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After making our decision to get out of debt many years ago, I forgot to mention the biggest key we figured out for those of you who are embarking on the same journey. It didn't matter what we were living in at the time, when we sold it or traded it we never touched that money. Whether it was a travel trailer, RV, boat, or our bus, it was the cornerstone investment towards the next thing. If you spend your housing money on something that will be worthless, you're done. Rent is the worst. It's gone for good. I'm not going to further bore you with the details of our journey, I'm only going to say that simplifying your life is extremely effective in learning how to relax and reduce stress and tension. There are many options available, and there's no universal plan that applies to every circumstance. Suffice to say you've got to get creative and think out of the box. Home schooling gave us a lot of flexibility, and our son actually received a more well-rounded education than most. He's also equipped to survive in many ways. Travel exposed him to different people from all over the world, and he's perfectly happy around anyone except fakes and blusterers. Can't blame him. I will point out several things. Community associations, homeowners associations, and condo associations aren't tolerant of free people. Marinas can be very expensive and restrictive. Anchoring out and dinghying in are a lot cheaper. RV parks require rent, too. Lease/purchase or owner's contract purchase is always an option, just be careful what you sign and insure you get title insurance. Get educated about taxes, sewage requirements, and any applicable building codes. If you're rural, most counties don't have codes. Most everything you'll face can be found on the internet today, some complete with videos. Instead of TV and games, start doing your homework in advance. Research the areas you're heading to. Call the Sheriff's office if it's rural to insure you're not heading for a nightmare area. Check the fire code rating if you're going to insure everything. Yes, we did all of that in advance before we purchased this property. Then, we started clearing out trees and brush for our homestead area. Being rural, taxes are cheaper. Ours are around $200.00/yr. here for 3.62 acres. We deal with an electric co-op, county water, and heat with wood. Two 5,000 btu window unit a/c's keep it quite cool, even on the hottest days. We don't eat out ( 17 miles one way). We go shopping about every three weeks, and actually dropped from our 3,600 miles/year on all three vehicles. We only spend money on things that will save us money in the long run. Instead of going to the movies, we buy DVD's on eBay. Instead of going on vacation, we've made it so comfortable it's always a vacation here. We've got two rescue dogs, and a plethora of squirrels. Deer, wild turkey, quail, dove, an occasional fox are normal. We've all persevered together through thick and thin, and are content with our lives. Our son's name is on all our titles, deeds, and accounts. Yes, it was/is worth the struggles. Without the struggles, everybody would be doing it and it'd be too late for you ! When you get where you're heading, remember you have two ears and one mouth. Golden threads of wisdom come from the mouths of locals. They've already learned what you need to know, they don't need to hear how YOU think things need to be.Learn how to "kick dirt" with the locals as you glean knowledge from them. Rolling over in the mornings sure beats rolling out to go to work because you have to. Trust me.