Hi folks , well i have at last decided it's hi time for the dream plan to start getting underway.
About me i'm a mid to late 50's ex tradie woman who has worked far too hard on tools all her life.I was a ( forced into the trade ) hard working mechanic for 14 yrs till the mid 90's. I then took up a couple of degrees electrical machinery related. Started out as a muso & analog pro audio electronics tech in the late 90's & went from there.
Now having split from my height challenged coat tails grabbin antagonist English chef ex a few yrs back i am soon to be free at last.
I have a charming but modest old free standing town house cottage in lovely Bega valley.
Lovely & somewhat old school as it is here i am not ready to settle into any growing old routine.
Although the neighbours are polite & obliging enough. I find my self getting rather perturbed by their nosiness - opinion's & politic's.
I can't just drive away but will indeed do so soon.
I am just not the type for that. I tool a 4 month extended mostly road trip hol to Europe & England 18 months ago.
I managed just fine in a little ol 07 diesel Renault Scenic which i lived in half the time.
I figure that 11,000 miles tangent gave me enough of a taste of self sufficient vagrancy.
Now i have decided to very low budget spruce my ol place up for sale. Ideally there-after set up a camper van likely a long wheelbase early merc sprinter.
I have indeed enjoyed a lot of what i have read hear and am indeed very grateful of this resource.
Sincere thanks to all whom contribute to such an invaluable resource,
Kind regard's
Sounds like you are a gutsy & competent dreamer, ready for some adventure. I can relate to that!
If you have to sell up to make your dreams come true then so be it, but if you can have somewhere to rent out whilst you travel, so you have somewhere to be if circumstances change I think it may be at least worthy of consideration. Alternatively a financial kitty to fall back on if things go pear shaped.
You already have the experience to tell you that what you are planning is something you can do, but it is different if the wheels fall off & you don't have anywhere to return to or are not cashed up to see a crisis through. Eg . Major mechanical dramas (although with your background you sound like you could take that in your stride) , or major health issues.
I'm sure you have already thought about such things but if not the risk of things going pear shaped without 'Plan B' can see folk who put everything they own into their dream left with a life of no choices if it doesn't work out.
That said we all are greater or lesser risk takers & if you are confidently happy with whatever you decide then go for it.
Thank you Cuppa for your kind words of due caution to consider. I have in fact thought long & hard about the home base factor.
I should i suppose move this reply over to the starting out thread subject.
Having owned a tas based rural riverfront small acrage property before i downsized to this home & sacked the bank a year ago.
I back then had learned the hard way of owning an owner built home property for 20 years. I actually libed in it for a combined 6 weeks a year in. I spent the rest of the time renting in Sydney slaving away to pay for it & support the bank.
I lost a absolute fortune & over half my life's income not to mention the best 20 yrs of my life. So much for that character building - ego self futile indulgent chapter.
Now owning even a modest value home in a shire district as vast as Bega Valley incurrs huge rates bills.
Ironically i was personal net worth far better off 25 years ago than i am now.
I figure to hell with it. I'll sell up. Maybe buy a small cheap minimalist block of land in a quiet old school regional Aussie town somewhere to fall back on.
After that i will build a low budget but fairly bulletproof old convensional schnitzil diesel manual gearbox campervan.
Much like my trusty old 312D 2.9 ltr turbo 5sp manual work van was that i had for over a decade.
I will endeavour to find one to restore & fit out myself to make as close to certain as poss it will be reliable.
Again sincere thanks for the welcome.
