We’ve now been living the full-time Airstream life for two months. We both can’t believe how quickly time has flown and still look at each other from time to time in wonder, and say to each other, “I can’t believe this is our life!” That’s not to say making the adjustment to living as full-time digital nomads has been without its challenges; it absolutely has had its challenging moments. Here are the biggest challenges we’ve had transitioning to our new Airstream Life.
The Dishes Never End
Yeah we know, dishes never end no matter what your living situation is. You have to eat, which means cooking, which means dishes. But you know how some nights you just look at the dishes in the sink, and decide to turn off the light in the kitchen and go watch Netflix instead of washing them? Yeah, that doesn’t work when living in an RV. There is almost no counter space, and our sink basin only has one section. Not to mention we only have four forks/plates/spoons etc… If we didn’t wash our dishes immediately after each meal, our kitchen would be a constant disaster and we’d run out of dishes in two meals’ time. Sigh, so no matter how tired we are, we have to wash every dish every time.
The dishes
Travel Days Are Exhausting
You’d think we would have expected this since we’re not newbies to long road trips, but travel days are absolutely exhausting! From the start of the morning going through our tear-down routine, to the hours on the highway with a less than happy dog on your lap, to having to set your home up again before it gets dark, these days are long and tiring! We quickly learned that stringing too many travel days together before staying in one place for a few days was a recipe for cranky Tiegses. We try to make sure we plan easy meals that don’t take much energy to prepare and get to bed at a reasonable hour so we have the energy to get up and explore our new location the next day.
After about 90 minutes without a walk break, this is what Salto sounds like
Navigating Around Each Other Inside the Trailer
Our Airstream, Tabitha, is small. There are only 200 square feet inside and not many of those square feet are walkable. The hallway is narrow and we both can’t walk down it and comfortably pass each other. This makes our evening and morning routines of self-care even more challenging than sharing a single bathroom with one sink (which we have done plenty of times in our marriage!) Airstream advertises our model’s floor plan as having a “walk around Queen bed.” Let me tell you, there is nothing “walk around” about the bed. The 6 inches of floor on my side of the bed are under the storage locker, so no standing up. If I want to get out of bed without disturbing Steve, I have to slide off the foot of the bed and then squeeze around the wall that has the TV on it. It’s a process! Plus, our clothes are stored above the bed, so only one of us can get clothes out and get dressed at one time. All in all, this is not a lifestyle for you if you and your partner can’t laugh about being all up in each other’s space all the dang time!
Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping
We like to eat healthy, whole food meals that include lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Our refrigerator is much, much smaller than we are used to. That makes meal planning and grocery shopping for more than about 4 days at a time really challenging! We are getting somewhat better at the process, and figuring out ways to cook a few days worth of meals and freezing them. But we don’t have a microwave! So reheating meals requires having leftovers in a plastic bag and then boiling them in water. Again, it’s a process, and some days I wish I could still eat like I did in college and survive on frozen meals and boxed mac ‘n’ cheese!
Relaxing and Vegging Out Are In Bed Activities
We miss our couch so much. Technically, we have what could be considered a couch in our floor plan, but it is basically our dinette. We both spend hours at the dinette working (or writing blogs, or planning our travel route) and we don’t necessarily want to spend any more time there than we have to. That makes our bed the only place to watch TV or “veg out.” It’s totally a first world problem, but honestly, we miss our couch.
Piles of throw pillow make hanging out "in bed" as comfortable as it can be
Planning Out Fuel Stops and Errands Weeks in Advance
We drive a diesel truck and it gets great gas mileage for what it is, but we have to fill up regularly and depending on our route, we might not pass through a metropolitan area for a while. Right now as I type this in southeastern New Mexico, I know that Steve has mapped out our next four fuel stops…basically until we get to San Antonio. And you know those last minute runs to Target for that thing you need? Yeah, you gotta wait. We have intentionally planned our route so that we camp within a 30 minute drive of a major metropolitan area at least once a month, but a month can feel like a really long time. I wanted a fall scented candle a few weeks ago, but I had to wait until we got near enough to a town that would have stores big enough to sell seasonal candles! It’s good to plan, but sometimes you just want to impulse buy!
Missing Home
We miss our people. We miss our favorite restaurants. We miss events and concerts and the Broadway at the Paramount season. It’s hard to see our social media feed filled with our friends attending events that we would typically be attending. For a few weeks, it seemed like Facebook and Instagram were only people going to see Hamilton in Seattle or going to the Puyallup (Washington State) Fair, which I’ve only missed 4 times in my entire life! When one of our absolute favorite musicians performed in Seattle, there were legitimate tears! I’m an extrovert so I miss happy hours with colleagues, regular dinners with friends, and all the daily social interactions we just don’t get living this life. We know we’re having amazing adventures and many of our friends and family back home are envious of us, but it doesn’t take away the bittersweet feels of missing home.
When compared with the benefits and amazing adventures we are having living the nomad life, our hardest things are nothing at all. But we think it’s important to be honest about the challenges we’ve faced so far. Consider this food for thought if you’re considering living the full-time RV life. And if you’re a nomad, tell us, did you struggle with some of these same things or did you have completely different challenges?
Now these are the things I was honestly wondering about! I love the idea of a life of travel but this city girl likes convenience, routines and the comfort of home. I sure am loving seeing it all through your eyes though 😊