3- "Its a vibe" -Gen Z

Wow.

Just wow.

Is this really happening?! Am I about to go on the most epic journey of my life and leave the comforts of normality and embrace the unknown? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't loosing sleep over this decision.

Originally, Pat and I actually had a plan. I was going to move to Maine, (I moved January 2021) and work a job for the next 7 years for insurance purposes. He was going to retire from his job in Oklahoma in July 2021, then follow suit and move to Maine. The reason for the time gap was because I had purchased a house in Oklahoma on July 24, 2019.

*You have to own a house for 2 years otherwise you will be penalized with a thing called "Capital Gains Tax."*

So Pat hung back and watched the house in Oklahoma while I lived in a temporary apartment in Maine. Our goal was to figure out a living situation before Pat moved to Maine.

(Lots and lots of zoom calls).

The distance wasn't fun. But we made the most of it by visiting each other every month.

(Full moon snow shoe hike in Maine)

Pat had mentioned a few times he wanted land for plants, and I wanted land for farm animals. We were thinking 20 acres would be good to start a little urban farm. Fortunately for us, there was a 40 acre plot of land for sale ($60,000) in a great location. The land was recently logged and it is flagged shaped. Flagged shaped lots are not desirable for most people. But we saw the potential for our farm. We offered $50,000 and the seller accepted. On April 7, 2021, Pat and I became official land owners in the great state of Maine!

*Information of Flagged Shaped Lots*

https://www.landrushnow.com/what-is-a-flag-lot

(Checking out our purchased land)

I had an ambitious goal. I wanted to build a tiny home on our land. But there was a few problems. First of all, I couldn't find a contractor or company, who was willing to or able to take on the job. So I made the decision, I would be our general contractor. With a lot of research, I designed our tiny home with engineering paper I printed off. After several designs that were up to code, and Pat's seal of approval, I began contracting work to start the build.

I met some of the most amazing contractors I have ever worked with. A road was put in, a septic system, a water well and pump, water tank, a power pole, and electric. It was a lot of scheduling and running around. I learned so much. I was involved in every single step, from measuring the leech field with the land surveyor to placing the electric pole and the water well. I loved it.

(Land surveyor measuring the area for a leech field)

(My marking system :D)

I loved designing and building but there also a few headaches. It was super challenging to find contractors because every excavator company, plumber, builder, driller were booked up for months. The price of lumber was up 200% and other materials prices were higher as well.

In May, it was apparent we were not going to have a house by July 2021. It was about that time we decided we would live in an RV for the time-being until we would pick up and continuing building next year. On June 4th, 2021 we purchased a 2021 Arcadia by Keystone in Maine.

https://www.keystonerv.com/product/arcadia/luxury-travel-trailers

(Our RV at the land)

Pat sold his 2017 Dodge Challenger and bought a Chevy 2500HD to haul around the RV.

The company I was employed with, covered the cost of moving through a relocation agency. The agency allowed up to 2 vehicles to be transported from old location to the new location. Not only did the relocation provided movers; they also covered realtor fees, and closing cost. So long as you used their service's within a year of your hire date.

I purchased a used shipping container to be used as storage. It was delivered June 20th, 2021. Pat had met with the realtor back in OKC. She took pictures of the house, and scheduled list posting for Thursday, June 24th 2021.

Thursday June 24, 2021

I lost my job, the relocation benefits, and our insurances.

(Sad)

That Friday, I moved all of my stuff from my apartment to the shipping container. On Saturday, I bought a one way ticket to Oklahoma. The cat and I flew home.

Even though my life got flipped upside down, I had already agreed to prior commitments. I was a bridesmaid in a wedding in Kansas City for a high school/ college friend on July 1st. I also had a family reunion on July 2nd. I can't tell you how many times I had to say over and over again to friends and family these exact same statements,

"I lost my job."

"I have no idea what I am going to do."

(This. This is the only picture I have of myself from that night)

I thought people were going judge me. I was judging myself. I had never failed at anything before. I was so raw and honest, due to the fact that I lost my job less than a week ago, and I think that brought out the compassion from people. I was overwhelmed with the amount of optimism and support I felt.

That's where I started soul searching. What do I want to do? Well for starters, I didn't want to go back to working a corporate job.

I want to travel. I want to hike, and ride my bicycle. I want to throw caution to the wind and go on an epic journey. But most of all, I want to do that with my best friend.

I approached the conversation with, "I want to sell my car." (I literally bought a year ago (2017 Subaru Forrester)). Pat's first question was, of course, "Why?" I told him, I wanted to get rid of everything that is collecting debt and live on the road for the foreseeable future. And he said "Hell yeah, lets do it."

When I moved to Maine, I knew I was searching for something. I needed more. More trees, more mountains, rivers, oceans, food, culture, I needed it all. I was compromising on the 7 years because that was the financially responsible thing to do. What I realize now is I want to live in the present. I want to live the life style I thought was only possible for a few days of the year. As long as we can support ourselves, we don't have to have an end date.

Its odd to look back. Maybe subconsciously, it was also our plan to live on the road all along? The RV was only meant for housing. I had 3 weeks of vacation with my job, and that's barely enough time off to RV, maximum once a year. So the thought of leaving a job and RVing across the country never crossed my mind.

Now look at us! We joined every RV group on Facebook, started preplanning locations based on the time of year, and have goal hikes prescheduled (including Mt. Whitney).

The land will always be there for when we are ready to return. The farm is still going to happen. But for now, we are 3 days away from closing on our house, and I have 14 days to sell my car before we take off!

I don't have "Wild" tattooed on my ass for no reason!

Until next post!

Cheri