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My girlfriend and I took a 9 months sabbatical back in 2019 so we didn't quit our jobs, but hopefully you'll find this useful anyway. I bought an used RV and d

My girlfriend and I took a 9 months sabbatical back in 2019 so we didn't quit our jobs, but hopefully you'll find this useful anyway. I bought an used RV and did some modifications ourselves to be truly independent (more water storage, 500w of solar panels, ...) As we didn't want to be constrained to campsites. It was a glorious experience. Very tempted to do it again to be honest. We traveled in Italy and Spain for 5 months during the cold periods and in summer we roamed through Scandinavia. Generally speaking, we spent 2 weeks in each spot, but in few 1 or 2 months (San Vito lo Capo in Sicily comes to mind). We both climb and generally speaking are outdoor persons so we opted to stay away from big cities and choose to park in remote areas in the countryside. This let us get to know the local lifestyle and made friends along the way in A way that is impossible in cities (we both speak Italian, Spanish and English). Going to the only bar/restaurant in these towns every day made our faces familiar to the locals and we got invited over for dinner several times (in italy and spain, that didn't happen in Scandinavia at all). I highly recommend traveling this way. It's fun, economic and if you are with a good partner an endless pool of amazing memories. Also, this made me rearrange my life priorities. Before I had career on top of my list, now, instead, I just want to be relaxed. I don't want a job that keeps me worried after work hours and I want to spend more time with my family! Happy to answer all your questions!

supernovae 6y ago
Sounds like something i'd like to plan :) Career has been all consuming and i've done well for myself, but there isn't a day where I don't think of the trail, camp, hike, climb or being in the mountains or spending more time with family.
- marcyb5st 6y ago
  Do so! I can't recommend it enough. The big investment is getting the van ready, but after that everything is relatively cheap. Between van and modifications we spent around 55k USD, but it is quite a luxurious van since we knew we would spend a ton of time in it. You can get away with much less I believe, especially if you are ok with outdoor showers. And about the being outdoor part I fully understand. Lately we have started doing multi-pitches. It is the best in my opinion as you have everything (hiking for approach/descent, climbing, camping once topped if it's a long way). Also something I highly recommend!
vitorbaptistaa 6y ago
My wife and I rented an RV in Portugal a while ago for only a week -- it was one of the best travel experiences I had! I'm curious about how you found and prepared the RV, and how was living in it for a few months.
- marcyb5st 6y ago
  So, we're in Switzerland and finding a used one was not that hard. We decided on few must have things (shower, toilet) as we didn't want to do a substantial overhaul and we visited in person some dealerships. About the modifications, we bought everything from https://autosolar.ch/ https://autosolar.ch/ and the increased water tank is basically the original one (40L) plus 2 20L containers. About the living in it for months it takes some getting used to. Especially when the weather is bad. Being confined in 10 sqm with another person is not easy. We didn't jump in this adventure straight away, but we eased into it with long weekend trips and then 1/2 week trips. When everything became second nature we were confident we could do it and started planning the trip. Lessons learned: 1) get at least 2 compression bags for dirty clothes. No normal bags, but compression ones. And you wash them with the clothes. 2) Buy a small de-humidifier. We had some mold problems when we encountered some long spells of bad weather.

supernovae 6y ago

Sounds like something i'd like to plan :) Career has been all consuming and i've done well for myself, but there isn't a day where I don't think of the trail, camp, hike, climb or being in the mountains or spending more time with family.

marcyb5st 6y ago
Do so! I can't recommend it enough. The big investment is getting the van ready, but after that everything is relatively cheap. Between van and modifications we spent around 55k USD, but it is quite a luxurious van since we knew we would spend a ton of time in it. You can get away with much less I believe, especially if you are ok with outdoor showers. And about the being outdoor part I fully understand. Lately we have started doing multi-pitches. It is the best in my opinion as you have everything (hiking for approach/descent, climbing, camping once topped if it's a long way). Also something I highly recommend!

vitorbaptistaa 6y ago

My wife and I rented an RV in Portugal a while ago for only a week -- it was one of the best travel experiences I had! I'm curious about how you found and prepared the RV, and how was living in it for a few months.

marcyb5st 6y ago
So, we're in Switzerland and finding a used one was not that hard. We decided on few must have things (shower, toilet) as we didn't want to do a substantial overhaul and we visited in person some dealerships. About the modifications, we bought everything from https://autosolar.ch/ https://autosolar.ch/ and the increased water tank is basically the original one (40L) plus 2 20L containers. About the living in it for months it takes some getting used to. Especially when the weather is bad. Being confined in 10 sqm with another person is not easy. We didn't jump in this adventure straight away, but we eased into it with long weekend trips and then 1/2 week trips. When everything became second nature we were confident we could do it and started planning the trip. Lessons learned: 1) get at least 2 compression bags for dirty clothes. No normal bags, but compression ones. And you wash them with the clothes. 2) Buy a small de-humidifier. We had some mold problems when we encountered some long spells of bad weather.