A few years ago, Shelly and I considered moving to California.  We had just visited Los Angeles and drove up to Napa Valley and fell in love with the climate, scenery, trails, and people.  After serious deliberation, we scrapped the plans due to the crazy cost of living.

at the time, we were planning on building a house.  Our dream house in Michigan would have cost approximately $150,000.  The same house in Napa Valley would have cost just north of $650,000 (this was a few months before the housing crash).

Fast forward a few years.

We’ve spent the last two weeks just east of San Diego, and will be in the area for another three weeks. The cost of this visit is about 25% less than the cost of maintaining our old duplex in Michigan.  Here’s a comparison:

For us, it’s a no-brainer.  Of course, I’m not suggesting everyone move to Southern California.  I AM suggesting, however, that “cost” is a poor excuse not to move if given the opportunity.

The Hidden Lifestyle

Our decision to live in an RV was done for a practical reason- we needed the ability to move frequently to conduct our clinics.  In our travels, we’ve learned a few valuable lessons:

1. Living in a travel trailer is far better than expected.  The area is small, it moves a bit when you walk, and the fridge and bathroom are tiny.  We quickly adjusted to all those “problems.”  We’ve come to realize the idea of a “house to call your home” is silly.  It’s a place to protect you from the elements.  You get over the emotional attachment quickly.
2. Living in an RV can be ridiculously cheap.  Like I said, our cost here in San Diego is less than it was in Michigan.  If needed, we could whittle our total costs down to about $1,000 per month (for three adults and three kids).  That gives us unbelievable freedom.
3. The ability to move at will is awesome.  Since our jobs aren’t tied to a geographic location, we can move about at will.  If we weren’t traveling to do clinics, we’d likely stay in one area for a month or two, then move on.  Even if you have a “regular job”, having the ability to quit and move pretty much in one day is a freedom few ever experience.

But Everyone Tells Me I Should Own a House…

Home ownership is one of the biggest scams in American society… especially for those that finance said house.  It’s often touted as an investment, but that’s a fallacy.  Here’s a scenario:

You buy a $200,000 house with $20,000 down for 15 years at 3% interest.  You end up paying over $260,000 to pay off the mortgage.  If your house happens to increase in value over those 15 years, you may come out ahead.  If not, you just wasted 80 grand.

Let’s say you decide on a 30 year mortgage instead.  Now you’re paying close to $350,000 for the house.

Finances aside, there’s a few other reasons buying a house is a bad idea:

• Stuff breaks a lot.  You either have to fix it yourself or pay someone to fix it.
• Maintaining the house is expensive and time-consuming.  Instead of mowing the lawn for six hours a week, put that time toward learning a language, writing a book, or exercising.
• If you want to move, selling a house can range from “pain in the ass” to “damn near impossible.”  Home ownership shackles you to the area.
• Houses promote collecting useless material possessions.  The more empty space you have, the greater the drive to fill it with useless crap.  This also goes for remodeling endlessly.  Both result in high costs with no discernible benefit.
• You have no control over the value of the house.  What if the housing market crashes or the neighborhood goes to crap?
• You have no control over your neighbors.  What if a jerk moves in next door?  Or a child molester?

Conclusion

The RV lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but most people never consider it as an option.  Shelly and I didn’t even know the option existed.  We assumed RVs were for vacations only.  It took months on the road to see the true benefits, and we feel like suckers for not discovering this sooner.

What do you think?

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