advice for beginners

futute nomads · Member

advice for beginners

twobob · Guru

Cheryl/Bernie

Your writings disturb me and I shall attempt to explain why.

Firstly a couple of questions,
1 why do you need to "sell up", as opposed to renting out
2 Why is it SO important to do the Grey Nomad adventure in total

Grey Nomading is not necessarily a life long event, it can be many short term events, leading to an extension to long term, but never permanent.

There are a few on here that have done as you desire, search the threads, and ask them direct. Not everyone situation is the same.

If you have any skills, then work is available, and that is what drew me to this site in the first place - they have a work site. The work on offer suits me, as it is remote stuff, may not suit you and therefore, you should start by looking at the "Harvest Trail" - following the fruit and produce picking season.

At the end of the day, yes, it is do able, but understand the magnitude of the direction, and maybe talk with a financial adviser (free at CentreLink and most others for first visit). I have always found that, with the right financial knowledge, anything is possible.

futute nomads · Member

hi, two bob, thanks for the reply, the reason we are thinking of doing it that way is, we have moved to wollongong in 2005, to help my daughter with our grandsons, and we had to borrow to buy here, we are pretty sure we cannot afford to rent, buy a van and travel as well, we will need the money from our unit to get started, and we definently cannot afford to buy now, and travel a few months at a time, also we have to look after the grandsons for a couple of years yet. will take your advice and go to centre link, and get advice. that was my main worry not having anything to come back to, although it does not worry my husband in the least. thanks

dave06 · Guru

Hi there Cheryl and welcome to the mob, selling up and travelling, we are doing exactly the same thing in 2.8 years and counting, I would do it now if I could, sure get all the advice on monetry matters, have you travelled much, did you like it, how long did you stay out for, have you honestly asked yourself "can I do this for the rest of my days" we will sell all possesions and with the rewards of a lifetime of work we should be very comfortable for the rest of our days, we will I think do a little work just to stave off the boredom, we will return every year to keep in contact with the family, the "work" thing is everywhere from harvesting fruit and vegies to picking grapes, to just mowing lawns at caravan parks, if one doesnt suit you then try something else, living on the road is a cheap affair, roughly $20,000 a year will do you, and that includes a few luxuries, with this figure in mind, minus the original purchase of your vehicle, you can work out if you can afford to do it or not, you can earn roughly $150 per day each working, so if you do the figures you do not have to work that much to stay out, if the life is not for you then perhaps you could always go back to a rental with a centrelink rental assistance. but there are a lot out there that are doing it, I speak with them all the time, they wouldnt go back for quids, join the C.M.C.A. and speak to the long termers and get a feel for it first, doom and gloom is everywhere but you could wake up dead tommorrow without ever doing it

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Utube video, needs a bit of bandwidth.....
Is this what you are saying dave06?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slOY4cSVfy8

Cheers,
Peter

futute nomads · Member

thanks for the reply, yes i know it will be a permenant thing, but thats what we want, have always said its what we want to do and i know once we get going it will be fine its just that first move we know we can always come back to see the family we will have to plan over the next 2 years thanks

kesue · Senior Member

Hi Cheryl and Bernie, I think this is a woman thing about must have a base to come home to, I know my wife is just the same. We sold our house in Victoria two years ago to move nearer our daughter in Brisbane. We have invested our money and now rent. We manage to get away abouttwenty weeks of the year, but when we travelled for three months at the beginning of the year my wife couldn't wait to get home.If it was up to me I would give up the rental and travel fulltime, but you have to give and take. There are certainly plenty of people out there doing it and enjoying it.I have spoken to a lot of travellers and illness is the one thing that concerns a lot of people but as one old guy said to me "its as easy to be ill at home as it is when your travelling. Good luck with what ever decisions you make I'm sure they will be the right one Happy travel Keith

futute nomads · Member

thats it, a womans thing, my husband has wanted to do this for years, and as you say, its a bit of give and take and i have to give now, so we will go, we will do lots of enqires, before we do, we will be fine, ican just imagine how it would be out there, just from all the wonderful replys ive had, cant wait to meet these people. thanks a lot cheryl

dave06 · Guru

Keith, this is exactly my point, whatever you are doing at home one can do anywhere, we met one couple in tasmania, we were on a 6 month jaunt out, the wife of the roaming couple still had reservations, they had been out for 12 months, he was having a ball but she was not happy and wished to return home, we recieve regular email from them, she will not return to anything like a home now, they have been out for 15 years and counting, we meet up with other c.m.c.a. members at chapter meetings and look honestly we have a ball, we cant wait to get out, but it probably is not for everyone, but for us when we leave home on a short trip ( one or two weeks we are limited at the moment) we are really down when we must return to home and "normality", and I am champing at the bit to get out again, we have travelled extensively and over long periods so having "no base" probably comes easier to us than to you, but it must be your decision, we recieve email from a lot of "full timers" and there are some with reservations about "what happens if" but once they put those thoughts out of their mind they just wouldnt give it up. as pete points out, doesnt matter what you do you are still going to die. one thing I guess, if you dont sell up and go out there then there is that little bit more space for me,

futute nomads · Member

davo6, thanks for the reply again, could you please tell me what c.m.c.a.is and how do i get on to the site. thanks again cheryl

dave06 · Guru

cheryl I would only be too glad to guide you to the C.M.C.A. the initials stand for the campervans and motorhome owners club of australia. if you copy this into your search you will be cooking with gas. www.cmca.net.au. take your time exploring the site and if you like join up and talk immediately with like minded full time travellers. I also think you would benefit from buying a book that I also keep pushing, it is called camps australia 4 it shows free and low cost camping all throughout australia, I do not benefit from the sale or the signing up of members I just like to give all the help afforded to me by fellow travellers,

futute nomads · Member

thanks davo6

Jill B · Veteran Member

Hello Cheryl and Bernie. Husband and I are feeling the same as you. Currently we have our house for sale, and our business. Bugger is the recent stock market shenanigans UpOver tend to affect everything down here. We are afraid to look at our super balance right now.
Ha! But, we are still plugging along, with open inspections; hiding the 32 boxes of work someplace.......................................

And of course the worry of.............Are we doing the right thing???

The way I see it is: if we don't wander off and see our beautiful country while we still can, how will we feel in our nursing home, saying.............IF ONLY............................

So................GO.... FOR.... IT....!!!

ps: I am still working at 8.30pm, so I am REALLY looking forward to taking off!

futute nomads · Member

yes we checked our super not good, but still have time for it to improve, but yes your right, dont want to grow old missing out on what we could have done, cheers. cheryl& bernie

Cupie · Guru

Hi there ...

I am 100% in agreement with 'two bob's' initial response.

For our part we were able to outfit ourselves for touring without impacting on our future living financial provisions. Our long distance touring was done before the Grand Kids came along. Of course like most we needed to modify our expenditure on the rig & our travel plans to match our budget. It's worked out well for us & we now enjoy mostly short trips, sometimes taking a Grand child.

As had been said before we are (thankfully) all different in our wants & resources. I am unaware of your previous caravanning experience so forgive me if I am preaching to the converted.

All forms caravanning seem to give a great deal of pleasure so I suppose you need to find a form that fits your situation. Try to think outside the square .. consider all options .. don't just be fixed on the idea that to enjoy the experience you need to join the group who sell up & enjoy life on the road evermore. It isn't really like that. Some do & have a ball for many years. I have seen others who strike tradegy & are stuck in a difficult situation. Some want to sell up after the first trip. Some love the bush; some hate it; others can see no other option. It should be part of your strategy to put yourself in a position where you can choose/change.

There are lots who have a low cost rig & get their buzz from National park camping, others who go to favourite beach side CPs; some who love going on Caravan Club outings .. and on & on the list goes!
On a similar vein, a good friend of mine was absolutely fixated by flying aircraft. This is a very long & expensive exercise & out of his budget .. so his solution was to get a good PC & flight simulation software. It is truly amazing to see the realism of the flights that he does all over the world using Google Earth etc. He & his partner are more than satisfied & still as enthusisastic as ever. He shares the experience with a network of similarly interested friends .. across the world.

You have lots of time to sort out your future direction. You might be well advised to continue to accumulate information (your posting here is a good start) as you look at every opportunity to improve your discressionary expenditure position.

Good luck .... Graham

dave06 · Guru

cheryl maybe I have over glamorised the full time travelling thing, if you are not happy with the idea of selling everything and hitting the road full time then DONT DO IT, there are plenty of alternatives, a camper trailer is one of which I would be very happy to take short trips of one or two weeks in and they are now a very affordable alternative, I know quite a few people who would not swap the freedom of their tent, a very affordable alternative, I dont know your financial status ( and I dont want to know) but if, like me, the only way to achieve full time status is to sell up everything and you are not 100% happy to do so then DONT, short trips can be very rewarding, and if you save then perhaps longer trips could be in the offing, if you find that you like the lifestyle then make a decision based on the facts and the knowledge gained through your own experience, once you sell up you probably wont EVER be able to get back in to the property market, this decision can not be made lightly, and advice cannot be given by people who are not willing to make that decision themselves, speak to people who have done it, I would love to pass on some contacts but that would stretch the freindship a little and I am not willing to do that, I am marking the calender until I get my retirement freedom but thats me, you are you, the decision must be YOURS, your life make of it what you will

futute nomads · Member

you are so right davo6 and no we know its a big move, but its what we have wanted to do, so we will go, we are pretty sure of that, we will have to start planning now, so we know what we will be dealing with, and life is to short to worry about "what if" cheryl

dave06 · Guru

Cheryl I am so glad that you have weighed ALL the pros and cons and came up with a decision based upon your own findings, I was worried that the doomsayers would put you off and I did not want to add to your problems with a skewed thought process such as my own, will you please keep in contact with me about how you are going and any other worries you may have, how did you find the C.M.C.A. website was it helpfull, I am glad to see WE used so often in your previous listing, that is how to make a decision such as this it must be a combined agreement

futute nomads · Member

sure will thanks heaps

kesue · Senior Member

Cheryl whayever you decide to you will enjoy it i'm sure. Everybody's idea of caravanning or travelling is different. I love to read Dave's bits because he is so passionate about bush or free camping but I enjoy caravan parks (preferably kid free). Whatever you do you will both meet some fantastic people who have the same interest as you.I personally find that as you get older it grts harder to make new friends but not so with travelling, mind you its important that you enjoy a glass about 4 o'clock to get things started
Happy travelling Keith

futute nomads · Member

will be looking forward to the 4 oclock, also meeting all the people cheers cheryl

dave06 · Guru

4 o'clock tipple Hmmmm! somebody about my size has been starting early, guess what, HE DOESNT CARE