As a blogger and blog reader, I read some blogs that write about the RV Lifestyle. Most of these bloggers tend to write about their travels, what they’re doing, or what they’ve learned. And they all write really good stuff.
But its mostly practical and not philosophical. Few actually put a definition on what the RV Lifestyle is. One talks about getting out there, seeing the country. Some seem to infer that’s its constant traveling in an RV. Some write about how they live full time in a RV. But not many actually write about what the RV Lifestyle actually is.
I’m spending the winter in an RV park and I’m surrounded by all types of RVer’s. I’ve got to meet many of these RVer’s and see how they are all different. So, I guess this set me up for pondering the question one night, while I sat on the commode, what is the RV Lifestyle? It actually posed itself in the form of a few questions. How would I define the RV Lifestyle? What’s my RV Lifestyle? Can someone have an RV Lifestyle and a regular lifestyle? To some, it may be obvious. Once you own and use an RV you automatically have an RV lifestyle. But I think there maybe more to it than that or maybe not. So, it this post, I’ll explore what the RV Lifestyle is to me.
Let’s start with the word lifestyle. It can denote an individuals interests, attitudes, behaviors, and values. It can also denote how you live. So, if you live in an RV you must have an RV Lifestyle? One blogger I read travels in a Class B and he writes a good blog about the small motorhome lifestyle. Perhaps there are different RV Lifestyles based on the type of RV. I have a Class C motorhome, so does that mean I have a medium motorhome lifestyle? I’m not sure my interests, attitudes, behavior, and values are driven by the size of my RV.
Some may think the RV Lifestyle entails constant travel and seeing new places with jaw dropping scenery. Is constant travel and adventure a lifestyle? It seems to work for nomads. And, I can see how it could be for some and if you do it in an RV. If that’s what you like to do, then constant travel in a RV may be your RV Lifestyle.
For some, an RV Lifestyle might be sitting around a crackling campfire boondocking out in a wilderness setting with no other people around. That may work for people who want an escape and need to recharge. But unless you’re a hermit, a permanent escape is not much of a lifestyle. But if its temporary or something you do for a vacation or a few times a year, then perhaps that’s your RV Lifestyle.
Many of the RVer’s in the RV park I’m staying at live in their RVs for a few months during the winter and then go back to their sticks and bricks homes. They’re not “getting out there and seeing the country”. They’re just parked. Some may say they don’t have much of a RV Lifestyle. But they seem as happy and full filled as people who travel constantly around the country. Perhaps they just have a sedentary RV Lifestyle.
The answers to my questions came to me as I observed my wife over the past two months. My wife has traveled with me in our RV but she can only do it for a short time. She likes traveling and seeing new things, but she’s not happy always moving from place to place every few days. That’s why there are many times I travel alone. Her values and interests are friends, family, routines, familiar things, relationships, religion, and lots of people contact. These things are not always there for her on on a cross country road trip.
But while living in our RV for two months in the RV park, she had all these things and was very happy. And that’s when it hit me. The answer to my mystery. I once read something that said a person (more specifically, a sane person) can’t be two people at the same time. You can’t have two personalities or two behaviors. You can’t have two sets of values, likes, interests, and attitudes. It takes too much energy for a sane person to project multiple personalities.
My wife was happy living in the RV because she didn’t leave or change her lifestyle. She took it with her to the RV park in Florida. My wife doesn’t have an RV Lifestyle. She just has here regular lifestyle that she brought with her and re-established in another location.
And for me, my lifestyle happens to include being a “sometime” RVer. I like to travel and take long trips. I can go for a couple months at a time, but I need to follow my regular routines, eat my regular diet, and do my regular hobbies. I like exploring, but I need to have familiar things and return to my home base to reconnect, recharge, and get grounded.
And I guess that’s the answer to my question. For me, there is no RV Lifestyle. There’s isn’t a separate way of living that has a separate set of values, interests, rules, or behaviors. All I have is my regular lifestyle that happens to entail traveling in an RV from time to time. For some, constant travel is their lifestyle, for others boondocking out in the wildness from time to time is part of their lifestyle, and for others going to Florida and parking for the winter is part of their lifestyle. We’re all different with our unique lifestyles.
And I think this is key. Your interests, hobbies, routines, habits, diets, family/ friend interaction need to be supported in your RV. You can put your lifestyle on hold if all you want to do is vacation type road trips. But, if you’re serious about spending a significant amount of time in an RV, then you need to bring your lifestyle with you in the RV.
Which means you need to find an RV that fits your lifestyle not vice versa. If your lifestyle includes cooking big meals, staying put for weeks, and you want lots of comfort, a Class B or small towable is probably not going to fit your lifestyle. I guess that may be why lots of folks like big RVs. Its just not for the comfort. Its so they can bring their lifestyle with them. This is exactly what I saw in the RV park. Many had brought their homes and lifestyles with them and set them up in the RV park.
And that’s my take on the RV Lifestyle. I don’t have an RV Lifestyle. I just have my regular lifestyle that happens to include RVing.
