Scared to go it alone

Freespirit · Member

Scared to go it alone

xina · Guru

Welcome Jennifer. I left a message on your White-board.
Cheers,
xina.

NannyMon · Veteran Member

Hi Jennifer,

Welcome to the forum, you have come to the right spot. Lots of single solo ladies here. As for getting started, just get in your car/van and go for short trips. Easy as that. I have always travellled as I lived 3 hours from my parents after I was married. I found that I really enjoyed the travelling but no so much the inconvenience of a car, not enough space and definitely no where to sleep and caravan parks became expensive. Last July I bought a campervan and it is the best thing I have ever bought, since then I have done 42,000 kms in the van and 5,000 in the car. Loved driving the car but as I said it is hard to snooze in the front seat of a small car.

No need to leave the security of your home, buy a cheap van, get your local mechanic to check it over and do small trips to see how you go. Believe me before you know it you will have itchy feet.

Over to you Dave, I know you have a lot of information for Jennifer, as you helped me so much in the beginning. Listen to Dave Jennifer he will not steer you wrong.

dave06 · Guru

nannymon, I humbly place the caretaking procedures of "newbie" solo's in the "solo's" hands, I will encourage at every stage of the game but I will not take over

there is more than enough lovely solo ladies and gent's here to give an honest overview of your world

we have an enormous amount of information in here from a lot of great contributers all easily accesible but you fellers have it first hand and can pass all that knowledge gained on to another far better than I,

freespirit the girl's and boy's that will answer all your query's have the "actual" solo experience, I don't, please ask of them what ever is bothering you about "stepping out"

do not be afraid to ask anything about anything, this may be a traveling forum but we encourage just plain old talking as well

just ask the questions and they will answer, I promise

never be afraid to venture out alone as I have said before you are never alone, there is always someone else out there waiting to say g'day to you

Freespirit · Member

Hi Guru-Nannymon and Xina-Wow thanks so much for your response(s). Feel encouraged and heartened! I will check the posts as you suggest smile

Freespirit · Member

Hi Xina-How do I access the whiteboard? I went to my profile and my whiteboard was empty

xina · Guru

Hi Jennifer,
Don't know what happened there. I obviously did something wrong. Sorry about that. Anyway, Nanny-mon probably gave you better info. She started me off. Check out the FIRST TIME OUT thread on Solos'.
Cheers,
xina.

VK3FEMT · Senior Member

Freespirit wrote:

Just how does a single grey nomad make a start??? Anyone out there who can give me advice please?

Gidday Jennifer;
Been 'scared' is a natural thing when leaving your home and venturing into the unknown. Don't think it a bad thing, a bit of fear is good, as it keeps you vigilant and observant.

One of the others suggested small trips, try and do some weekenders at populated places, caravan parks or larger established National Parks camping grounds. That way you will get comfortable with the whole idea of nomading, whilst having the relative safety of others around you. There is also a very high chance you will come across others who are doing the very same thing as well.

There are no right or wrongs - it comes down to whatever you yourself are comfortable with. Once you get a few weekends in your confidence will grow and you will be fine.

Doing weekend trips is also a good way or working out what you need and what you don't need. I have gotten rid of a huge amount of junk that I don't need, or may only ever use once in a blue moon. So the small trip idea is great for knowing what you will need and what can be pensioned off so to speak.

One thing I will advise is, if you have an annexe, buy decent guy ropes and pegs.
Unfortunately in one of my less brighter moments I got these tin type pegs and just standard old guy ropes. Once I put the annexe up I quickly realised how damn useless both were, the pegs folded over like a candle in an oven, and the ropes kept coming loose. So this week I invested in the guy ropes with the wooden thingo's in them to tighten them and some beasty looking steel pegs, so far the annexe stood up against a pretty severe storm, high winds and rain. With branches coming down off trees and my annexe still standing this warmed the ****les of my heart :)

I have been propped in Geelong for quite a few weeks now at a caravan park, it has been good though, given me time to sort the junk from the needed. And what extra stuff I really will need. I've decided to eventually also invest in a little trailer, as I want to head into the outback boondocks, I need a bit of extra room to carry water, fuel and my generator when I get it, plus other bits n pieces.

I am by no means a guru on this, and there are many many more people here with much more experience then I have.

mike and Judy · Guru

Althought technically not a single ,And am a male (I met Judy on the road,) I started out as such, a million years ago, with Pixie my terrier, In those days the parks were few and the spaces for rest were a little turnoff to a private driveway,
But as the years roll on by; the changes are becoming very obvious,
A lot of Ladies are taking to the road , and I dont mean the bra burning types, I mean the housewife who is seeeking more from this world than a view of the back fence,
and the opportunity for independant and single journeys are available in a range of vehicles from the station wagon to mobile homes such as the girls before me have mentioned, these vehicles are pretty much fooolproof, and you can lock yourself in as easy as lock yourself out,
With the increase of people on the road , nearly all willing to lend a hand, and the availability of places to park ,for a night or longer, just a few Ks from your home , it becomes realative easy to pack the mover for a week , climb in and stay at a chosen destination from the CAMPS BOOK 5 for a night or more, than go back home
I suggest this as a diliberate way of achieving a goal, and a destination, you will get to the stage where you will just pile in and head for the other side of the continent eventually, with out a thought of the problems associated with it
As your confidence increases you will even increase the size the of the mover,
best wishes from all of us
who said a journey begins with a single step

Cruising Granny · Guru

Well, welcome Free Spirit.
What they said.
Spend some time reading this site and if you have any questions, one of, or all of us will help you out if we can.
I enjoy this site and all the friendly banter and advice which keeps me entertained.
Take your time with your decision, think it all through and how it will suit you and your lifestyle.
Get back to us when you've finished reading.
Cheers Chris

Bubs · Senior Member

Hi Jennifer!
Welcome, you are certainly not alone! I have placed a message on your whiteboard also.
Cheers, Dianne

Freespirit · Member

Hi- I've spent the last 2 weeks researching motorhomes and campervans and I'm not sure what sort of vehicle to get. There are some fairly cheap campervans-I like the toyota hiace-not the pop top- The prices I'm looking at are around the $5000 mark. Am i doing the right thing? Should I get a fitted out van or a plain van and fit it out myself. I've even considered a mazda metro! but I think that might be a bit small.
Any suggestions and advice is appreciated. Are there any grey nomad sites for 2nd hand campervans? Are there dealers you can recommend? I'm in the blue mountains.
So much to do-so little time to do it in!!!
Cheers
Jen

Freespirit · Member

Dianne-sorry I meant to respond. I read my whiteboard tahnks for message and encouragement!

Basil Faulty · Guru

Freespirit wrote:

Cruising Granny seems to have her act together. I want to be like her!

Really? confident, self assured, articulate, intelligent, opinionated, irrascible? Na Granny is a real person with all the traits of a decent human, you don't want to be like her surely.....

Just bite the bullet and do it, there is a first time for everything in life, some things we do because we have no choice. Other things we do " because everyone is doing it" and yet other things we put off because we know that we though we know we want to do it we are aprehensive about it....

It's all in your head, it's mind over matter and you'll enjoy it more than some of the things you have had to do.

Cruising Granny · Guru

Gee thank Basil, if I need a referee for my character I'll come to you. ha ha haWhat does irrascible mean? Can't find my dictionary.
Now Jen, you have to have a bit of an idea of what you want to do with the vehicle, and where you want to go. That means a little bit of a sort of plan, almost.Then you have to look at your budget to purchase and run it when you're on the road.If you can't find one already fitted out to your requirements, then you need to buy a shell and get it fitted out. Keep that budget in mind if you need to.I live in my van all the time, but if you're just doing trips, long or short, a camper van should be ok. It's all relative to needs and wants.Just think it through. And as for doing the right thing - only you will know that.
There are numerous sites to check out for what you're looking for. There's the trade mag online, check out van yards, ebay which is where I found my van. Just google campervans and you'll be swamped with choices. All the best and safe travels. Cheers Chris

xina · Guru

Hi Jennifer,
Have PM'd you.
Cheers,
xina.