What is a Full-timer?

There are several definitions for the categories of full-timers, part-timers, snowbirds, some-timers and campers. Full-timing is not for everyone as many people have a need for a home base or somewhere to return every so often. 

Full-timer - Someone who lives "and" travels full time in a recreational vehicle (RV). A full-timer normally does not own a house or condo.

Part-timer - Someone who travels six or more months a year in an RV, then returns to a home base such as a house, condo or apartment.

Snowbird - Someone who generally lives in two places a year. A typical snowbird lives in a house in the northern states during the warm months and in an RV in the southern states during the winter. Some snowbirds do not own an RV and spend the winter in a condo or apartment. Also, some snowbirds live fulltime in an RV but only move it twice a year.

Some-timer - Someone who uses their RV for weekend get-a-ways, vacations and sometimes month long travels.

Campers - Campers are usually young people or families who use RVs or tents for weekend or week long camping. Many carry sleeping bags, coolers for food and build nightly fires.
 

In campground after campground we met friendly people who soon became our friends. We enjoyed each other's company, and then there would be handshakes and hugs and exchanges of e-mail addresses and phone numbers. We have built a list of new friends that we communicate with routinely. That is when we realized the best thing about traveling fulltime is not only the things we see but the people we meet! 

The RV community is a tight nit group of friends and friendly people. It is a mobile community that moves from town to town, not actually the same people, but people with the same interests. No matter where we go in the community, we feel at home. 

Our house was on a fixed foundation so every time we looked out the windows we saw the same scenery - boring, not to mention a lawn that always needed mowing, shrubs that needed trimming, leaves to rake and snow to shovel and all the other work that goes with owning a home. When we decided to sell the house and the majority of our possessions, and live in our motor home, I think several of our friends thought we had lost our mind! But since we have been traveling, we have lived near mountain tops with beautiful views of the valleys below, then lived in the valleys with beautiful mountain tops in the distance. We have lived by lakes and streams and have enjoyed the beautiful sounds of nature.  In the desert, cacti were outside our door and in Arizona, we had orange and grapefruit trees in our yard. The views from our windows are different every few days as our home changes location often and North America is our backyard. The scenery is worth a million dollars and if we don't like our view today, we can move to a new location tomorrow.

 

Happy Trails!  
"The Mattison Cruiser"

mattisoncruiser@hotmail.com