When getting ready to move into full-time Residential Cruising, we didn’t just sell our house and Get Rid of all our stuff, making us “homeless” until we could board our ship.
No oh no no! It got complicated when our first ship postponed for 7 months and then showed that they are either a scam or incompetent. Either way, we were clearly going to be “homeless” for awhile, and it wasn’t part of the plan.
The plan called for us to do a lengthy road trip that ended in Miami to board our ship and sail last December 1. Didn’t happen. So what the heck do we do? Good friends in Las Vegas said we were welcome to stay with them, which is beyond kind, but there were two problems with that: we didn’t want to impose on them, and they have cats, and my growing allergies is what spurred our decision that “Now is the time.”
With some difficulties, we found an apartment in Las Vegas that was furnished, willing to do a short-term lease, and within our budget. (We were really striking out in finding anything decent searching for “furnished apartments”; to find something like that in a big city, a good google search term to try is “executive housing”.)
As noted in the previous blog entry about sending our belongings to our ship, it’s starting to get pretty close now. We had a pretty desirable car, so 10 days before we were to leave, I posted the car on Craigslist, saying it’d be available in a week.
I’ll just say because I know the car so well (and what makes it desirable), and having a bit of a knack as a writer, it created a bit of a frenzy. I went into it being willing to negotiate a bit on the price, but there was so much interest, I sorted through the responses by only replying to those who said they were willing to pay full price. While I would rather have had a car for our last week in town, “a bird in the hand” won and a very happy buyer drove it away today.
So we’re not only “homeless,” we can’t live in our car either, because we’re now also carless. Friends are stepping up to say they’ll come get us when we go out to lunch or dinner, and if all else fails Vegas is absolutely crawling with Uber/Lyft cars, so we’ll get by.
But it’s the first time since I was 16 that I haven’t owned a car — another reminder that we’re really going into a major life change here. And we couldn’t be more ready for it.
As the car was driving away I asked Kit how she felt. “Happy that someone who really wanted it got the car,” she said. Satisfactory!
Last Updated April 18, 2024 Originally Published April 18, 2024
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This is a HUGE jump. I can’t imagine living where I can’t see mountains or desert, or ski in the winter, or shop at the various weird places I like, or visit friends I’ve known for 60 years, or just get in the car and GO. I just don’t see how it’s possible to trade away a whole life for something completely different. Gutsy!
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Maybe. Kit and I are alike in that we enjoy interesting adventures. This is one we could both get behind. We have both made huge career changes over time (for instance for me: NASA/JPL, writing/publishing, medic on the side). Haven’t regretted any such change. -rc
Bev,
The way I look at our change is that we will have ever-changing views. We’ll see mountains, desert, cities, country, ocean, rivers, and seas.
I can shop at more “weird places” than I ever could in my land-locked locations.
We already are keeping in touch with friends and family via electronic means in ways we didn’t when we were at home. There was always the thought of “I’ll see you soon.” to keep us apart. Not now.
We don’t see we are trading a whole life away. We see that we are expanding our lives and including friends and family in that expansion. This arrangement works very well for us.
But, each to their own.
Bravo! Get out there and make the most of what you have. I am so pleased to be part of your journey. Living on a ship is something I’ve always been interested in.
I’m going to be between car leases soon, and it’ll only be a taste of what this is like. Good luck!
Amazing!
I’ve been considering selling my SoCal home and just living in an RV for a while. It is actually cost-effective once one joins a camping plan that allows for 24/7 camping.
I’m going to enjoy following your new adventures! Best of luck.
Moira,
That sounds rewarding and fun! Let us know when you do it.
We had thought about that approach to nomadic living. But, we didn’t want to handle the logistics of travel, maintenance, and the decisions with that. We want to relax even more than RV living. Residential Cruising gives us all that we want and need.
Happy trails to you!
Before you take such a huge jump please go to irv2.com and join a HUGE community of RVers. It’s organized as an informational web site, as a collections of forums on topics, and as a mailing list. You’d be one of what are called “full timers”.
Hint: You will want a car. In the lingo it’s called a toad because it’s towed behind the RV. It’s too much trouble to put the RV back on the road from your slot at the RV park just to go get a jug of milk from the store and then to drive back to the RV park and set up again.
Before you spend the first dollar on an RV please educate yourself using the archives at iRV2… you can search over 15 years of comment threads by subject. And the subject can include the brand. There are forums for every brand and model, even long-gone brands like WanderLodge plus forums on washing machines, water heaters, furnaces, refrigerators, and more.
Hint: avoid the propane fueled refrigerators. They were an effective solution in the 1970s but they are the biggest cause of RV fires.
You will learn to live small. You will feel cramped. The average RV has the interior space of a UPS delivery truck, if not less. By the time you add a queen size bed, a kitchen, a shower and a toilet there isn’t much space left. My RV had about 3 feet of closet space… for two people.
You will learn that RV electrical is different as it’s simultaneous 12 volts DC and 120 volts AC and never the two shall meet. RV roofing is different as it has to survive in a constant 60-80 mph windstorm as you drive down the freeway. RV plumbing is different as you have to make it permanently leakproof in a constant rolling 4 point earthquake.
Some people try the RV life and love it. Some people rent an RV for a single trip just for the learning experience… Two friends and their three kids did that and drove 400 miles from their home to Yellowstone, spent a week and drove back. Their reaction: “never again”.
But you might think it’s wonderful.
Melody and I sold all our “stuff”, including all vehicles, and have been living on Cruise ships for the past two years. We use car rentals when on land. We know your pain of being “homeless” and “carless”. We are back in our previous hometown of Port Salerno, emptying out our storage closet of its last memorabilia, clothing, and photo albums, and getting ready to fly to NYC on the 29th to board the Getaway to take us to our new home in Southampton the Odyssey!
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Once we’ve been on the Odyssey for awhile, I look forward to hearing your experiences between “living” on regular cruise ships vs true Residential Cruising. -rc
The joy of being carless this week is that we need the car only a few times — like 3. We can walk for the other 2-3 outings.
John,
With our decision to simplify even more, we’re already simplifying our outings. I walked to one store (that was a long, hot decision) for supplies, and we canceled one potential appointment. We have arranged to carpool with friends to another outing. I’m relaxing more all the time. 🙂
And surely Las Vegas has lots of vehicles from Lyft, Uber and taxies available instead of taking a long hot walk to the market.
Are you driving across the country in a rental or flying to your last destination in the states?
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Flying. It’s a long haul to the east coast. -rc
Another of the things I haven’t even gotten around to thinking about yet. It’s partly that I don’t want to jinx anything!
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I figured I’d need some time, so started a little early. I can deal with a little inconvenience since it’s compensated by getting full price. 🙂
And for friends following along, YES: we will have a couple on the ship named Hennessee, who we have met, and this Hennessy who we will meet soon! And it’s no shock whatever to get their comments right in a row here. -rc
So excited for you guys! I’m going to cruise the world vicariously with you!
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Join the crowd! I’m hoping some will try the lifestyle, since you KNOW there will be more ships. And over time, I’ll be writing about them. -rc
Soon you could be traveling like Gus Polinski, the Polka King!
Congrats on a good car sale and taking another step toward leaping into the dark.
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Nice try, but I don’t think we’ll often be Home Alone. -rc
I sold my car 4 years ago and have never had a regret. This was actually my third experiment in going carless, the first two times being temporary situations, this time probably permanent. I can walk virtually everywhere in Boulder, we have pretty good bus service, and an excellent carshare program. And soon I can walk the entire ship!
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Boulder is indeed superb when you live downtown, or along a bus line. For others, Peter is indeed another shipmate who is following our work here. -rc
Just wanted to mention another possibility for finding housing… FurnishedFinder.com. It’s used quite frequently by traveling nurses, but it’s starting to get a lot of traffic from others as well.
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Good to know! -rc
For 14 years, I did not own a car. I just bought a used car 2 years ago because I was living in a town that doesn’t have great transit to a lot of things I like to do.
I really enjoyed my car-free experience. It led me to explore a lot of things I didn’t really think about before, get much more exercise from walking and biking, and think very deeply about housing and urban/land development.
Plus, not owning a car for 14 years was a great way to save a lot of money. This played no small role in me being able to get out of debt and eventually purchase a home in a costly, challenging market as a single self-employed middle-aged woman.
Whatever the reason, I highly recommend not owning a car if if you you don’t absolutely need to. Even if you’re not getting on a boat. It’s a whole different way to experience life, and you learn a ton from it.
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That’s awesome …though this is the first time I’ve thought of you as a middle-aged woman! Cars cost a lot more than people think, at least when they don’t have significant money worries. Our insurance alone for the one car was $76/week, or a bit over $4,000/year. Colorado was cheaper than Vegas for sure, but all of the various expenses really add up, and it’s by getting rid of most of them that we CAN afford to move to a ship. -rc
OK this is real now! Homeless and carless! eeeek!!!!!
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😀 -rc
You two are awesome! So looking forward to following along on your journey. Thanks for sharing with us (and thank you Kit for willingness to help me along in my journey a while back). Bon voyage!
Jim,
I loved having you in my Energize Me! session. I’ve been wondering about you. Did you follow up on any of the references I gave you?
This lifestyle we are embracing sure is an energizing one. It’s perfect for us.
Best to you. Thanks for reaching out here. 🙂
Best of luck to you two. I truly hope your ship future is ten times better than you expected. Looking forward to hearing all about it.
“Happy that someone who really wanted it got the car” — I had that same feeling selling my car when we emigrated from UK to USA back in 1996. I hope your new life works as well as ours has!
So after I learned about the outrageous cost of healthcare in the U.S., I see that you pay 4 times the cost of vehicle insurance than I do here in Israel, where the average price of a mid-range car is around 95 K$. 3rd party only costs me 300$ a year and full coverage is about 1250 $ a year. I do not know what you call “Insurance coverage” in the States but my minimum, 3rd party coverage only, covers the “Other Driver’s” injuries and his vehicle damage as well as his/hers passenger’s personal injuries IF i am at fault.
FULL coverage covers all MY own damages. In both cases I would have to pay the first 750$ of any claim usually.
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Well, two things to remember about how things work here: lawsuits are an industry, and risks are huge (hence the True Stella Awards). Second, big businesses is no longer about providing a service, it’s about making as much money as possible. -rc
If what I’ve read about the initial cruise is true, I may get the opportunity to join you en route at an affordable price, and thus “test drive” residential cruising before a final decision on whether or not to take that plunge on a more-or-less full-time basis.
Bon Voyage; safe, healthy, and challenging/rewarding journey!
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With Villa Vie, you don’t have to buy a cabin: you can “lease” one by buying one of their “segments”. Please DO mention Kit and Randy when you do, but IMO it’s a great way to test it out for a few months. -rc
“Executive Housing” is exactly the phrase we used to find a one-month furnished two-bedroom rental apartment near La Rambla in Barcelona last October. We got a great apartment, steps from the famed pedestrian center of the city, for the entire month of October for less than a nice hotel would have cost for four nights. Heat and AC, toiletries and linens, washer/dryer, elevator, full kitchen with dishes and utensils, TV and Wi-Fi all included.