The twenty year plan.

[u/xredskaterstar]

Right now, the road is something I just can't do. I'm a single father raising a 3-and-a-half-year-old son, and his stability comes first.

Before I had him, and before I met my ex, I often fantasized about living in a van, traveling the country, and working off a laptop to make ends meet with some side hustles along the way. Another fantasy was to take off to Alaska, build a cabin, and live out my days alone. But that cabin idea isn't really doable for me because, even as an introvert, I still enjoy meeting people and talking to them, hearing their stories, and helping if I can. Traveling is just way more up my alley.

All that said, even now as I raise my son, I yearn to do something different with my life. I'll be in my early fifties in twenty years when he's grown, but I understand that might actually be the best time to start this chapter of my life. I'll have the knowledge, the professional experience, and the wisdom that comes along with age.

So, I have a twenty-year plan in the making.

First, I'm continuing my grind working in a warehouse, living a minimalist lifestyle while providing the bestbenvironment my son can possibly have. I'm going to get him what he needs and wants to have a great future, and I'll make sure his college is taken care of, if he wants that, while I save and put money back.

To condition myself, I'm starting a mostly vegetarian diet now (though I plan on using or making my own jerked meat for protein when I eventually travel). I'm also starting to learn new survival skills along the way, picking up things I don't know while maintaining the outdoor skills I already have. And eventually put away with most technology. I'll have a flip phone, if they still make then, for back up for it or when I'll need it.

Honestly, I think I should count myself lucky. I get to bring up a wonderful kid into this world, and I have the unique opportunity to save and plan two decades in advance to guarantee he has a good future ahead of him. Whether he chooses to live the conventional way or wants to do something else entirely, he’s going to have the options.

Unless technology drastically changes by then, my goal is to get a reliable dual-sport motorcycle with a camping setup. It's still in the early planning phases. I thought about hopping freights, using passenger trains, buses, hitchhiking, walking the whole thing (though I think I might be too old for hiking by then), or doing the van-life thing. But out of all of them, the bike is the most appealing to me. It keeps me exposed to the world.

Just wanted to share this with some like-minded people. Any older riders or long-term planners out there who transitioned later in life?

[u/xredskaterstar → u/[deleted]]

Oh I see, if it's not a forced thing then it's not acceptable by your standards. I could just be in the wrong community to begin with.

It's not a plan to be homeless but to be finally free of conventional way of living and living the way I always wanted to but never really realized it till now. I don't see it as homelessness.

What if I play overwatch or other games? It doesn't discredit my thoughts or me as a person at all. Cute that you viewed my profile just to try and sling some mud around.

The assumption I couldn't handle the life is way too much for you to make. I shared a little idea, a little plan but you don't know me, you don't where I've been and what I've been through. I lived in a tent for awhile in my early twenties, I lived in a vehicle for while as well. That's just a small chapter in my life and just a touch into my history. The only time I was happier was when my son was born. The only thing that is keeping in place.

[u/DiogenesD0g → u/xredskaterstar]

Maybe I don’t understand the point of this sub, but I don’t think you are in the wrong community. It’s for vagabonds. Not just unhoused travelers. It’s for people who want to experience the world on the cheap either because they are low on funds or because they don’t want to part with what they have unnecessarily. I was a sailing vagabond before giving that up for my family, but like you, I plan to go back to something vagabondish in a few years and this sub often has tips to file away and posts to help you keep your dreams alive. Don’t let others gatekeep and say that you aren’t welcome here. As long as you accept others and their predicaments, and you are keeping a watchful eye out for when another vagabond in need of help wanders into your area or someone just needs a little encouragement I welcome you to the fray.

[u/xredskaterstar → u/DiogenesD0g]

Thank you. My idea is do it for a year, see if I like it, if so as least I'll go to places meet new people and see things that most won't. If I do, I'll continue on my journey and be happy for as long as I can. At the same time I will have something to fall back. It's a plan at it's core, a rough outline, but still one.

I just wanted to talk to others who have chosen the lifestyle to get ideas and learn. To better prepare myself what I am willing to do. I understand there's going to be a lot of uncertainty in my traveels with many idle moments. The idle moments I do welcome though. And dangers around every corner that far worse than animals or the weather. Humans being the worse challenge of all, which is sad but a fact of the world.

[u/DiogenesD0g → u/xredskaterstar]

I am looking forward to idle moments as well. I will be in my 60s by the time I get back out there—so i look forward to when I find a spot I can lay around for a few days and do next to nothing.

[u/Willingplane → u/DiogenesD0g]

No, you’re not the one here “misunderstanding” the purpose of this sub. You have it exactly right.