Why we bought property after 5 years of full-time RV life

When we decided to transition from sticks and bricks to full-time RV living, we went all in. Over a period of two years, we minimized our belongings and got our house ready to sell. We moved into our fifth wheel, closed on the sale of our home, and embarked on traveling the country, seeing amazing sights, and visiting friends and family. 

For five years, we’ve told people our truck, rig, and the clothes on our backs are the only things we own in the world. We can’t say that anymore after purchasing a half acre of property in Southeastern Texas, between Corpus Christi and Houston.

Why did we buy property after five years of full-time RV living? The main reason is so that we have a place to go in case something happens that prevents us from continuing to travel. We watched a video early on of a fifth-wheel accident on a slick, snowy mountain pass. The accident left the RVers out of their traveling home for at least eight months.

We’ve seen mostly good things in our expeditions across the country, but we’ve seen some bad things too, such as a semi-truck laying on its side in the middle of the highway. It was quite sobering to realize that could just as easily happen to us and our home.

Having a piece of land gives us peace of mind that we have a place to regroup. Sure, we know lots of people across the country. And many would take us in, at least for a time, if something were to happen. But it’s nice to have a place to call our own. 

Why we purchased property in Texas

We purchased property in Texas because we got an excellent deal on it. We could have bought land anywhere, but we didn’t want to pay a lot. We found this property, thanks to a couple on our last transatlantic cruise, at a great price and were able to pay cash for it.

The land is in a small fishing community where people keep an eye on one another’s things and look out for each other. We already have a connection there (the couple we met), and we like the area. It’s near the Gulf of America, offering close beach access. 

We also chose Texas because it’s easy to get to on our travels to and from Arizona to visit family and friends. Temperatures are warmer in the South in the spring than they are in the North, so staying south on our travels at that time of the year makes sense. And Texas is another state, like South Dakota, that makes it easy for full-time RVers to make it their place of domicile. There’s no state income tax, and vehicle registration expenses and sales tax are low.

Does this mean we’re settling down?

No, we’re not ready to settle down yet. We really enjoy our nomadic lifestyle. Our property has utilities to it and offers us a place to park our rig for free — once we remove a tree and add a culvert and driveway. We’ll probably spend up to a month there on our way to Arizona in the fall and a month there in the spring, at least to start. 

The property gives us a place to build on if we decide to someday. We revel in those kinds of projects and are having fun dreaming. But we’re not ready to hang up our full-time RVer moniker anytime soon.

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