alston gets up in the mornings at 4:30 am he gets dressed in our room, has breakfast and packs his lunch all the while the girls are sound asleep. Thank you Jesus for giving us heavy sleepers! Our bathroom thankfully has a little tub (most trailers only come with showers) for the girls.
Pros to living full time in a RV-
- It forces you to simplify your living... what do you REALLY need
- We actually have a better sleep schedule bc theres no staying up late watching junk on TV (our tv is in the livingroom i.e. the girls bedroom.
- I don't have to spend my free time cleaning. You have to pick up after you are done with something. and I can basically mop the whole trailer with 3 Clorox wipes. lol
- money saving!
- We enjoy being outside more
- No washer/dryer... I know you probably think this is a con, but for me its actually been a good thing. I have to go to the laundromat 3x a week (alston only has 3 uniforms). This forces me to actually start and finish a load of laundry...no more leaving it in the dryer and "fluffing" over and over again. Once the dryer goes off, I fold everything, stack it neatly in the basket, bring it home and hang/put up immediately to avoid wrinkles.... unless I want to iron.
- We read more, which I have missed to much since having kids.
Cons -
- No dishwasher... I hate washing dishes. So, we have just enough for each person and we use a lot of plastic and paper.
- VERY VERY small hotwater tank...when I say small...You may have 8 or so minutes to shower! lol...I'm a fast showerer ( not sure if that's a word... oh well) and its been tough on me sometimes. And if you use all the hot water, you just tripped a breaker.Breakers just love to trip. When the hot water breaker trips it also trips the ac breaker...lol. You have to laugh at this otherwise you'll just be pissy. SO... when I want to shower I turn OFF the ac so I might get a few more minutes of hot water. Than when I get out I turn off the hot water and turn the AC back on.
- SMALL refrigerator....I only buy enough for 3 days at a time. 1/2 gal of milk at a time so we have enough room for tea and cold water (we buy water.... the water here taste weird).
- There isn't really a place to very be "alone".... this is a tough one.
Funny story about our first night here. We hadn't even stayed 1 night yet. On our way home from Walmart Aubrie (shes 3 yr old) informs us that "I don't like my tiny house... I want my big house momma" I asked her what big house love? she said "My big white one without wheels momma!...the one that has internet" I couldn't stop laughing...how does my 3 year old know about internet? Have I failed as a parent? And than she says "Mimi and poppi have internet...we just need to go back to their house" #parentfail
The day we had internet installed..all was right in her world again because her tv finally worked. Thank you Netflicks and HULU....my kids don't understand what commercials are.
