Tag:

digital nomads

A Year in Review – Airstream Style

Holy moly! What an amazingly awesome ride 2016 has been. When we rang in the new year (I was asleep by 10PM) I had NO IDEA we’d be packing up all of our things, buying a (newer) Airstream and hitting the road. It’s stuff dreams are made of, y’all. Lets take a little trip down memory lane, shall we?

At the beginning of April is when this great journey began. We spent one of our last nights in our sticks and bricks house scrambling to get everything in storage (including the old Airstream) and out of the house. Our tenants were moving in to the house in just eight short hours.

We spent a few nights parked in a friends driveway where we learned that we would need an alternate transportation option for the generator. Thankfully we had time to grab a Thule rack while we were still in our hometown.

Once we left Austin for our maiden voyage, we spent a few nights parked in Dad’s driveway. Little did he know this was about to become a trend. We’ve spent many nights parked in that very comfortable driveway, utilizing his fancy washer and dryer, and even washing our house on wheels in his driveway. Thanks, Dad!

junction2

Junction, TX

White Sands National Monument

May is when we really started to learn the ropes. We had replaced all four of the tires on the Airstream at this point, changed the (broken but not really broken) converter, and realized that this GIANT TIN TUBE gets really really hot when the temperature rises.

We experienced our first national park in May. It was overwhelming, awesome, and fueled a fire we didn’t know existed. We hit our first milestone of tiny living for 30 full days, without any accidental deaths. All in all, May was a great month!

yosemite national park

Yosemite National Park

June is when we were introduced to Bend, “real” boondocking, and when we determined we really did need a more powerful tow vehicle. What an expensive discovery that turned out to be, but we do love the power behind the diesel.

We also visited our second National Park which turned out to be absolutely gorgeous and not busy, at all. Crater Lake National Park was partially closed in certain areas due to snow still on the ground, in June, so we were only able to explore on foot and bike.

Deschutes National Forest – Bend, OR

Crater Lake National Park

Come July we were needing to move on from Bend, so we ventured to the Oregon coast. While it was lovely, we weren’t a huge fan of the dreary weather so we turned our rig back around to make our way back to Bend for the fourth of July weekend.

At this point I wasn’t real sure we were going to make it any further in our journey and I was completely fine with it. However, we insisted we move on, so we did and boy am I glad we did! Our next stop was Seattle to visit friends and family.

We spent our evenings taking the ferry from Bainbridge Island into Seattle to dine in great company. Our first ferry experience was, um, not our brightest moment. We just got on a random ferry that was leaving the port in Bainbridge Island, and I quickly realized we might not have gotten on the right ferry. Thankfully, after asking a couple, we were informed that we were in fact on the right ferry. We loved spending time with Aunt Leta and seeing the sites of a big ol’ city.

Bandon, OR

Bandon, OR

Smith Rock State Park

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 12.38.30 PM

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 12.38.49 PM

Ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle

August was when things really started to get interesting, as if they weren’t already. At this point, I was adamant that Bend, OR was going to be our favorite place but here comes Montana and Glacier National Park. Wow. What an amazingly gorgeous, friendly state.

Glacier National Park is where we encountered our first Grizzly bear, mountain goat, and weird giant beaver looking animal. It’s where we fell even more in love with the life we were leading. It’s where we acquired our first National Parks Pass. It’s where we dusted off our passports and headed into another country, aka, Canada.

As we made our way south, we spent some time on the outskirts of an adorable little town on the border of Montana and Wyoming. We were able to boondock right on the Yellowstone River all while being just fifteen miles from Yellowstone National Park. At this point, we are just knocking National Parks off of our list. After work, we’d venture into Yellowstone National Park and partake in some mini hikes. We saved a good ol’ mountain biking trip for a weekend and it nearly killed me. Fortunately, I survived and we headed onto Grand Teton National Park.

There is this awesome little boondocking spot right outside of the park that over looks the Tetons. And holy moly, it was hands down the most gorgeous spot we had yet to stay. Needless to say, we were starting to love Wyoming as much as we loved Montana.

avalanche lake glacier national park Screen Shot 2016-08-05 at 5.45.29 PM

Screen Shot 2016-08-10 at 8.45.10 AM

Glacier National Park Screen Shot 2016-08-11 at 10.55.47 AM

Yellowstone River

panoramicsmall IMG_5321small

Grand Teton National Park

September is when we started to really head back south. After leaving Wyoming, our next big stop was Colorado. This is where I really started to feel the affects of the altitude. You’d think I would be used to it at this point, but for some reason it became even harder for me to breathe.

Anyway, we spent some time in various towns throughout Colorado with our favorite being Pagosa Springs. We had visited a few years ago to ski and loved the fun, vibrant little town so we were excited to be back in the summer.

After leaving Pagosa Springs, we headed to Taos, NM to visit some friends from college. They were kind enough to let us moochdock in their driveway and then take us downhill mountain biking. We had just acquired some new sweet mountain bikes so we were excited to put them to the test. And wow. They aren’t the type of mountain bikes made for downhill mountain biking, but they got the job done and we had a blast. Taos is an adorable little town and we hope to visit during ski season!

At this point we were wrapping up our journey and hadn’t been swimming ALL summer. Which is unheard of for a couple of Texans so I begged to turn our rig southbound straight for the beach. Given a love for the white sandy beaches of Florida, we didn’t object. We spent a few days driving a ridiculous distance to get to our favorite little campground in the Southern United States, Grayton Beach State Park.

IMG_5385small hot springs pagosa springs IMG_5471small

Pagosa Spring, CO

Angel Fire, NM

sunset

Grayton Beach, FL

October was the month that we were expected to arrive back in Austin, TX so we tried to make the most of our final days on the road. We made our way to Tennessee because I really wanted to visit Nashville. We found a great campground right outside of Nashville to spend the week. The spots were GIANT and the leaves were starting to change which was gorgeous.

After leaving Nashville, we made our way to Arkansas which is such a beautiful state that I believe is underrated. One of my favorite little towns in Arkansas sits right in the Ozark Mountains with a fun little downtown area and great hiking all around.

buffalo national river arkansas Thorncrown Chapel

Eureka Springs, AR

We are incredibly grateful for the time we spent exploring the beautiful western United States and cannot wait to see what the eastern portion has to offer. It’s fun to think up all of the places we can (and will) go. One major adventure I have in mind, includes turning this adventure south and heading through Mexico into South America.

One of my favorite things about our journey is sharing adventures with our family and friends. Our parents have been nothing but supportive and I’d have to say my Dad is our number one promoter. I mean, he is the reason we have so many subscribers.

December 21, 2016

What is Next to Come – Airstream Style

written by Mrs TinCanPlan

Once we realized we weren’t going to be moving back into our home, because it’s still rented, we decided that we would start shopping for a new (used) property. Our thinking was, which ever property we purchased, it would have to be something we could rent out while we are on the road. But again, we would be putting ourselves in the same situation, of being “houseless” when we come back to Texas.

Then we thought we would find a property with a “guest house” so we could use the guest house as a home base while renting out the main house. There aren’t too many “affordable” properties with guest homes on them so that idea is scratched. My next grand idea was to buy some land and start a farmlet. However, this makes no sense to use given our lifestyle. The idea of farm animals was enough for me to try to convince myself it was a good idea. Then we started looking for land to turn into a “tiny house” community so we I could incorporate my farmlet dream into a money making machine. This one is still an option, just not right now.

After searching and searching, we realized that we couldn’t pull the trigger on purchasing another property. Here is why: we don’t want to be house poor. Up to this point, I like to believe we have been lucky in past real estate purchases and do not want to test that luck. Not at this point anyway. There are a two different criteria we consider when purchasing any property.

Location. This is an obvious one when it comes to purchasing real estate, but it really isn’t something people are willing to really push when they buy their “dream home”. Because of that reason right there, they are looking for the perfect house. We just look for the perfect location.
Rentability. When we consider purchasing a property we do research to determine what the median rental rate is for the area we are looking. If it doesn’t clear our mortgage (tax/insurance) and generate enough income to cover any expenses that will surface, we do not move forward. While we might not be generating an insane amount of income from the rental properties each month, we do ensure all monthly costs are covered.

Those are the two top criteria we consider when looking for a property. We don’t look at the floors, walls, or crown molding. We don’t look at any property as our “forever” home, whether it is or isn’t, instead we look at them as our ride to “financial freedom” so if that means we have to live next door to tenants, so be it.

Now for the real reason behind this post, after going back and forth and then back and forth again, we have finally landed on a decision as to where we are going to live. I’d like to credit a specific Reddit post I read recently that really helped seal the deal for us and give me the extra push I need to finally make a decision.

Here is it, we are in the process of making the backyard of one of our rental properties accessible for the Airstream. I know what you are thinking, WHAT THE HELL! Well, hear me out. As you know, our decisions are usually financially based so lets look at the numbers:

Option 1: Purchase new “home”.

To keep the numbers somewhat easy, lets say the purchase price is $200,000 (which won’t get us anything in Austin if we follow our number 1 rule.)

Down payment: $40,000

Closing costs: $6,000

Taxes: $4,500

Property insurance: $800

Monthly payment: $1,200

Total upfront cost: $51,300

Continual cost: $1,200/mo mortgage + whatever breaks.

Option 2: Live in the backyard

Driveway installation: $10,000

Electrical work: $500

Fence installation: $4,000

Other misc things: $5,000

Total upfront cost: $19,500

If we were to go with option 1, we would have another property that we could potentially rent out down the road, which is a plus. For the minuses, we would also have to come up with $51,300 to dump into the property and then keep up with a monthly mortgage payment along with anything that ~~might~~ would break down the road. Additionally, we would have to figure out a way to offset the cost of another mortgage once we get back on the road. Also, interest is a nasty little booger. Even if your interest rate is lowish (3.5%), you are still putting a hefty amount of money towards it, especially in the beginning.

If we were to go with option 2, we will be out the initial $20,000, but we would have ZERO reoccurring monthly payments and we could rent out our spot for at least $500 a month once we move on. While we won’t be moving into a “house” per say, we do have an awesome structure that is already in this backyard which would serve as our laundry/living area. Which I am PUMPED about. Here is a good example of what we could do with the space that is already there. We do have concerns as to what our current tenants might think of this new “improvement” but I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there.

While we have made up our mind, I still catch Mr. TCP looking at real estate websites for a house, and dare I say I still do the same thing! I think once we start construction on the backyard, we will be committed and those searches will end, but until then look at what a mere $400,000 can get you in the great city of Austin, TX!

I am sure this will all change tomorrow and we will be to looking at houses….

November 5, 2016

Two Months of Living Tiny – Airstream Style

written by Mrs TinCanPlan

At this point, I am sure even our parents are tired of reading our blog but I am going to keep writing because, well, I kind of enjoy it. There is a service where you can have your blog turned into a book and that is my plan when we finish roaming around.

We’ve successfully reached the two month mark of living full time in our 27′ Airstream. In the beginning, we believed we were being extravagant with our 27′ Airstream opposed to the 25′ or 23′. Boy am I glad we landed with the bigger home. It affords us the opportunity to have hallway space and a designated “living room” and “bedroom” area which can be a game changer. Especially with four dogs.

After rereading my post about our one month milestone, I can say they all of the good things about our tiny lifestyle are still true one month later. I could even add to the list.

We are still laughing, a lot. While there are many time when it’s one of us laughing at the expense of the other, it still feels good to laugh. To add to this, we are not nearly as grumpy as we were back home. It helps that we no longer have a commute or deal with some people face to face. Now, we meander 10 ft from the bedroom to our desk. No traffic jams there people.

Having the flexibility to change our surroundings is priceless. There are days when we end up somewhere and it’s just not up our alley so guess what? We don’t have to stay. We can hitch up and head out. This my friends, is amazing.

We are both sort of introverts so that makes meeting new people kind of difficult. I am super awkward in social settings and usually say something that will embarrass both of us. Mr. TCP just generally doesn’t like most people so that keeps the social encounters at bay. However, when we do meet someone new it’s always a nice surprise.

I am being 100% serious when I say this, I have learned SO MUCH from Mr. TCP. First of all, he can spell. I cannot. This is HUGELY helpful when I am spelling something so incredibly wrong that even autocorrect isn’t picking up on it. Second, he reads wikipedia for pleasure so anytime we arrive somewhere new he has already read everything there is to know about the place and then proceeds to dump that knowledge on me. It’s great!

An update on the bad. While we are still spending money, it’s definitely slowed down since we got out of California. We are getting to dry camp more in Oregon which has been super nice. Don’t worry, it’s not in the middle of nowhere with no one around. The spot we found in Bend, OR is actually right smack dab in the middle of a highly trafficked bike trail with yuppies blowing through every hour on their $4,000 mountain bikes. We have some neighbors too which is good. We are in the market to purchase a different vehicle so that will fall under the “bleeding money” category but it is what it is.

Oh, and I still hate laundromats but I think I have found a solution. We don’t generally stay RV resorts because they have a lot of rules (read: limit on dogs) and are kind of stuffy BUT they do offer clean laundry facilities. If we have been staying somewhere were we didn’t have easy access to laundry facilities then we will find a nice RV resort to spend an evening. RV resorts are interesting places too. You know those expensive rigs that you rarely see anywhere? They are all at these resorts and they amaze me for some reason.

At the end of the day, we are happier, healthier and love this new way of living more than we had ever imagined.

June 16, 2016