Thinking off (sort of ) full timing

[scotjimland]

We sold up Aug 08 and fulltime happily.

Hi Patrick

No disrespect, but you are still in the 'honeymoon' phase .. Year one and things seem good but what do you do about a UK postal address,.. ? If you don't have one how do you insure and stay legal with official documents. ?

This was what made us decide to go back behind a letter box.. it was just too much hassle, ducking and diving .. using c/o addresses .the whole thing was more stress than it was worth .. you can't stay under the the radar for ever, and when you do pop up.. they climb all over you ..
It's taken us a lot longer to become 'legal' than it took to go full time.. the number of questions you are asked, where have you been, have you paid council tax, have you paid TV license etc etc etc .. I don't want to put a wet blanket on your plans, you may have all this sorted already, but if not....

I totally agree with Alan, keep a UK base and do long trips.. giving up your UK address to go full time is not to be undertaken lightly, it has many problems.

jim

 

[ArenqueRojo]

Thats what children are for.oh:
Our address is hers. On the electoral roll there. Banking/Insurance address there. She looks out for any important post and lets us know.
Also, she has power of attorney for us and is a signature on joint bank account. We also maintain £10,000 in emergency account which she controls so that if anything goes seriously wrong she can fund the recovery.
Still pay UK taxes. Pension paid in UK. Technically we live with her (and have actually done so once) so no issues with beaurocracy. It is all 100% legal.

Just love long honeymoons but if it begins to pall, all we have to do is decide where we want to move to.:Cool:
Seems to me that it is all about careful planning and the sort of person you are. Thankfully, we don't all want the same things.

Patrick

 

[vwalan]

hi patrick. now add on tyres ,maintanence,batteries (lucky if they last 3yrs,)road tax ,mot,sorry to put it like this but it all adds up. then we have spectacles teeth. prescriptions. clothes wear out. i hope for you we arent on the start of a property price spiral. it wont be long. plus you also fall into the trap of address, we have been here many times. driving licence,etc. i,m only trying to be hoest, seen so many loose a fortune . i believe a small corner of a field is the very least you need in uk. its as time goes by it gets harder. we only need another big fall of the pound against the euro and thousands will be stranded . remember the 70,s 350 pesates to the pound then 250ish when the euro came out, now we are knackered . hope your plan works .maybe see you on the road, have fun .cheers alan.

 

[ArenqueRojo]

Of course the pound will go down and property will go up, but hey, I keep my cash in Euros and at just on 70, what the h**l do I care. I have spent all my life doing whats best for everybody else including officialdom and now I am out to play.
Can't do with all that what if stuff anymore.
Patrick

 

[scotjimland]

Just love long honeymoons but if it begins to pall, all we have to do is decide where we want to move to.:Cool:
Seems to me that it is all about careful planning and the sort of person you are. Thankfully, we don't all want the same things.

Patrick

Hi

You seem to have covered most of the bases, too many just set off into the sunset with little thought, but even with the best plan, nothing can prepare you for the 'rootless' feeling.. you make a lot of friends, but they too move on .. It's very hard to explain .. as you say, we are all different, we tired of the constant moving, it was great for a while, but by year three we had had enough...

Don't misunderstand, we had a great time, our only regret was not having a UK base, but then that isn't full timing is it.

I take my hat off to those who are truly full timers and have stayed the course... so, good luck and safe travels.. I look forward to reading more in the coming months and hopefully years.

all the best

jim

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[6pm Cowboy]

Of course the pound will go down and property will go up, but hey, I keep my cash in Euros and at just on 70, what the h**l do I care. I have spent all my life doing whats best for everybody else including officialdom and now I am out to play.
Can't do with all that what if stuff anymore.
Patrick

Way to go Patrick
My feelings exactly.

 

[hilldweller]

I have spent all my life doing whats best for everybody else including officialdom and now I am out to play.
Patrick

Play hard Patrick, show the kids how it's done !

What's the old punch-line.......

Took the undertaker a week to get the grin off his face and a week to close the coffin.

Yeh !

 

[Bulletguy]

We spend about £30 a week on touristy things.

Excellent post Patrick with some very fascinating figures......so you may be wondering why i picked out this line?

Spending £30 a month on 'touristy things', exactly how big is your motorhome?!! In other words, where on earth do you stuff all this clutter?!!

I probably spent about £400 or so on 'touristy things' during my recent holiday, but i live in a house!

 

[ArenqueRojo]

Excellent post Patrick with some very fascinating figures......so you may be wondering why i picked out this line?

Spending £30 a month on 'touristy things', exactly how big is your motorhome?!! In other words, where on earth do you stuff all this clutter?!!

I probably spent about £400 or so on 'touristy things' during my recent holiday, but i live in a house!

Ah, there is a misunderstanding
We have a rule that we don't buy things unless
a) you know where it will stow and
b) you can get rid of the equivalent in weight by throwing something else out.

Being in Austria at the moment (Villach) it seems that this budget is being spent on making me go far higher than I was ever designed for on the end of bits of wire that are clearly not strong enogh without any reference to health and safety:shout:
Patrick

 

[Bulletguy]

....you can't stay under the the radar for ever, and when you do pop up.. they climb all over you ..

It's taken us a lot longer to become 'legal' than it took to go full time.. the number of questions you are asked, where have you been, have you paid council tax, have you paid TV license etc etc etc....

Welcome 'home' Jim! You will still get asked daft questions similar to this even when you have come in from the cold and are a fully law abiding UK residential citizen leading a mundane boring life!

Each time i attempt to leave this wretched island (at the most for a month), i undergo 'interrogation' by Police and HMRC as to where i'm going, how long for, how much cash i am carrying, what currencies etc etc. I feel like a POW who has just been caught tunneling out!

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[Bulletguy]

Ah, there is a misunderstanding

Very much Patrick. I've only just read your other post.....

Of course the pound will go down and property will go up, but hey, I keep my cash in Euros and at just on 70, what the h**l do I care. I have spent all my life doing whats best for everybody else including officialdom and now I am out to play.:BigGrin:
Can't do with all that what if stuff anymore.
Patrick

So good on ya matey. :thumb:

Meantime i have to carry on working potty shifts and getting a daily brow beating!:Sad:

 

[vwalan]

hey bullet guy ,you must look like a crim. since when did they start asking how much money we carry?that went years ago. i tend not to get stopped much these days . i think they have me marked ,if they ask me a question they could be there for days ,i question the question . like i always say dont carry anything you shoudnt then be an awkward old git n give as much as you get. they normally just wave at me now (more like a salute). gonna get a big pull oneday i can seeit coming .but i,ll be ready for it. cheers alan.

 

[Bulletguy]

hey bullet guy ,you must look like a crim. since when did they start asking how much money we carry?that went years ago.

Last time was when i 'escaped' in July this year.

i tend not to get stopped much these days . i think they have me marked ,if they ask me a question they could be there for days ,i question the question . like i always say dont carry anything you shoudnt then be an awkward old git n give as much as you get. they normally just wave at me now (more like a salute). gonna get a big pull oneday i can seeit coming .but i,ll be ready for it. cheers alan.

Hmmmm......not a good idea that! I got told off for asking questions when i was first pulled, and told to simply give them 'yes or 'no' answers to their questions which is not very easy!

Though every vehicle exiting the ports goes through ANPR, once you have been pulled you are marked for good and even if you change your vehicle (as most do), they still have your name and address via the booking lists.

 

[vwalan]

had same vehicle for ten yrs . once seen cant be forgotten.
if they told me to not ask questions or answer yes or no i wouldnt play that game. we do live in freedom of speech in these sorts of instances . i,m not rude just annoying to them , after all i,m not in a hurry always another one to catch (ferry).they are only doing a job ,abit like when i empty dustbins . i say we are equal . i have other skills as well like emptying cess pits very important, health n safety. ha ha. cheers alan.

 

[vindiboy]

I don't think full timing in a Motorhome or Caravan is the cheap option you all seem to think it is, I don't full time so I suppose others who do will disagree with me. I did cost full timing and came to the conclusion that if you are going to have any quality of life you need to be on good sites with electric in winter if in England and that doesn't come cheap. Electric hook ups cost on average £3 a night, that's £84 for 28 nights I don't pay any where near that for my Bungalow,you have to buy gas too.I know wild camping is an option and I enjoy that immensely but only out of England ,you generally have to lie to your insurance company about where you are living,and that could cost you dear if things go pear shaped.Living in a van is a great experience, I have used mine for long periods away and still do, but think long and hard about giving up your home as an option, it's hard to go back if you burn your bridges,sorry if I sound negative here but I have encountered a few people who regret the decision to full time.

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[Autoquest]

One of the best threads I have read anywhere on full timing.

We are thinking of spending a lot more time in our van when I (hopefully) take early retirement in a few years, my other half wants to full time but I reckon the way ahead is to liquidise all our assets, start again with a small apartment, probably in Scotland for the freebie health stuff, a nice A class something or other and very, very long holidays.

I hope it all works out for the original poster (who's name is five pages away)... My advice FWIW is keep or get a small property. You cannot exist without a letterbox.

 

[lebesset]

we have fulltimed in the past , but as with so many others we found we preferred a base

but why the presumption that your letterbox should be in the uk , worst possible place imho

fixed costs are too high on property, and despite the fall , capital costs as well
it's in the back of beyond europe-wise , a long way to go anywhere ,and a toll to pay for the channel

 

[6pm Cowboy]

So....... The title is 'SORT OF' fultiming, and I am beginning to wish I hadn't used that term.

There have been several mentions of the principle of full timing having to be considered a way of life and not a holiday.

Why ?

In terms of the young doing it I expect it is right .... but in terms of the newly retired doing it I think a holiday is exactly what it is and should be.

I came to this site after having spent two weeks touring Scotland and spending most of our time either looking for the next B&B or 'the loo'. The thought of a motorhome resufaced ( we had thought about one some years ago )

While we were pottering around on Skye we met an elderly couple touring around the islands in their motorhome and got chatting for a while.
Q... How long have you been touring ?
A... About a month or so. What's the date ?
Q... When will you be going back home ?
A... I dunno, when we get fed up.
Q... Where are you going next ?
A... depends which arm pulls hardest when we get off the ferry. Who gives a sh>t anyway?

They were on a semi permanent holiday and that is SORT OF what I am after.

Keep a base here ( good advise but I was going to do that anyway ) but spend winters somewhere warmer and summers somewhere cooler. We would probably come back to base for a few weeks each year to do the necessary.

So..... dont think fultiming, think two or three loooong holidays a year for a few years til we get to old to enjoy it..... then we can come back to base and rot away peacefully ( with some hopefully good memories ) like society expects us to do.

 

[scotjimland]

So....... The title is 'SORT OF' fultiming, and I am beginning to wish I hadn't used that term.

Hi

exactly, you can't SORT of full time, just as you can't be a 'little' bit pregnant ..

Your plan is sound, forget all the guff about full time, many say they do but when questioned they don't, in fact, very very few do proper full time.. ie .. a lifestyle on the road 365 and without a letter box..

good luck with your long trip plans.. :thumb:

Jim

 

[ArenqueRojo]

i undergo 'interrogation' by Police and HMRC as to where i'm going, how long for, how much cash i am carrying, what currencies etc etc. I feel like a POW who has just been caught tunneling out!

Try this technique - well actually not a technique but what I do because I am a boring old ...
When they ask where I am going, I tell them ALL our plans and how we came to make them. It takes about 5 minutes for their eyes to glaze over and to lose the will to live.
Guess what? I seldom get even spoken to as I come and go
Patrick

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[vindiboy]

So....... The title is 'SORT OF' fultiming, and I am beginning to wish I hadn't used that term.

There have been several mentions of the principle of full timing having to be considered a way of life and not a holiday.

Why ?

In terms of the young doing it I expect it is right .... but in terms of the newly retired doing it I think a holiday is exactly what it is and should be.

I came to this site after having spent two weeks touring Scotland and spending most of our time either looking for the next B&B or 'the loo'. The thought of a motorhome resufaced ( we had thought about one some years ago )

While we were pottering around on Skye we met an elderly couple touring around the islands in their motorhome and got chatting for a while.
Q... How long have you been touring ?
A... About a month or so. What's the date ?
Q... When will you be going back home ?
A... I dunno, when we get fed up.
Q... Where are you going next ?
A... depends which arm pulls hardest when we get off the ferry. Who gives a sh>t anyway?

They were on a semi permanent holiday and that is SORT OF what I am after.

Keep a base here ( good advise but I was going to do that anyway ) but spend winters somewhere warmer and summers somewhere cooler. We would probably come back to base for a few weeks each year to do the necessary.

So..... dont think fultiming, think two or three loooong holidays a year for a few years til we get to old to enjoy it..... then we can come back to base and rot away peacefully ( with some hopefully good memories ) like society expects us to do.

Now you are talking my language, as that's exactly what we do, best of both worlds and having a base is cheaper than storage for goods and chattles the cost of which can soon overtake the value of stuff stored, except that is for cherished items.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

[vwalan]

now we are just about all on the right track. like i said i allways thought full timing wasthe bees knees . as time went on i,m glad irealised that its not so easy as i thought.i have never fulltimed i always kept a base . look back in mmm mary tisdale and the rest nealy all end up stopped somewhere. i,ve been long term travelling for years .keep a base , chose your country .mine is here i love it , always been good to me.you make you choice. but what ever you do its your choice, take responsibility for your choice. you can alter that choice at any time but its your choice.we cant always do quite what we want but we can make decisions with what we can try to do .i,ve been planning my lifeever since i can remember. took off to spain at 16 on a m,bike to see a girl .came back quicker.learnt alot then still learning .having fun is the main element of life ,we arent here long enough to stop learning .cheers alan.

 

[paul&stella]

You could try a middle option by renting your house for a 6 month fixed term, while you go off and try fulltiming for those 6 months, you should know by then which style of life would suit you best.

 

[scotjimland]

You could try a middle option by renting your house for a 6 month fixed term, while you go off and try fulltiming for those 6 months, you should know by then which style of life would suit you best.

It's like jumping from a plane, there is only ONE way to find out if it suits you.
If you had said six years I would agree, six months is only a holiday..

jim

 

[vwalan]

jim is right . youhave to spend along time in the camper to understand where some of us are coming from. the joy of lieing in a warm bath. or just walking around your garden. having the ability to keep n store those un used bits of memory junk. parking hopefully in your drive n thinking f****to the world. all these things we take for granted when we have the house. afteralong time of washing in that mountain stream or waking up to the sound of the sea ,or what ever is not quite the same anymore. head off home spend a while doing normal things .then off we go living that alternative lifestyle. its all about balance. i keep saying we need the balance of free life to normal . if and when you do travel for along time i believe you will know what i mean. keep the balance its a great feeling. best of two worlds.

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[Allen]

No problems, always happens.

But to get it back on target......

What else would I be saving on ?
Like maybe..... If I spent the winter in.... (spain ? ) I wouldn't need to worry about heating costs ?

It does get cold in the evening in Spain in the winter,when the sun goes down around 5 0clock. And a big site like La Manga Mar Menor now use meters for electricity so you pay extra.

 

[Snowbird]

Hi

exactly, you can't SORT of full time, just as you can't be a 'little' bit pregnant ..

Your plan is sound, forget all the guff about full time, many say they do but when questioned they don't, in fact, very very few do proper full time.. ie .. a lifestyle on the road 365 and without a letter box..

good luck with your long trip plans.. :thumb:

Jim

Couldnt agree more, How many times do we have to go down this route???.
No such thing as legal "fulltime"in the UK.

 

[The vagabond]

Full timer savings

We have been full timing for three years, I don't think that anyone can realisticaly say what savings you are likely to enjoy because everyone's outgoings and circumstances are different. For us personally it costs more to stay in the van than in the house but our mortgage is very small so you may see what I mean. For me the thing about full timing is not the cost of living but the value of life. Here is a link to my blog about our life full timing, there is nothing in it to do with costs etc. just some of the things that we get up to. http://thevagabondtrail.blogspot.com/
Hope that you get sorted OK.
Keith.

 

[Welsh girl]

"having a base is cheaper than storage for goods and chattles the cost of which can soon overtake the value of stuff stored, except that is for cherished items"


We pay storage of £48 per month in a warm safe storage facility with 24 hr CCtv , we would pay a lot extra to rent a property or even to take out a mortgage, we use my daughter as an address as stated before, we have stayed there in their spare room now and again but love the fulltiming lifestyle, waking up to rural views one week and another we can wake up to sea views, and you can change your neighbours frequently , we dont want to get rid of ALL our stuff just yet after just fulltiming for 20 months so we are having to count the cost of that when we are counting the cost of fulltiming, we can pay less in summer as we stay on CL's and CS's but cannot in winter as we cannot go on grass and a lot are closed for the winter, we are staying in a site at skegness at the moment and the fees ARE high, just as high as a house would be but thats only because EVERYONE charges more for the christmas and new year especially when they are near popular places, we have the sea just one minute walk away, last week we were in peterborough with lakes and rural views, JUST GREAT