Temporary Neighbors, Not Guests

Some people travel primarily to spend time visiting cool places. And we absolutely do love finding amazing campgrounds, quirky small towns, wonderful boondocking spots, stealth city camping, incredible scenic overlooks, and the thrill of visiting National Parks.

But much of our nomadic lifestyle is motivated less by visiting cool places, and more by visiting cool people. Nothing beats spending time hanging out with awesome folks, and when we have the opportunity we absolutely love being able to stay with family and friends (old and new) as we travel.

Staying with people gives us an opportunity to share stories, be part of a household, share meals and drink and get a local’s perspective on an area. And not to mention, it also helps keep our costs down.

However to the folks we stay with, hosting nomads who bring their own solar powered house with them is a bit different than hosting a more typical guest traveling through. Oftentimes when we arrive, we’re offered use of the guest bedroom so that we can sleep in a ‘real bed’ or ‘indoors’, and given invitation to help ourselves to anything in the fridge.

While we greatly appreciate the hospitality, what folks don’t immediately realize is that our trailer is our home and we’re not lacking in comfortable accommodations.  Unless there are unusual circumstances (such as zoning regulations that prevent us from sleeping in our RV), we will politely turn down offers of a guest room for the following reasons:

• We like our bed. It’s ours and what we’re used to – and it’s super comfy.
• We’re not anymore outdoors than you are – sleeping in our little home on wheels is not like camping in a tent. We’re watertight, have heating and ways to cool. We’re used to a variety of noise levels – from ultra silent to being in the middle of a 50,000 person party in the middle of the desert.
• Staying in a guest room requires us packing an overnight bag and thinking about everything we might need. It’s generally a lot of unnecessary hassle, and we end up making several trips to ‘move’ into a guest room from our house.
• We actually will get homesick not being in our house, especially with it parked so close by.
• We have a fully stocked kitchen with everything in it that we might like to eat or snack on. In fact, if you’re short on an ingredient, we might just have it.  Heck, we’d love to cook dinner for you too!

When we explain to our hosts to think of us more like a temporary neighbor than as a guest – it generally makes a lot more sense.  Our visit is really as typical everyday as it gets for us – we’re not taking time off of our normal life to be there. And we don’t want our hosts to go out of their way for us either. We really do prefer to feel like neighbors, and not guests that you need to play host to.

However, while we’re completely self-sufficient – we do appreciate sharing time and space. We love sharing in meals and having an opportunity to socialize and be part of a household. Other amenities we do not need but appreciate the use of include: a “real” shower, laundry facilities, wifi, a hose to top off our water tank, and a power cord if we’re parked in shade. And of course, we always love a soak in a hot tub. *grin*

So go ahead.. invite us over to be your temporary neighbors!