Living More, Working Less: Emily and Brian Kimball
We bought a house in 2016 and the week after we bought it, we looked at each other and asked: what did we just do? We had talked a lot about living on the road for quite a few years, what that would look like, how we would do it. But at that moment, a week after moving into our beautiful historical home, we knew this would be the last traditional house we might ever buy. We had an established community, a great church, wonderful friends, the best poke bowls and nachos figured out for our neighborhood, but we kept wondering: what if we stopped trying to keep up with Jones’ and found a new way to live?
Why We Picked A Class A
After looking at all the possible scenarios, we ended up with our set up because driving in a truck with three young children and a puppy sounded miserable and since Brian needs a place to work in complete silence, our class A was the best option for us. So, we went with a Class A Tiffin Allegro RED 38 qba currently flat towing {sometimes} a Jeep Wrangler.
Our RV Friendly Jobs
Brian is a sales manager and loan officer for a nationwide mortgage company {he can do loans is 43 states!}. He needed the two years {and to avoid capital gains tax} to figure out how he could work on the road. We only know of one other person who is a loan officer working 100% remotely. He is paving the way for his industry. He has spoken at 2 conferences about living more and working less as a loan officer and was just interviewed for a podcast about what he does! Brian also has a business coaching company. I Emily am a CEO and educator of our home. Best job ever!
We are over six months in, and there are so many things we enjoy about life on the road! Trying new restaurants, seeing new cities and states, meeting other full-time families and visiting with friends and family that we would not have seen otherwise are just a few of the things that we hold dear to our hearts.
A Few Fun Experiences So Far On The Road
1. Our first month in, we were driving in Utah when all of a sudden there was a car driving TOWARDS us on the freeway! It was quite scary, but Brian reacted quickly and the car eventually drifted over to the shoulder and we were safe.
2. While hiking in the Grand Tetons with another full-time family, we all of a sudden came across a bear right along the trail! It was a black bear happily eating huckleberries, but we didn’t know what to do! We yelled at it and the hikers coming down the trail did the same, but it was busy eating away and could care less about us.
3. Although not funny or crazy, we really enjoy going to children’s and science museums! We have been to about a dozen so far and it is a great way to learn about the city we are visiting.
Kids Need Some Consistency
I am not an expert on kids as I just lost my cool with them as we are stuck inside on a rainy day, but I do have three of them AND a puppy!
What I have learned is most important for my children, in my opinion, is some sort of consistency. Our morning rhythms have become quite important to a successful day in our home. Our youngest wakes up first, and I {Emily} wake up with her and turn on the iPad for her. She watches a show as to not wake her brothers and I have time to read and enjoy my morning tea. I’ve realized that allowing my boys to wake up naturally makes for a peaceful morning. Breakfast is made while Brian and I enjoy our coffee with one another and have our morning “meeting” where the kids are not allowed to interrupt us as we talk about our days, what might need to be purchased, dinner plans and anything else we want to share with one another. This has been great for our family and has eased us all into our days.
We learned early on from a very seasoned FT family not to rush our journey. We are not doing a one-year road trip. We are doing this for as long as the good outweighs the struggles so to cram everything quickly and rush from one city to the next is not how we travel. We take our time in a city, visiting a week to three weeks. The longer we can stay in one spot, the less we all feel rushed. There are definite cities that we have stayed in that one week was plenty of time!
A New Addition To Share Our Adventures
We received a Goldendoodle puppy the day we left for the road. It has been our dream to own one, and we had just lost our dog of 12 years a couple weeks before so we couldn’t say no. Having Rosie on the road has been such a joy! We purchased a Banfield plan so her records follow us anywhere and any office visits would be covered. It’s great to not have to worry about her records or when she needs shots- I get a reminder via e-mail for that! Now that she is almost finished with all of her puppy shots, we will keep a Banfield plan so that if anything happens to her while on the road she can still see a vet free of charge.
Enjoying The Journey
We plan on full timing until it no longer works for our family….that could be 6 more months or 6 more years. We’re born and raised Southern Californians and look forward to creating a homestead one day, but our traveling is not finished yet. Since we’ve always lived in the same area, we are allowing ourselves to explore the country and figure out what and where we would be happy to live.
Currently, we are in the Smokies for another week, then to Nashville for almost a month! After that, we have no idea. Maybe it will be to snow? Or maybe to Florida? We’re not sure!
Leave a comment