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Sold House, Full Time RV Living, Capitol State Park in WA

What a whirlwind this process has been to sell the house, buy an RV, sell everything in the house, and move into the RV for full time RV living. I'm not gonna lie – it was STRESSFUL!Sold House to RV full time

My anxiety was through the roof just after I put the house on the market and bought the RV – which, by the way, was on the very same day. Thankfully the house sold in only four days with about 30 days to closing. There was a significant amount of things to do to get out of the house and into the RV – hence the anxiety.

So backup 5 years ago when I seriously started thinking about full time RV living. I had no idea then that my dream would come to fruition in just 5 short years.

Heck, I even built and bought a house one year before I purchased the RV. I was trying to get out of the renting market since it was becoming ridiculously overpriced in the Seattle market.

I was paying $2,100 a month for a 480 square foot studio apartment with one parking spot in the garage in the downtown Seattle area. A mortgage would be cheaper; though not in Seattle so I looked about an hour north of Seattle in Mount Vernon, Washington.

I drastically reduced my living expenses by buying the house, but I still had this urge – well maybe a nag if I'm being honest – to RV. The day I moved in I was thinking about RVing and how it's what I really wanted to do.

There's nothing like that open road when traveling.

Mind you I had never really RV'd, but I love road trips and I always wished I could forego the hotel and just have my “stuff” with me. Also I have a dog, Lily, who enjoys traveling as well and I like to take her with me so this makes traveling a bit more challenging without an RV.

Fast forward and I'm back to figuring out how in the world I'm going to sell all of these things in my house and time it with the sell of the house. So much to think about it and it makes my head hurt!

Buying the RV

For years I've been looking at RVs and researching what kind of an RV or trailer I would be most comfortable with and could handle.

My first choice was to purchase a trailer, like an Airstream, and then pull with a truck or van; however I thought it might be too ambitious for me on a first time RV buyer.

Being a single woman and traveling solo, I liked the idea better of a motorhome that was smaller, where I could pull a small car down the road if I wanted, and still get into most spots at grocery stores, national parks, and shopping centers.

My choice was a Class C, Winnebago Spirit that's 26 feet long and on a Ford E-450 chassis. I still would prefer something smaller, more like a Class B, but I found such a great deal on this RV and she's more like a small home on the inside with plenty of room for Lily and I for a full time RV living situation.

Full time RV Living

Downsizing Into the RV

Some lovely person on an RV forum told me to sell the big items, have a garage sale for everything else, and what doesn't sell, donate to Goodwill and be done with it.  “You're buying your freedom”, he said. He may not have known how much I needed to hear those words in that moment.  My anxiety subsided.

Thankfully I had amazing neighbors who jumped in and helped me out to save time and my back. The Cochran Family, Nicole, Steve, and Emily would come over several times a week to help me organize room-by-room into piles:

-Garage Sale
-Individual Sale
-Donate
-Trash

Each room would get emptied one-by-one. Then if that wasn't enough, they came out for the garage sale to help. I'm so glad they did because it was a mad house with people showing up 30 minutes before the garage sale, but, hey, what more could you ask? It's better than nobody showing up.  Thank you Cochran Family!

Full Time RV Living

After moving into the RV, and downsizing about three times over the course of the move-in, I still don't have a plan on where I'm going.  However I do need to have solar installed, which is down in the Eugene, OR area at AM Solar.  So I'm off on my first adventure in full time RV living.

My first stop, Margaret McKenney Campground in the Capitol State Forest around Olympia, WA.  My goal is to boondock or dry camp as much as possible in free areas along the way which will be quite the learning curve.  Located in Olympia, the state capitol of Washington, it was free and all I had to do was register my vehicle in the specific campsite of my choosing.

YouTube player

Being that it was my first night boondocking in the middle of a forest, I was a bit nervous but fell asleep quickly.  Unfortunately, the sleep didn't last long.  Poor Lily was up all night scratching and of course, what do I read on Facebook in the middle of the night?  Horsetail grass can cause serious danger to an animal if the thorny blades get in ears, noses, etc.  So I look around and sure enough, there is horsetail grass everywhere.

Lily Itching Ears

Headed to the Vet

Lily has a wellness plan at Banfield, a national vet hospital, so I promptly found a Banfield in Vancouver, WA, just south of Olympia, and headed there to have her checked out.  Thankfully after much worrying, as I do with my girl, she had an allergy, probably to the new-to-her vegetation at the campsite.  So with a bottle of allergy meds and Lily medicated, we hopped back into Liz, my RV, and headed South to some wine vineyards, beautiful views, and to rendezvous with AM Solar for a look at my solar installation.

In videos to come, I'll share more about how all this came about in deciding about full-time RV living, how I finance the whole adventure, what my monthly expenses are with RVing, the apps, and websites I use, and more fun facts about each trip.

My first quest is straight out of National Geographic's 300 Scenic Highways and Byways and to visit all 300 in the United States.  Who knows, maybe I'll complete all the scenic roads in Europe and Canada too!

Overnights & Places Visited

Place:  Margaret McKenney Campground

Dates:  March 25-May 6, 2017

RV Accessibility:  Okay for 30 foot or below, heavily wooded sites

Cell Phone Signal Strength:  Spotty

Park Pass:  Washington State Discover Pass

Cost:  $0

City/State:  Olympia, Washington


Video/Audio Equipment Used

Sony A6000 Camera – For most still images and vlogging

Sony Action Cam FDRX3000 – For dash cam and walking/talking video

Joby Gorillapod – Used for holding the cameras as a tripod or mounting to just about anything to capture a shot.

Raul Walter

Monday 5th of April 2021

Hola Amber!!. Amo tu nuevo estilo de vida!! Estoy leyendo tus comentarios y siento como que estuviera viajando contigo!! Desde Argentina un fuerte abrazo!!!.

Barry

Friday 3rd of July 2020

Wow, I had a feeling you were pretty detail oriented but I have read some of your bio page info and this, it is like my comments said, your content is so raw and real, it really comes across.

I had seen your channel name many times in the past but did not sub or watch til today and I got thru many of your videos today.

I think you are doing a nice job of all this Amber.

If you ever want to have an encrypted voice chat about things, ie your van choices vs. your desire to truck camper-it -- I would like that, I would really like to know more of that story.

I am glad I took time today to watch your content and find out more about you.

I followed on Twitter and sent you a Linked In request/msg too.

Like I said when the FAKE governments open up the FAKE lines in the sand they draw via manufactured consent, you are welcome to come visit me east of Toronto this summer, until I sell the house like you did.

Life has been tough since I was run down by the car that nearly killed me, and the fraud of government has been trying to ruin me for years for calling out their corruption publicly.

LOL

LINDA BLUME

Monday 5th of November 2018

Hi Amber: Thank you so much for all your work and enlightening videos. I'm going to need a way to travel with two dogs (one rather large) and from time to time my daughter (who is going off to college soon). The Hymer 2.0 looks best for us, but I'm terribly nervous about the idea because of all the problems people seem to have with their camper vans. All types of vans, not just Hymer. Are you still loving your Hymer? If you had another dog and another person... would you get the 2.0? OOXXOO Linda

Amber Baldwin

Monday 26th of November 2018

Hi Linda - I do still love the Hymer. I wouldn't let warranty issues get in the way of following your dreams. Everything, including homes on a foundation, have warranty issues. Most likely, I would get the 2.0 if I had an additional person only because you do get some extra storage. Either have too many clothes, because I fill it all up or I would have to downsize again. lol.

Andrea Semanko

Friday 27th of July 2018

Amber- It's been over a year now since you took the leap to boondocking! I am hoping that you are still enjoying the journey, taking chances and embracing your inner wanderer! Hoping to see more in your blog about your adventure! I am glad you found SaraBeth to help in the process! Fun to play a small role in someone's grand adventure! Wishing you happiness, Andrea Semanko, Semanko Realty Group LLC

Amber

Wednesday 1st of August 2018

Hey there Andrea! Oh yes, it's been pretty amazing and still continuing the journey. SaraBeth was great and hope she's doing well.

Amber

Monday 3rd of July 2017

Joyce - Yes, I agree I wish I had done it sooner too; however life has a funny way of teaching what you need to know before you set out. Maybe we just learned it later in life. :)

Oh yes, so many people have shared their experiences with me and helped me out with a zillion questions I had prior to starting this adventure and even afterwards. There's a whole glorious community out there. You're not alone, that's for sure!