Full-time travel can seem irresistible: you discover new places, take your home with you, taste unfamiliar foods, meet different people, and experience constant change.
But it’s not always sunrises over beaches or dramatic mountain vistas.
I’m not complaining — I’m grateful for the life I lead. Still, after years of being location-independent, I’ve started to feel very tired. What once felt like a dream now sometimes feels exhausting.
Related: Welcome To Paradise – We’re Living On A Sailboat!
Lately I’ve watched many friends and fellow travelers decide to stop traveling full-time for a variety of reasons. Each time someone chooses to slow down or change course, I reflect on my own journey.
I’m sharing this because many people who travel full-time feel isolated in their struggles — loneliness, mechanical failures, chronic fatigue, and more. Realizing these feelings are normal can help travelers push through the hard parts and enjoy the good ones even more.
Full-time travel is incredible, but it isn’t right for everyone. For years I used to think people who preferred a stationary home were missing out. After living this lifestyle since 2013, I now better understand why some RVers and sailors slow down or stop.
For a long time I couldn’t clearly answer the question I hear so often: “What don’t you like about full-time travel?” The first few months after moving into a vehicle or boat are always difficult, but the subsequent years can be glorious. Still, there are downsides worth considering.
That said, I wouldn’t be living this life if I didn’t love it. Below are some pieces I’ve written about why I enjoy life on the road:
- Why I Love Living In A Vehicle
- Why would you make $100,000+ a month and live in an RV?
- My Year In Review – Looking Back at 2018 and Looking Forward to 2019!
- Living In A Boat Or RV? What Is Better?
Below I describe the main downsides of full-time travel. I don’t plan to stop anytime soon, but these are realistic factors to consider before committing to this lifestyle.
Being away from friends and family.
I haven’t been back to Missouri in over a year; even then it was only a brief stop. I can’t remember the last time I saw close friends or spent quality time with much of my family. Occasional visitors help, but it’s not a substitute for regular get-togethers.
I still recall selling our house in Missouri. I cried and felt profound sadness even though the adventure ahead excited me. Leaving familiarity behind was hard.
We’ve made meaningful connections on the road and within the boating community, but most people we meet are also traveling. Saying goodbye is a constant reality, and even strong friendships often end when paths diverge. I’ll never forget an elderly RV neighbor who, on the day we separated, had tears in his eyes despite barely knowing us — a reminder of how intense transient bonds can be.
Because relationships often have built-in endings, forming deep, lasting friendships on the move is challenging.
Dealing with a literal broken home.
When something breaks in a stationary house you typically can still live comfortably while repairs happen. With an RV or boat, problems often create cascading issues:
- Mechanical failures can make travel dangerous — a flat tire or engine failure on the road, or critical issues at sea.
- If your vehicle or boat is in the shop you may lose your place to sleep and face unexpected expenses and logistical headaches.
- Repairing certain problems can be risky, especially on a boat where pulling over isn’t an option.
Boats and RVs require constant maintenance. Whether brand new or decades old, there’s always a list of things to fix, replace, or upgrade.
Getting used to being uncomfortable.
Humans thrive on routine. Full-time travel makes consistent routines hard to establish because each day can be different — weather changes, mechanical failures, and logistical issues are part of life on the road or water.
Examples of necessary lifestyle adjustments include:
- Using far less water than in a typical home. While an average household may consume around 100 gallons per person per day, travelers in RVs or boats must conserve unless connected to shore supplies.
- Dealing with laundry without onboard machines, which means finding laundromats that might not be readily available in every location.
- Learning local cultures, rules, and laws to avoid unintentional mistakes.
- Navigating language barriers in places where you don’t speak the local tongue.
- Managing health concerns away from familiar doctors, sometimes in countries with different medical systems and languages.
- Extra planning if you travel with children or pets, from schooling to finding pet-friendly stops and services.
These practical discomforts may seem small, but they add up and often lead people to stop full-time travel.
Not having a home base.
A boat or RV is our home, but there’s a unique comfort in having a permanent base that doesn’t move. I often dream of a stationary home with a mountain or valley view, a garden, and a place to relax after travel.
I don’t plan to give up traveling completely, but the idea of a stationary place to recharge appeals to me. Increasingly, some RVers buy property with full hookups to park for months at a time, and many sailors seek safe, stationary spots during hurricane season.
Limited storage and space for belongings.
One clear benefit of a home base is space for all your things. Even minimalists accumulate gear.
When we downsized from our house into an RV, we temporarily rented storage. That helped with items we couldn’t immediately fit, but eventually we got rid of the unit. Recently we debated renting storage again for bikes and outdoor gear but chose not to.
Related content: 8 Lessons I’ve Learned From Living With Less Stuff
Seeing so much trash makes you sad.
I’m not without fault — I contribute to global waste — but traveling through beautiful places and witnessing litter and pollution is painful. Full-time travel can make sustainable living harder: certain transport methods and many destinations rely heavily on single-use plastics and packaging, and local recycling or waste management may be limited.
I often imagine living in a sustainable stationary home powered by solar with a thriving garden, which can feel like an appealing contrast to the reality of frequent travel.
Related content: Save Your Money And Avoid A Storage Unit
Constant decision-making.
When you live on a boat, weather dictates much of your life. After arriving at an anchorage or marina you’re often already planning your next move. Full-time travel requires near-constant planning, whether you live out of a suitcase, vehicle, or boat.
Every detail demands attention: where to spend the next week, pet-friendly stops, schooling for children, sourcing groceries, dealing with immigration and customs, route planning, fuel and water logistics, waste disposal, and more.
In short: full-time travel requires full-time planning.
How much longer will I travel full-time?
Reading the list above might make it seem like I’m ready to quit. I’m not. I have no plans to give up this way of life anytime soon.
Every lifestyle has trade-offs. I love full-time travel for many reasons, including:
- The ability to travel — discovering new places, hikes, food, and cultures. This world is beautiful and I want to see it.
- The freedom to explore off-the-beaten-path locations and stay as long as I want. Finding a hidden gem and lingering there is one of my favorite parts.
- Bringing your home to places that are hard to reach by plane, which opens different travel possibilities and reduces packing stress.
- Living by beaches, mountains, deserts, or anywhere that inspires you.
- Spending more time outdoors and embracing active, nature-focused days.
I wouldn’t trade this life. The thought of stopping full-time travel terrifies me — would we be content living mostly in one place? Would extended stillness feel stifling? I know people who stopped traveling and struggled to readjust; the two lifestyles are very different.
This isn’t a complaint but an honest look at both the rewards and the challenges of life on the move. My hope is to help others prepare for the realities of long-term travel so they can make a smoother transition into this lifestyle.
If you’re considering long-term travel, also read: Want To Be A Full-Time Traveler? 13 Ways To Make It Happen.
Are you interested in full-time travel?