The Travelling Lifestyle

An article in the current issue of Harper's magazine (Http://harpers.org,) alerted me to a new possibility for continuous travel. It is a rather disturbing story called "The End of Retirement" about older Americans, people in their late 50s, 60s or 70s, who have taken to the road in their recreational vehicles, vans or even automobiles to save money and be able to move around easily in search of work.

Most of them do this out of economic necessity, but some claim that it really is their preferred way of living. Without rent or mortgage and utility bills to pay, they are able to travel to parts of North America they want to visit, and often find work along the way. Many of them head to warehouses run by Amazon (www.amazon.com) during the pre-Christmas rush. There they do hard physical work for many hours a day, but receive free hook-ups and parking for their r.v.s.

Others seek out jobs in the national parks and forests, mainly during the summer. Mostly these are minimum wage gigs that entail camp maintenance and clean-up, but allow the worker to live in beautiful natural surroundings. For information about this type of work in the national forests, visit the Website www.workamper.com. The money these travellers earn usually helps to supplement pension, Social Security, or other regular income.

Another Website, www.cheaprvliving.com, offers plentiful information on ways to make this nomadic lifestyle work--what type of vehicle to choose, how to provide for necessities like Internet access and showers, the best places to park without being hassled (Walmart lots and hospital parking lots are favourites.)

This type of travel clearly is not for everyone, but it is an alternative that you could check out by renting an r.v. for a while just to see what it is like--it is another take on budget travel.