A Child Boomer Couple Sold Their $2.1 Million Residence to Pursue RV Dwelling

Retirees Romano and Linda Sims, of their 70s, traded the lake view of their Tennessee residence for a roving number of sights throughout the nation of their “last quarter.”

The boomer couple and their canine, Izzy, are of their third 12 months of residing of their RV nicknamed the “BoomerBus.”

Romano needed to attempt RV residing years in the past, but it surely would not have been possible since Linda was nonetheless working, whereas he was already retired from the army however doing a little contract work.

The Sims aren’t the one older Americans who downsized to pursue different housing preparations. Empty nesters are giving the full-time RV dream a go, and individuals who can work remotely are doing so from the street. RVers get pleasure from touring throughout the nation, assembly new folks, and slicing again on some housing prices.

In 2023, Romano and Linda’s 5,200 sq. ft residence with a dock, the place they’d been residing for about 20 years, was getting too massive. The home, their boat, and their Jet Ski could be an excessive amount of to take care of at their age.

“The things in the house are just that: things; it was OK to let them go, but you have to be at the right frame of mind to do that,” Linda stated.

Linda introduced up the concept of promoting their home to journey by RV, and Romano did not hesitate, even promoting certainly one of their vehicles the subsequent day.

They researched, contacted a realtor pal to share their plans, and prepped to inform their household their plan.

Linda stated their granddaughter instructed her, “it’s the right thing for you to do,” including, “you’re in your last quarter.”

The couple bought their $2.1 million dream residence in 2024. Linda stated they liked residing in that home, which mirrored their personalities and kinds. The Sims ended up changing into mates with the individuals who purchased their residence.

“This house to us was 30 years’ worth of dreams that we had collected in a folder, and we drew the plans up ourselves for it,” Linda stated, including, “Romano had always said, ‘I’m not leaving here except in a pine box. I’m not moving again.’ But we changed our minds.”

They purchased a roughly $700,000 RV, together with the price of some modifications, to start out a brand new chapter of their retirement.

“We wake up and say, ‘This is an adventure. Let’s go have a good time, as long as we can,'” Romano stated.

Courtesy of Romano and Linda Sims

Costs for a campsite keep can differ

“We worked all our lives to be able to do this,” Romano stated. “We saved, we invested, we did that all our professional lives. So now we’re enjoying it.”

They stated on the time of the interview in mid-March that the gasoline they put in every week prior was $5 a gallon. “150 gallons at $5 gallons, you do the math, and people freak out, and they say, ‘Oh my, that’s terrible.’ Well, it is terrible, but on the other hand, we don’t drive every day,” Romano stated.

The couple stated campsites differ in value, and there are additionally free locations to remain, reminiscent of on line casino parking tons. They stayed at a winery for Mother’s Day, the place they bought to park totally free so long as they spent some cash on the winery.

They additionally prefer to exit to eat a number of days every week.

“Half the excitement is for us to do research and find out what’s good local here, whether it’s a little diner or a mom-and-pop place or whether it’s a really fancy restaurant,” Linda stated.

Trying out RV life

Courtesy of Romano and Linda Sims

They like that their RV has massive home windows, to allow them to benefit from the views. The RV has a washer, a dryer, a wine fridge, a heated ground, and a storage basement. They additionally deliver a pickup truck round whereas they journey.

“The actual contract price was $680,000, but we had some modifications made to it primarily for safety,” Romano stated, reminiscent of set up of a fireplace suppression system.

They initially needed to do RV residing for 5 years after which consider; they simply lately entered their third 12 months.

“We keep thinking maybe we’ll run into someplace that we fall in love with, that either we want to buy a lot to park a permanent RV on, or an area that we love so much, we say, ‘OK, we could buy a small home here, and maybe this is where we’ll move to,'” Linda stated.

Their healthcare suppliers are nonetheless in Tennessee; they return twice a 12 months for appointments.

The way of life requires being open to studying new issues

Romano stated folks serious about RV residing shouldn’t anticipate it to really feel like a 24/7 trip and stated there was a steep studying curve, together with understanding the RV and the logistics of campgrounds and determining the place their 45-foot-long car has house to park. The couple finds pleasure in studying, although.

“It’s taken us some time to learn that the most favored campgrounds are the ones you’re going to have to plan a year in advance to get to,” Romano stated.

When they went to purchase an RV, they instructed the dealership they might purchase one however wanted to discover ways to drive it.

“They taught us both to drive, and that was scary — a 45-foot vehicle pulling a 20-foot truck behind you, that was a little scary, but it worked out OK,” Linda stated.

Linda additionally stated that their 440-square-foot RV requires upkeep however is less complicated than a home.

Their canine additionally tailored to the brand new way of life

Courtesy of Romano and Linda Sims

Linda stated they’d their rescue canine, Izzy, for a 12 months earlier than deciding to attempt the RV life.

“She likes the RV living better than the big house because she knows where we are every minute,” Linda stated.

They have a routine for her after they go to new spots.

“When we pull in, the first thing we do is open the door, take her out so she can smell and understand where she is,” Romano stated. “After that, she’s very comfortable within the area.”

He stated Izzy does not actually prefer it after they depart, but when they’re sitting exterior, she could exit after which return in. “She sits up in a window to watch us to make sure we’re all OK,” Linda stated.

The largest draw back is being away from folks they care about

“We don’t miss the stuff; we miss people,” Romano stated. He misses having the ability to spontaneously ask folks in the event that they wish to get dinner, for instance. He stated it is nice to see folks after they revisit Tennessee.

They’ve additionally made spontaneous mates alongside their travels.

“RVers are like boaters,” Romano stated. “They want to help. and they want to know how you’re doing and all that, and they want to know about your lifestyle.”

Courtesy of Romano and Linda Sims

The couple likes that this way of life permits them to see locations and other people they weren’t capable of earlier than. Romano stated, for instance, whereas they have been in Tucson, Arizona, they bought to satisfy up with folks from his time within the military a long time in the past.

“During our professional lives, we traveled abroad a lot, lived abroad, and then lived in several states here in the United States, but never really got the opportunity to actually travel around the country and at our own pace and see things that we didn’t realize existed or just was too far out of reach,” he stated.

Did you promote your own home to attempt RV residing or for an additional sort of residing state of affairs? Share your expertise with this reporter at mhoff@businessinsider.com.