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However, it all goes back to the place to put it. But to clear your assumption up, the bus is converted, and registered as an RV (read: no CDL required to drive it)
I read the original post, and I couldn't find anywhere where anyone mentioned or assumed needing a CDL. I also read your replies to everyone else and they're nothing short of combative and offensive. You've called just about every response irrelevant and useless. If you already knew what you were going to do, why did you ask for thoughts and opinions? It's a rhetorical question.
Here are some links for your reference ... to show you that you're really not alone.
Pretty sure you've already made up your mind, but I'll say that as someone who has kept quiet until now, I think there's a lot of good information and experience in this thread--and they're just scratching the surface!
I suppose. Of course there are different laws in NOVA than there are in Arizona.
So, while wholeheartedly irrelevant, your answer is correct.
What do you suppose actual wealthy people who own RVs in addition to their homes do? Where do they store them? There must be an answer to that, and I bet it doesn't include getting served by Sheriffs constantly, or getting a ticket every day.
Whew, really gotta walk these people through it.
Yes, zoning in Nova is much more strict than Arizona....but gypsies aren't welcome in either. Rich people with RVs park them at RV storage areas with their boats, if their how disallows them, as most do. Many have RV Pads on their properties...but they are for parking and not living. I have even seen a crackdown on food trucks that weren't moved often enough, mostly because they were dumping in the storm drain. Time to grow up and face the music. Have a little respect for property.
"This may come as a shock to you, but people do in fact work and live outside of this bubble of income that is NOVA. And in those places, no, it is not acceptable to drive an hour out to work". I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's done everywhere, not just major metro areas. It may not be an acceptabe practice to some, but to others, it's a reality. Life is about choices/tradeoffs....we choose to live in a tiny town in SOVA, which makes a 75 minute commute to work "acceptable". We've done the same in Indiana, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado...because we "chose" to live in our RV fulltime. The tradeoff for us was convenience or more accurately, lack of convenience/proximity to a fulfilling work location, traded for a more anjoyable/acceptable place to park our RV, thus live.
You "choose" to own three dogs, which understandably limits your choices for an acceptable place to live. You choose to allow the dogs to make your life more difficult...you are in control of the outcome...you control the tradeoff's.
Realtors are frequently out of the office. They're showing houses, they're writing and presenting contracts and attending settlements. Could also be that he takes Wednesday off since they frequently work evenings and weekends.
Many self-storage units are used to park RVs, boats, trailers etc. because most HOAs in this area do not permit parking them on the street or extended time in driveways.
I hope you find a place to make you happier.
This would have been acceptable if the secretary had been able to definitively tell me, "Oh, he's showing a house." But she wasn't. She didn't know where he was. She paged him, and he didn't pick up. It seemed to me apparent that this was a frequent thing with this realtor and she simply didn't have tabs on him because he didn't let her know where he was going. In my opinion, when you're at work, the people you work with should be able to tell customers looking for you where the hell you are. She couldn't. (Probably because he just left without telling anyone.) I was there a full 10 minutes so its not like he was just in the bathroom. He was being useless.
Yes. I know that HOAs don't permit long term storage in driveways or the street. But I'm referring to having something that belongs to them, in their backyard, behind a privacy fence. I've seen it done. Many people do keep their RVs on their properties once an understanding is struck amongst neighbors. Not every neighborhood is full of busy bodies who believe an RV in their line of sight is a heinous offense.
As an aside, I think that HOA rules are possibly the most heinous invasion of property rights/freedom of speech and the rights that people have to do what they will. Where I grew up in Richmond, there was a big hullaballoo over someone wanting to paint their front door a firetruck red. The HOA said "No, we know its your house, but the entrance to your home is still OUR business." Bull****e! I know people say that its just a way of keeping the "riff raff" out, but by riff raff, they just mean people who think differently or find different aesthetics pleasing.
"This may come as a shock to you, but people do in fact work and live outside of this bubble of income that is NOVA. And in those places, no, it is not acceptable to drive an hour out to work". I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's done everywhere, not just major metro areas. It may not be an acceptabe practice to some, but to others, it's a reality. Life is about choices/tradeoffs....we choose to live in a tiny town in SOVA, which makes a 75 minute commute to work "acceptable". We've done the same in Indiana, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado...because we "chose" to live in our RV fulltime. The tradeoff for us was convenience or more accurately, lack of convenience/proximity to a fulfilling work location, traded for a more anjoyable/acceptable place to park our RV, thus live.
You "choose" to own three dogs, which understandably limits your choices for an acceptable place to live. You choose to allow the dogs to make your life more difficult...you are in control of the outcome...you control the tradeoff's.
I hope you find your place/peace.
Regards
Gemstone1
Ok, well let me make it clear: I'm not willing to drive that far. Its that simple. I want more from my life than that. And yes, that includes my very established choice of choosing to own three dogs. Yep! Some people have 4 kids. I have three dogs. Why is it so difficult to find housing, when, my dogs don't draw on the walls, my dogs don't run around screaming in the entryways to apartment buildings, and they certainly don't pick up storm grates and go deep into the manholes to play down there. Are you wondering what I'm referring to? Oh, these are all things that the offspring of the people in my neighborhood choose to do. They chose to have those children, and they're not penalized with extra fees and rent for those children. Why in the world, am I? My dogs do significantly less damage to the apartments and have a significantly less impact on the lives of the people who have to live there than those imbecile children who don't require any extra vetting. Why do my dogs? Its straight up prejudiced against people who--shock and awe--manage to not get pregnant 4 times unmarried. I'm the responsible one here. And yet? These people can do whatever they want, with however many kids they want, but because they're human children and not dog children, no one can say jack about it. That's BS.
I read the original post, and I couldn't find anywhere where anyone mentioned or assumed needing a CDL. I also read your replies to everyone else and they're nothing short of combative and offensive. You've called just about every response irrelevant and useless. If you already knew what you were going to do, why did you ask for thoughts and opinions? It's a rhetorical question.
Here are some links for your reference ... to show you that you're really not alone.
Pretty sure you've already made up your mind, but I'll say that as someone who has kept quiet until now, I think there's a lot of good information and experience in this thread--and they're just scratching the surface!
Peace
Um, not really. You should go back and reread then. Someone mentioned that I would have to convert it from a bus. That's the assumption I was referring to. I was putting the "read: no CDL required" as an added bonus of having something that is converted already. Not as a sarcastic way of saying that that person was assuming that I needed at CDL. I can see how it would be interpreted that way.
I can't express enough how much I have not been calling everything stupid or irrelevant, or useless. However, when someone snarkily tells me the laws of Arizona (???) I'm going to call them out on it. Call it snark, or maybe just call it simple reading comprehension skills. I suppose I'm a hard grader.
In addition, the responses that posed questions to me of whether I had thought about doing this or that, I responded to point by point to explain why that really wouldn't work for me. Nope, no decision yet about where I'm going to live. I'm of course coming to the most informed people on the planet, so I should listen to them and not offer any counterpoints. I think not. We're all different people and my point, as has been my point in all of this, is that some things that seem normal to me (owning three dogs) may not seem normal to you. Some things that seem normal to you (whatever it is) may not seem normal to me. So excuse me for over-explaining my points, but I find that you kind of must be defensive of your points when you are not in the majority.
There was one sarcastic response who assumed the bus was some ungodly yellow monstrosity. It is not.
Or should I say, was not. The bus is no longer an option for me, I've let it go. The goal now, is to find a homeowner who understands that dogs are not an automatic explosion of **** an poop everywhere on their carpets. It's just a simple matter now, of finding an owner who understands that I'm an extremely dedicated and responsible pet owner. I don't just, buy dogs for my small children and not neuter them so that my kids can "experience the magic of nature." Yep, that's a thing. And its these types of irresponsible, simple people who ruin dog ownership for the rest of humanity.
(Sigh)
For one, I was not offended. I am still not offended. You seemed offended in your second post (#7 of the thread). I also did not call myself part of the rat race. I asked if that's what you meant by "a lot of hustle". I understand now that you meant dedication and for that, I thank you. You don't have the willingness to be dedicated toward something other than not working and that's your choice, but I can honestly say we are some of the last people most would consider "movers" or "shakers" and we are definitely not "dog eat dog". I have never driven an hour to work. Have I stopped by a record store or an independent book shop? No. But, I have recently taken a stroll around the grounds of Mount Vernon and gone to the gym at 11 a.m. on a weekday. I have also taken a drive out to a winery, gone to a local art exhibit and hosted a pot-luck for people in the neighborhood. To each his own.
Of course I realize not everyone lives inside a "bubble of income". After all you're talking to an elementary school teacher here. I do however think it is not unusual for somebody to "move up" over the years when housing is concerned. Apartment to a condo/town home to a SFH is not unusual. It's been done that way for ages in all areas. I grew up in the midwest. That concept is not unheard of. I do think generational differences exist and younger people today expect more at an earlier age.
I guess the problem is I don't quite understand what you do want. What is your age and what would you expect under "normal" circumstances? I'm not asking this from a high horse or with a holier than thou attitude, but rather as a genuine question. On one hand you write that nothing is normal here and then on the other you say you are "just over what the conventional thing to do is". You seem to focus on exaggerated examples or outliers that back your complaints (47 year olds with roommates, commutes from Thornburg, $800,000 homes and everyone making $125,000 + in order to have a decent standard of living).
My boss commutes from Thornburg every single day. My coworker just bought a condo that she shares with a roommate. These are hard and fast examples. Months ago, on some radio report about how they're starting a cricket league in PG county, the report said that the median income for those over 25 with Bachelor's degrees in PG county, was 125,000. Unfortunately, I now cannot find this statistic. But the story was about how they're starting a cricket league. It stuck out to me as shocking because I thought that PG county was very poor.
Uhm--did you read the guy's response to me about living in Reston? Yes, #7 post was offended tone. I was offended, because that response was MAD offensive. It was really just mean spirited, honestly. I got what the guy was trying to do was just make a joke about Reston, but it really wasn't the time or place for him to take a shot at Reston because it was through the lens of my question. Thereby, actually taking a shot at me.
I don't really quite understand what I want, either, man! I'm 26. Yep, to each his own. That's what I'm trying to impart here. I like coffee shops and independent record stores. Mount Vernon sounds very boring to ME! Gym life is very important to me, so I'm a constant at the gym every weeknight from 7:40. I am not willing to give up my fitness goals and gains just to drive. Not even for a little bit, not even for a year. There are certain things, 1) dog ownership, 2) commuting (mostly because its a massive waste of time, but also because: Carbon footprint! Call it stupid, hey I'm a millennial. This is the way that I have been taught to think. We've all got to participate in changing the world.) 3) throwing away money on rent instead of saving for an amazing trip to Peru. Or something. There are just certain things that I know I can not compromise on. If only I'm willing to work for them. I'm willing to do every weird thing in the book (i.e. I'm tired of the conventional for HERE telling me that it's too weird, because the reality is, the things ya'll do here are not conventional. In the slightest!) That's what I mean. I say that I want to own three dogs and people here look at me like I'm the weirdo! Maybe, but I think ya'll are weird for not wanting three dogs. They're a joy to be around.
I don't expect "more" than I think my father did at my age. I don' think that I do. Rather, I think that I'm a lot more aware of what I'm willing to compromise on, and what I'm not, than generations past. To be clear, knowing what you're willing to compromise on, and knowing what you actually WANT, are two annoyingly different things.
But, I'm from an environment where my dad rides his bike to his office job every single day. We own cars. Its just that they sit there waiting for Saturday when we need them for a grocery run. My upbringing was a little different. A lot different, actually. So adjusting to this whole NOVA area where it's just normal for people to pollute the earth in the name of their careers, just rubs me the wrong way. I'm different.
I think my actual problem, in all honesty, is that I hate this area and cannot fathom doing what you and your wife did. That's a lot of hustle. If you've got it, you've got it, but hey, I might not have that willingness to hustle that hard. More power to you. This town ain't for livin, it's for workin. And I think I want to live a little bit more.
You seem to be very young and inexperienced. Many areas are similar, even if the homes do not cost the same the salary to home value is similar.
If you want to swim against the current, that is fine but it takes work, which it seems like you do not wish to do. You just want an easy button and have all your problems resolved. Guess what: So does everybody.
I personally think that the bus idea in this area is not the best.
To answer one of your questions there is an RV a few streets over from where I live that sits in the driveway year around. It seems to be connected to the house for power? But I also hear generator like sounds from it as well. I think someone lives in there.
Townhomes have problems but if you do your research you can mitigate most of them. For me the biggest problem with townhomes would be parking. I lived in a 1BR condo for 15 years and those are not supposed to be easy to sell. I sold mine and made enough for a down payment on a home. You are doing yourself a great injustice with your know-it-all attitude.
My best advice to you would be to buy a single family home. There are SFH's inside the beltway in the low $400,000's. Check Annandale. They are not huge but you would have a yard for your dogs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessiedelane
On the other hand, I have a degree in English and am not a teacher.
This is what I see as your real problem, you wish to blame others for your problems and complain about how hard it is but you really did not prepare yourself well for life. If you would have spent time on a more relevant degree you would be in a better place now. That is not the fault of this area.
No matter what area you go to if you are just starting off you will be competing with older, more established people. That usually means that they are willing and able to pay more for the more desirable housing than you are.
Also I have been to LA, Seattle, NYC and more and the problems with commute and housing that you think are unique to this area are not. I have no idea what the market in Richmond is like but I bet there are areas that you cannot afford.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessiedelane
Here, I make a solid living as a proposal writer and part time grammar nazi. It suits me, I'm well paid, and I'm pretty frickin good at it. It's just that there are no positions where I would like to live, in Richmond. There are, but they are all "Proposal Manager" type positions which require 5-7 years of proposal experience. I've got 2 under my belt. I'm so ready to get these last 3 years in NOVA out from under me that I could die. I just have to stay here until I can finally say that I'm experienced enough to lead a proposal team.
I know what I have to do. I just don't want to.
I would also like to point out that you are outright rude to people, seem to be a know it all but at the end of the day nobody made you move here. That was your choice. If it is a mistake it is your mistake. You only have one person to be angry at and you will see that person every time you look into a mirror.
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
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I lived full time in my motorhome when I first moved here. I found a trailer park that had long term RV spots. It was around $750 a month with all utilities included and only a six mile drive from my job in Old Town Alexandria. It was a bargain for me and allowed me to save enough to buy a house in less than a year.
Consider a used RV instead of trying to convert a bus. Used RVs in nice condition are cheap and plentiful since the gas spike after 2008. I still have mine but use it for camping only now. The only tough part was Winter, but the rest of the year it's not a bad way to live.
The biggest problem I had here was finding a spot. They go fast, and you have to research like crazy. PM me if you need any additional details or have questions.
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