Living on the road isn't just about living small

Here's a challenge: Sell two different 1,600 square foot homes and move into a 200 square foot RV with your wife and two dogs. Then, tell me that you aren't just "living small".

That's a challenge that I couldn't conquer when my wife Courtney and I decided to sell 99% of our earthly possessions (including a 1999 supercharged Corvette that I bought less than a year out of college).

Here's a picture of me and our little home-on-wheels:

It's easy to look at our lifestyle and immediately draw the most obvious connection of all:

Damn, that place is tiny!

And compared to the average new home, it is. We are living in a home that's a fraction of what the typical new home is these days. Like, less than 10% of the average. It's true, we are living small.

It's also true that we live fairly simply, too. We only keep inside our tiny little home the things that matter the most to us (and a few necessities, like pots and pans, silverware, computers, etc).

Although there is a simplicity component to all this, a digital nomad lifestyle isn't only about living a small or simple life.

Screeeeeeech! One second, please.

As full-time travelers, we're constantly asked how we plan our RV road trips. We're asked so much, in fact, that we decided to extract everything we know about putting together an epic trip and plop it all into an organized video-based course that teaches you, well, everything.

Things like:

• Super-cool (and relatively unknown) features of Google Maps
• How to avoid potential "Small road, Big RV" route problems
• Free online tools to research camping options
• Plan for (and adjust to!) emergencies
• How to find free WIFI!

And, every student gets access to a private Facebook community of other travelers. We will be there too to help answer questions. Ask and answer traveling questions to your heart's content. Get help from those who have made mistakes (like us!). Want a second opinion on your route? The Facebook community is where all that goodness happens.

Visit PlanYourRVAdventure.com to Learn Everything

Okay, back to your regularly-scheduled programming...

Living on the road full-time is more than just "living small"

The truth is that living small, or simply, or minimal is only a small fraction of why we do this. In fact, those elements pale in comparison to why we're actually freakin' out here.

Basically, this is the next best thing to backpacking. Instead of hotels, we're living out in the middle of nature. In an RV, we can put ourselves right smack in the middle of where we want to be.

Sunrises. Sunsets. Solitude. Tourist hot spots. Major cities.

Whatever we want, that's where we can park (okay, within reason!). But instead of just telling you, let me show you.

Oregon

We weren't camping right there, but we were close. And, our campsite was almost just as beautiful. This was a shot I captured from the lighthouse just north of Port Orford, Oregon - a short distance from our campsite.

Wyoming

I am convinced that Wyoming is the most underrated state in the Union, period. We blazed a trail through Wyoming quickly as we did a consulting video gig for one of my former CEOs. At this campground, we lucked out and found the best spot in the loop - atop a rocky hill overlooking Lake DeSmet in the Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area.

That was literally a million-dollar view for about $20 bucks a night.

Colorado

I captured this night scene from our "backyard" around Frisco, Colorado this summer. The night was crisp and clear. Stars broke through the darkness of night effortlessly. It was one of the most beautiful places that we called home for a week.

Colorado (again)

We camped about 10 miles from Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado out in the middle of nowhere. For free. Our mornings were filled with complete silence and all-day views of snow-capped mountains. It was also where I captured one of my all-time favorite photos of our dogs:

Living on the road provides so many unique lifestyle changes that we feel truly honored and blessed to experience, like:

• Seeing, experiencing, and enjoying way more of our own country
• Living IN nature rather than traveling TO nature
• Changing our backyard at a moment's notice
  
• Always having our home and stuff with us
• Avoiding personal property taxes!  :)

Sure, we definitely appreciate living a simple life without a lot of possessions. We enjoy not owning a ton of space that we need to keep clean and climate-controlled year around. We also enjoy living what we would consider a sensible lifestyle without a lot of excess.

The bigger draw to this lifestyle for us is a sense of adventure. Living in nature rather than driving to it. To always have our home and possessions with us wherever we happen to be.

It's one of the freest lifestyles that I can possibly think of.