After three months of rest and realignment in North Carolina, we have hitched up the fifth-wheel and are hitting the road again! I am feeling so excited for the next few months of adventures, and I really wanted to share all about the nitty gritty details of how, exactly, we do this! Nathan and I have made a few mistakes along the way and have also gathered so many great tips and tricks to making this lifestyle work for us, so let’s dive in!
EDIT: I put together a quick highlights reel for some of our recent travel—I am IN LOVE with our amazing lifestyle!! Follow me over on Facebook to learn how I make this happen for myself, and how you can have your dream life, too!
The idea of traveling full time while running a business is still foreign or strange to a lot of people, so I often get asked some great questions — everything from how we manage our travel, how I balance work and play, how we pay for everything, right on down the line to what we do with our animals. Here’s a good sampling of some questions I have received, along with my honest answers!
How on earth do we pay for everything?!!
This is one of the most common questions I get, and it’s simple! I worked hard to grow my online business (while at the same time working full time in my previous business as a professional dog trainer), and had amazing growth within just a few months of getting started. Once I started pulling in the equivalent of my husband’s yearly salary every month, we quickly decided it was time for us to start living the life we had been dreaming of!
We purchased a fifth-wheel camper and a truck to haul it, and we got busy tying up loose ends like selling my dog training business and retiring my husband from his job, so we’d be free to travel full time.
I use a Verizon hotspot while we’re on the road, and it allows me to work from anywhere! I generally work about 20 hours per week, sometimes in coffee shops, sometimes from our camper, depending on how I’m feeling, and the rest of the time I’m free to enjoy all the amazing places we visit.
How do you manage your time? Isn’t it hard to balance the work with the travel?
This is one of the areas where we have learned a lot of lessons along the way. Last year we hit 30 states within the US and Canada, in the space of only 9 months! It was a really hectic travel pace and left us both feeling exhausted and running on fumes. So after a three month rest, we are hitting the road again with a plan to take a much slower route, allowing us to truly ENJOY each and every place and really take everything in without overtaxing ourselves.
Isn’t it hard living in such a small space? How do you handle that?
We have 320 square feet in our fifth wheel—TONS of space! 😀
Don’t you have pets? How do they handle all the traveling?
We do have FOUR fur babies! Two cats and two dogs! They do great with the traveling. We have a special set up in the back seat of the truck that keeps everybody safe and happy when we’re on the move.
How do you decide where to stay/park? What are the best places you’ve stayed?
How do you get your mail?
What do you do for a sense of community? And how do you eat healthily?
In the end, even though we have some challenges with this way of living, I truly feel so grateful to be able to have these amazing experiences every day! The freedom to explore the national parks and other beautiful places, and spending time in nature with my husband, as well as meeting up with my awesome clients throughout the country as we travel—what more could a girl ask for? 😍😍😍
Follow my adventures over on Facebook or Instagram, where I post daily. Comment below if you have anything you’d like to ask me! I’d love to hear from you!
Love this Stephanie! Do you find it difficult to drive with the RV attached? That would make me so nervous driving and parking that. Also, do you generally feel safe leaving the animals in the RV if need be? Thanks! 😉