Downsizing my life for camper-living + the continued search for a place to park

On August 1, I will begin the next chapter of my life: starting over on my own and living in a camper in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today is June 16 and the search continues for the perfect (any) place to park.

If you read my #introduceyourself post from earlier this week, you already know that I bought this camper a bit impulsively thinking that the few spots I had been offered from friends were closer to a “yes” than a “maybe”. Those all fell through. Free time is limited as I have two jobs working as a trauma therapist, but over the past week I’ve divided my time between researching “places to park an RV” and downsizing everything I own as I inch closer to my move in date.

I started my search by posting an ad on Craigslist. I even offered to pay rent in Bitcoin. :Crickets: Then I began looking through posted ads for anything that could possibly work and just reaching out to introduce myself. I found someone willing to let me park in her backyard, but she wanted a whopping $925 per month and she lives two and a half hours from my jobs.

The search for a rectangle of grass: Anything will do

I switched gears and began researching RV parks and campsites. Most were sold out completely for the coming months because, well, it’s summertime in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Many made it clear that long-term parking is not an option, and most wanted $1,000 to $1,200 per month, even for the small patches of grass that don’t include hook ups for electricity or plumbing. I’d also have to move every 28 days or so, which could be part of the freedom and adventure that comes from living in a camper. I would just need to buy a larger vehicle, cash in favors from friends, or rent a U-Haul truck every 28 days to transport my living quarters.

While buying a plot of land in the San Francisco Bay Area seems like fantasy talk, I looked into it. I couldn’t find anything listed for less than $400,000 in my area, except for one seemingly perfect spot of land near Tomales Bay. It was listed for $55,000 and boasted that it could be perfect for a tiny house. I let myself get excited about it before I actually spoke to an agent, who informed me that the land is 95 percent submerged under the bay. So that was out.

This week I’m keeping my head up and focusing on gratitude for my friends, family, and distant connections that have been offering suggestions and helping with the research. And I’ve received an unanticipated amount of support and encouragement from the Steemit community, even though I’m a newbie in every sense of the word. Thank you for that. Stay tuned for my next update, where I’ll say more about the process of downsizing everything I own so my dog and I can fit comfortably into less than 200 square feet of camper space.

Have a wonderful weekend.