That Sweet RV Lifestyle

If you have been following me for a while, you know that my family and I decided to make a huge lifestyle change and live in an RV full time, while traveling through the US. We'd been living in Europe for the last 8 years and decided it was time to begin the transition back to life in the States. Only problem with that, we weren't sure where. With me being from the DMV area and Milan from NYC, we just knew that neither cities were where we envisioned setting down roots and raising our family.

RV living has really allowed us to travel far beyond that typical touristy set up and truly immerse ourselves in the culture and surroundings of different states, mimicking what life would be like should we fall in love with a place and decide to set up camp and call it home.

On another level, it's granted us so much freedom and many, many experiences that we probably would've never thought we'd be able to do. For me as a "stay-at-home-mom" and hubby working remote, we've been living our lives from home pre-pandemic. So it wasn't impossible to explore what life could mean for us if we made home mobile.

So far we have sojourned Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona. Joshua Tree, Palm Springs (a little disappointed that we left before Coachella and Stagecoach, but fingers crossed for next year). Anza Borrego, The Salton Sea, San Diego area, Santa Barbara area (absolutely fell in love with this cute beach town). We did Death Valley for Christmas and drove up for a very Vegas new year. We did a brief stint in Yuma, AZ before setting out on our journey to the East coast.

Heading east we stopped over in El Paso for a couple days, still very much in shock at how close Mexico is. It's how we look at VA from Georgetown in DC and my mind is blown. Please excuse my ignorance, this immigrant girl is not as versed in North American geography as she'd like to be. So, El Paso, then overnighted in Fort Stockton, arrived in San Antonio where we stayed for 3 weeks visiting friends and doing some RV maintenance. We then spent 48 hours in Houston...ahhh Houston. Listen, as much as I love the idea of a house with acres for a vineyard and maybe some hens and goats, my soul really comes alive in the city. Houston did it for me. I also read that it's one of the American cities that has a very extensive restaurant and museum scene. Great for creatives, perfect for artists. Duly noted.

NoLa was next and as excited as I was to experience this notorious city, New Orleans did not live up to the hype. Yes, it's a major city but you'll find way more tourists on a day-to-day basis than a local. The food scene is something to write home about, for sure...but everything seemed to be focused in the French Quarters. Is that all there is to NoLa? Anyway, nightlife seemed to be active, whether it's your kind of vibe is a different story. And as the stereotype goes, for me at least, NoLa is for a quick weekend away with a small group of friends, or a girls' trip (wink wink) or even a semi romantic baecation where all you do is eat, sleep, get fly, repeat. I don't see us returning with the kid in tow, but I am open to give NoLa one more go around.

Pensacola, Florida was beautiful. The weather, the cute little downtown, the postcard beaches with white powdery sand and teal-colored water. All the rumors are true-there's nothing like a Gulf Coast beach. It served us Caribbean beach ratings right here in America. We drove through the charming neighborhoods and it was beach front goals to the fullest. And the sunsets? Soul tinglingly spectacular.

I've anticipated the month of May to be an intense one. On the list of things; putting some plans into motion and finalizing others. The saga of big life changes continues over here and having to adjust to a new new normal has me charged with excitement and anxiousness. While all this is happening I'm just happy that we'll be stationary in Central Florida for the most part. Preparing mentally and hoping for only good things moving forward.

I've pretty much summed up the last 9 months of life on the road and I feel so blessed and content that this is life for us right now. It's not for everyone, this lifestyle, but for anyone who's looking for more..? More adventure, more memories, more time with our kids or partners- yes! It's for everyone looking for another level of connection less to physical things and more to things that inflame different doors to your soul. Everyday I am amazed and in complete awe of our planet, the landscapes that exist and people from all walks of life that decided to make their life what they want it to look like. But that's a conversation for another blog post.