7 Reasons We Love Our Airstream Life

You can recognize an Airstream trailer on the highway because of its bright silver color and unique design. Living in an Airstream has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Though it comes with its fair share of headaches, overall, we are so happy that we took the plunge and bought a Texas Airstream trailer two years ago. Here are 7 reasons that we love our Airstream life:

Reason 1: Saving Money on Rent

When you are a young married couple, there are a lot of expenses to take care of each month. After paying for an expensive apartment, utilities, cable & internet, food, and other necessities, there simply wasn’t a lot left every month for other pursuits. Our Airstream enables us to save on the cost of monthly rent, while at the same time allowing us to more affordably pursue our passion for travel. While nightly fees at campgrounds and RV parks can add up to even more than the monthly rental rate of a modest apartment, we discovered boondocking, which allows us to camp for free about 65% of the time. If you do it right, living in an RV is extremely budget-friendly.

Boondocking in the Redwood National Forest was one of our most memorable experiences of the past year.

Overall, an Airstream has everything that you need to live a comfortable life on a daily basis, including:

• A built-in kitchen
• Comfortable bathroom
• Built-in beds
• Relaxing seating area

Reason 2: Ease of Traveling

Before, when we traveled, we had to plan out our trips months in advance and save enough money for plane tickets, hotels, and eating out. One of our favorite things about living in an Airstream is being able to be spontaneous and flexible with our travel plans. We will sometimes spend two weeks somewhere, like we did in the Redwood Forest, if we really love a place. If we hear about a great spot, we take off whenever we feel like it and get there within a matter of hours or day. There have also been occasions where a place doesn’t meet our expectations. It’s really nice being able to hit the road again if we just aren’t feeling a place.

Reason 3: Slower Pace of Life

Even though I’ve been doing photography for a while, when we were living in the city, my hours were dictated by the typical 9-5 grind because that’s the schedule most of our friends, families, and clients kept. This meant combatting traffic with the rest of the world and a pretty hectic and stressful social calendar. Living on the road, our schedule is completely up to us – we set our hours, working when we feel like it, adventuring when we doing. Now, I can stay up all night photographing phenomena like meteor showers or the Milky Way or get up early to maximize the soft morning light.

Reason 4: Ability to Relocate for Different Job Opportunities

If you live in an Airstream motor home, you can relocate quickly for new job opportunities. When someone contacts me to photograph a special event across the country, now we can just drive to the location rather than staying in an expensive hotel.

Reason 5: Visiting Friends and Relatives Easily

We both have family and close friends scattered all over the country, which meant we were always trying to squeeze in visits over long weekends and holidays. Now, that we drive all over the country, we can always stop to see people along the way. In the past year, I’ve seen my best friend who lives in Denver three times more than I did last year.

Living in an Airstream means we can keep a more flexible schedule, which allows me to do photoshoots when and where I want to.

Reason 6: Moving When the Weather is Horrible

When you don’t like extremely hot or cold weather, then living in an Airstream motorhome makes it easy to escape away from a snowstorm or heat wave. If you lived in a traditional apartment, then it could take weeks to move to a different area, but with an Airstream RV, you are ready to travel within a few hours. I personally hate the cold (unless I’m there to ski), so in summer months we migrate South to the beach.

Reason 7: Meeting Other Interesting People

Other nomads like us tend to have really interesting stories. Though a lot of times we camp remotely, occasionally we will stay in a state or national park for a few nights. We’ve met a few other creative types, like Mary Ann, a 61-year-old retired teacher crisscrossing the country with her husband and oil painting set. We have also met lots of people our age who also have the ability to work remotely or who are taking a break from a career in a season of wanderlust.