My husband and I only began full-time RVing in March of this year, however, we have been part-time RV living for a whole year now.

My husband told me he wanted to get back into line-work after being out of the trade for over a year. Joe had spent a few years as a lineman before, so I was pretty acquainted with him being gone for sometimes weeks at a time. Though, he threw a curveball at me when he said that he didn’t want to restart his career unless I went with him. When I asked him what he meant by that, he told me he had looked into travel trailers and was interested in buying one for us to travel together in while he works.

I was working at a job that I loved with people that I love, preparing to begin my graduate program, and living in our home that we bought in East Tennessee. We talked about it for a while, and he convinced me to at least window shop with him for campers.

We searched and discussed our price range, what our truck at the time would haul, the living situation for the dogs, everything. Finally, we applied for a loan to get our travel trailer, and it was approved. I was excited and scared at the same time; quitting my job and leaving my hometown along with my family was a very scary idea for my 20 year old self.

While we were excited for this new chapter in our lives, saying goodbye to all our friends and family was hard. Lots of tears were shed between the two of us, especially from me when I said goodbye to my job and all my coworkers that had quickly turned into family.

Though we didn’t officially leave until October 9th, the days prior felt so bittersweet. At the time, I had no idea how quickly I would fall in love with traveling. Becoming familiar with new places, meeting new neighbors every week, exploring the local attractions, taking our dogs on new adventures, and being with Joe every day. The whole experience unexpectedly swept me off my feet, and I was hooked.

I had traveled a lot as a child with my parents, as I have previously mentioned, but as an adult, it feels like an entirely new experience.

I had no idea that 1 year ago today, bringing home our 27-foot travel trailer for the first time would change my life. We don’t own that travel trailer anymore, and have since upgraded to a much more convenient fifth-wheel, but that little home on wheels shifted our lives forever.

When we share our story with people we meet, they always tell us that traveling young is a great idea and how this will be something that we will always remember. I have never once thought this was a bad idea or that we made the wrong decision.

So today, we celebrate finalizing the best decision we could have made for our young selves. I miss our old home, our friends, family, my old job, and the sweet smell of Tennessee after a thunderstorm, but I know that we can always find our way back to Tennessee later in life.