Full Timing - A Poll II

[Terry]

We intended to try a couple of 3 / 6 mths trips as testers starting this year.( while still young & fit enough ) Then getting a bigger van to convert with the idea of selling up ( possibly buying a smaller house as a fall back ) and doing it.As circumstances changed there is now very little chance of it happening so number 3 got our vote.
I will never say never, so if things change then we may give it a try, or carry on dreaming
terry

 

[theboadacea]

Where is the 'I fulltimed, loved it, needed to fix the van, moved into a house, hate it, waiting for van fix and sale and purchase of new van and then will fulltime again' option?!

 

[656]

I started fulltiming in early 2006 until late 2007. the reason i stopped was that I went to stay with my partner for a few months, got a part time job and ended up living with her full time in a house. Some parts of full timing I miss - the fact that you can up sticks and go where you like - but being with Eddi makes up for that. We now have our own little flat and are quite happy here. We still have our van and use it when ever we can. Would I go back to it? Probably yes if things were to change. No I have semi retired who knows what the future will bring.

 

[Caztur]

I voted no 7 'cos that's always been the plan when I retire at 60, and is still the dream - but whether it will come to fruition or not I don't know.
As the time gets closer, various issues seem to be conspiring against it:
The Govt's decision not to give me my expected & planned on pension for an extra 3.5 years may mean I have to go on working longer than I'd planned.
The teens' futures are uncertain - they may still need a roof over their heads in their 20s, whereas I left home and was supporting myself by the age of 20.
I'm thinking now that downsizing property instead of selling up completely may prove to be a more sensible option when the time comes.
We shall see.

 

[jelzz]

Its something we'd love to do :Cool:but my husband has just recently been diagnosed with bowel Cancer:Sad: So we've decided to do it part time.......

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[jacken]

I'm afraid it did'nt work out for me. I retired early, giving up a good business, rented the house out and full timed for 2 years. I loved every minute of it and so did my wife. But--my wife missed her children too much (they are adults really) and she missed her friends, she is a very social person. So we are back in the UK now but will still go on our long trips but not full timing.

ken

 

[Loujess]

I'm sure you will all laugh at me, but I need some kind of purpose in life and a reason to get up in the morning. The novelty of travelling through lovely countryside and all that would go because I could just do it anytime. Perhaps I just need an anchor. I think the 6 weeks we plan in May, will be long enough but who knows, I may like it so much I will stay out longer. Can I just ask the fulltimers what they do all day?

Ivy

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Seemples !!

I'm sure you will all laugh at me, but I need some kind of purpose in life and a reason to get up in the morning. The novelty of travelling through lovely countryside and all that would go because I could just do it anytime. Perhaps I just need an anchor. I think the 6 weeks we plan in May, will be long enough but who knows, I may like it so much I will stay out longer. Can I just ask the fulltimers what they do all day?

Ivy

Sunbathe, read , clean the MH, cycle into town to the local market, buy food for that day this is very tiring so a visit to the local bar "to cut the dust of the trail" and consume a moules and frites. Return, prepare dinner, consume same , walk to beach with a bottle of vin blanc and watch the sun go down !!!!....seemples...!!!...

If raining , then plan B...Wait for rain to stop then return to plan A...

 

[Loujess]

Sounds wonderful and makes me really envious ....... until I think about 2 months later. Then what? Hmmmm?

Ivy

 

[stuurman]

love it!

I am fulltiming now for almost one year, spend the summer in Germany and France, wintered in Benicassim, Spain, along with many English, and am now back in Holland to.........yes, to get an adress. As was mentioned in the first message, having an adress is essential when you go fulltiming. My pension was stopped because my mailadress stopped (you can only have it for 6 months and a 6monthsextension, after which the authorities just pull the plug). I was in Spain at the time and fortunatly I had savings which sustained me until I got back and sorted it out. One has to plead with familiy and friends to get a new mailadress every 6 months, its terrible!!! I started this fulltiming to be free after a life of work and commitments, but it seems the government wants a deathgrip on you till you die.
Apart from that, I just love the life! Recommend it!!!!!!

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[Bulletguy]

As was mentioned in the first message, having an adress is essential when you go fulltiming. My pension was stopped because my mail adress stopped (you can only have it for 6 months and a 6 months extension, after which the authorities just pull the plug). I was in Spain at the time and fortunatly I had savings which sustained me until I got back and sorted it out. One has to plead with familiy and friends to get a new mail adress every 6 months, its terrible!!! I started this fulltiming to be free after a life of work and commitments, but it seems the government wants a deathgrip on you till you die.Apart from that, I just love the life! Recommend it!!!!!!

How true.....and quite pathetically sad when you consider you have given a lifetime in taxation, conformity, loyalty and kept your nose clean, only to find yourself still shackled to this country.

Having read through many threads concerning fulltiming it seems the only way to sucessfully fulltime without a UK address is to employ cunning and deception against the authorities. Using a close relatives or friends address can still prove risky, and not everyone is in the fortunate position of being able to afford owning and maintaining a property here plus enjoying 24/7 fulltiming. Even if renting out, this alternative still requires a substantial amount of income to finance the two together.

 

[ArenqueRojo]

I'm sure you will all laugh at me, but I need some kind of purpose in life and a reason to get up in the morning.

I ain't laughing. Here are my thoughts from our experience: http://pjlnphillips.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/at-last-i-understand/

Can I just ask the fulltimers what they do all day?

Funny you should ask that! See http://pjlnphillips.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/what-do-we-do-all-day/

Just one persons view, of course, Loujess...
Patrick

 

[coolasluck]

5 is the option for me.
Living to work is not for us,although we will have to for 4 or 5 years,but for now we are just trying to renovate our house to get back as much money as possible to fulltime and invest in as many years as we can get out of full timing.We are both not scared to work, unlike a lot of the crap who are happy to live off our taxes in this country,and feel that in the future if needing to work, we will be aiming to work to live.Currently we have an old a-class hymer b544 which we use, to get used to the motorhome lifestyle and for holidays and weekends away.We kinda got fed up also with being ripped off by travel agents selling crap holidays and getting away with it and having to have our 2 week holiday canceled like a couple of years ago when xl went bust.No they can stick their holidays now. My wife loves our hymer and feels that too her it is more like home.I am lucky that way in that i have a partner who wants the same things as myself.And so it will be, that we have no kids and no real ties anywhere ,and we will be taking to the hills with a fully loaded more modern Hymer,with all mod-cons and go and live our lives in a manner that we are lucky enough to be able to choose.

My advice, live whilst you have your health,my best freinds wife died at the start of the year she was only 43 years old.
Boredom could never happen, for us National Trust and English Heritage properties, walking, relaxing, sunbathing ,cycling,kayaking..need i go on ....yes i think full timing could be for us,work out what you want and what you dont want in life and go from there.
:thumb:

 

[kennygd]

I have been fulltiming with my disabled wife now for three months, sold everything the house the lot, I have my son's postal address for important mail, when I decided to go fulltiming I phoned the DVLA to ask about future taxing my vehicle because I would not have a home address, they told me that I could not tax my vehicle unless I had a home address, a gentle argument then started because I said that I always wanted to stay legal but the DVLA would not let me just because I lived in a motorhome and did not possess or rent property, they pointed out that that is the way it is, so when I said If I did not retax the vehicle and I was stopped by the Police what would the DVLA say in court after my explaining that I was quite willing to pay tax but DVLA would not let me, silence and no further conversation.
:thumb:kennygd

 

[vwalan]

as said before .you need an address for driving lic ,log book .and lots more. it aint easy being of no fixed abode.

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[scotjimland]

as said before .you need an address for driving lic ,log book .and lots more. it aint easy being of no fixed abode.

No fixed abode, ie homeless, is an interesting situation .. so I looked it up, from Wiki

No fixed abode or without fixed abode is a legal term generally applied to those who do not have a fixed geographical location as their residence. This is applicable to several groups:
People who have a home, but which is not always in the same place:
Those whose occupation requires them to live permanently on boats, ships or movable oil platforms, or to travel constantly (as showmen, for example).
Nomadic peoples (Indigenous Norwegian Travellers) and Romnichal and traveller groups (Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers, New Age travellers, Norwegian and Swedish Travellers); as well as individuals who adopt a mobile lifestyle, living in narrowboats, recreational vehicles or the like.

In the United Kingdom "no fixed abode" is a valid residential address. The law states:
If a person has no fixed abode he shall be treated as having his sole or main residence in the place where he is at any particular time.
—Local Government Finance Act 1988[1]
A person may wish to provide a temporary forwarding address to ease contacting them, or the locating of their where-abouts can be left as an exercise to the sender.

That's interesting but in practice it's not that easy ..

We struggled with this situation for three years, it is by no means easy, and as time goes on you find yourself telling more and more porkies .. for example..

to the insurance company, when you renew, it's always a different address, so that raises questions such as , 'do you still store in the same location' ..
Of course you never told them you were living full time in the van.. otherwise they would refused to insure or have made the premium so high you couldn't afford it

Driving License, it's illegal not to have a current address, so do you change it every year or every time you move site or just forget about it ?

Doctor... when you need to see one you will be classed as a 'visitor' , likewise the dentist..

As already said, DVLA want an address otherwise you can't pay the VED, No tax disk you run the risk of being stopped at the ferry. in fact , any run in with plod and you can be in trouble..

No matter what you do, what address you use or give you will have to tell lies and we all know what that leads to.. yes, another lie.

Never found out but I can imagine the problem when you try to renew your passport .. with no fixed abode .. oh:

I have said this before, but there is no way of full timing, ie having no fixed abode, in the UK and Europe fully within the law..

You can do it for years and years, ducking and diving, telling porkies, staying one step ahead of the law... but one day, either due to ill health, lack of money, or just tired of it you will want to stop.. , it's very easy to go but much harder coming back .. have an exit plan !

 

[artona]

I disagree Jim. In the UK the authorities require an address they can contact you at or via, you do not have to actually live there.

In answer to your point on the passport a friend has just renewed his using a contact address, not the one he lives at which is in Spain.

stew

 

[scotjimland]

I disagree Jim. In the UK the authorities require an address they can contact you at or via, you do not have to actually live there.

In answer to your point on the passport a friend has just renewed his using a contact address, not the one he lives at which is in Spain.

stew

Your entitled to disagree Stew, but I didn't say it wasn't possible, just that it isn't easy..

If you have a friend or relation willing to let you use their address for your mail, official and otherwise .. then it can be done, but not every one has someone willing to take on that responsibility, we had no one to do that, and you will still have to be less than honest to get insurance.

Comfort came on here stating that they would do full time insurance but wouldn't give a cost saying it was on a case by case basis.. and when pressed never responded.

I still maintain that without a c/o address and someone willing to handle your affairs it is impossible to be full time and stay legal .. and even with that in place there are many grey legal areas.

 

[scotjimland]

18 months on ............

Well, it's been 18 months since Jim set this poll.

Since then quite a number have left and a lot have joined Fun.. some may have started full timing or are planning to, others may have given up .. are you one of them ?

Would love to hear how it has gone.. good and bad .. and if you haven't voted.. now is your chance..

It's almost two years since we packed it in.. we have regrets, we miss the lifestyle and seeing new places.. but have settled back in a house and Chaz will be starting secondary school this Sept.. so all in all it was for the better.. but I do miss singing along with Willie Nelson while cruising the highways .. "Back on The Road Again " .. :Sad:

ohh well , I can dream.. maybe one day once Chaz is working and giving me an allowance

 

[Munchie]

I voted that I do. In fact we have a static which we only use (if you add the weeks up) it 2 months of the year and it will be less now we no longer are caring for aging parents. We have all the problems full timers have i.e. an address for insurance, mail etc etc. So we consider ourselves fulltimers and we love the life. Not for everyone though. :thumb:

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[Landy lover]

Well 3 years down the line we are still fulltiming - thoroughly enjoying life - have never been so happy - can only look forward with pleasure at what we can do with our life - we have often remarked we wished we could have started earlier as it really has simplified our lives :thumb:

 

[JJ]

The joys I have full timing just keep piling up, one of top of the other, higher and higher into one huge, high, joy filled thingy... :thumb:

JJ :Cool:

 

[sedge]

I couldn't be without my security blanket .....

 

[madbluemad]

My mind hasnt changed. The only way that I would full time would be if I fell on hard times and lost my house.
Jim

 

[Gromett]

Just voted 1. Been Fulltiming 2 and a half years now and still loving it.
The plan was to tour Europe for 2 years but still haven't left the UK yet.
Hopefully this October I will finally get away

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[Bailey58]

The joys I have full timing just keep piling up, one of top of the other, higher and higher into one huge, high, joy filled thingy... :thumb:
JJ :Cool:

So (genuinely) pleased for you JJ, just make sure your (FA) cup doesn't runneth over!

 

[buttons]

Each to their own, personally just the thought of living in a motorhome full time with one other person would bore me rigid.:shout:
I will settle for a nice house, nice car, camper and the occasional flight to somewhere new. Now that is what you call freedom.:Cool:
I could think of 100 reasons why it would drive me crazy.
What is the fascination.

 

[ninjayorkies]

After a year fulltiming I could never go back to living under one roof in the same godforsaken hellhole of a town with the same faces passing by every day and doing the same job for some ungrateful employer to pay bills that always seem to be more than I'm earning, In fact my friend is under strict instructions to shoot me if I ever change my mind :thumb:

 

[Landy lover]

Each to their own, personally just the thought of living in a motorhome full time with one other person would bore me rigid.:shout:
I will settle for a nice house, nice car, camper and the occasional flight to somewhere new. Now that is what you call freedom.:Cool:
I could think of 100 reasons why it would drive me crazy.
What is the fascination.

That is exactly it - we are all different - for your 100 reasons not to I could put up 100 reasons why to - we belong to a few forums and one of the things we have found over our 3 years of full timing is that no two people have exactly the same reasons for full timing. The abiding thing is though once people are settled to fulltiming few want to give it up. It is generally health or family commitments that force the issue.

 

[Jim]

just the thought of living in a motorhome full time with one other person would bore me rigid.:shout:

Who were you thinking of

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