How did you get started working remotely out of an RV?
Interview with Sarah about working remotely from an RV
It's a funny/random story actually. My partner and I were working full-time at commute jobs and living in an apartment that we were dumping half our paychecks into.
We knew we wanted out of the apartment and to move but we weren't sure where or what our next steps should be. Should we get a house? Move out of state? We always talked about being near mountains so we loved Colorado. But we didn't feel at peace with the thought of moving across the country where we knew nobody and had no family close around. If we needed to come home in an emergency situation, it would've been a hassle.
In early 2016, I had recently landed my current remote full-time position. One night, my partner came home from work and said, "What if we moved into an RV? Then we could go stay with your parents or mine for as long as we want and then drive to the mountains for as long as we want to stay."
Thinking about this gave us both a sense of peace and so we started researching how we could accomplish this and how I could work from the road. At first, I was very stressed out and anxious! What if my Internet isn't reliable in remote locations? What if I need to fly to HQ, would there be an airport close by? What about our mail and filing taxes?
Lucky for us, thousands of couples before us had already gone through this process and wrote blogs and participated in Facebook groups. We learned a lot from the full-time RVer community which made us feel less stressed out and alone. The process was hard at first because we had to downsize our 800 sq. ft. apartment to fit our belongings into less than 200 sq. ft. of space.
I sold all my furniture, we gave our old clothes and other things to Goodwill, and the stuff we absolutely wanted to keep we stored at our parents' houses. We had to completely change our relationship to our possessions but it was the first step towards building the lifestyle we wanted to create so it got a lot easier the more we did it.
But there were definitely times where we thought we were crazy for pursuing this lifestyle and we had some talks with concerned friends and family members. Ultimately, we knew we were drawn to this lifestyle and felt peace about it so we soldiered on.
My partner's mother agreed to manage our mail for us and still sends it to us monthly (mostly junk because we switch to paperless billing for everything). When it came to Internet, Cherie and Chris of RV Mobile Internet were my saving grace. They published an entire book on how to access Internet on the road. I purchased a Verizon mobile hotspot with an unlimited data plan along with a cellular booster and I was in business. Works like a charm!
After establishing how I would work, it eased my mind much more because without my remote job, none of this would've been possible.
We've been able to see all of the western United States in a year—all because I have a remote job.
That's why I'm such a huge advocate of remote work: I've been able to have life experiences I might've never had and I believe it's made me a more well-rounded individual.
For someone who wants to do the same, I think the first step is establishing a way to make income. Whether that's a full-time remote job (like I have), freelancing, workamping (working for an RV park that you stay at for income+rent for the site), or running an online business.
Start researching how other couples got their start (there are hundreds of blogs for full-time RVers!) and join a few Facebook groups. The full-time RVing community is very friendly and helpful to newbies. You should also start to consider your relationship to stuff.
My partner and I still manage to accumulate stuff we don't need and have to re-evaluate our belongings every few months because we literally don't have the space! Simplifying our lives and our mindset to value people and experiences over things has completely changed our lives and I don't see us settling down in a house any time soon!
Sarah is a digital marketing manager who travels the United States with her partner and two dogs while working remotely in her RV.
Read full interview from Interview with Sarah about working remotely from an RV.