It's a different world when you live in an RV

One of the most significant differences between living in an RV and living in the real world is that when living in an RV, your brain can't run on autopilot.

In your everyday life, so much of what you do is done automatically, but almost nothing you do is done automatically when you live in an RV. After a while, a few things become automatic, but not many.

In the real world, you don't think about where the water comes from or where it goes. The same is true about your electricity, Wi-Fi, or what you do with your wastewater.

In the real world, you never have to think about whether you're going to run out of fresh water, whether your batteries are about to run down, whether your gray water or black water tanks are full, or whether you have a good Wi-Fi signal.

When living in an RV, you must constantly think about all these things, especially when you're boondocking.

In a house, if you can get something to go down the drain, it's gone for good, but in an RV, you don't want stuff to go down the drain because you still have to deal with it.

For example, if you wash the sand off your shoes in the sink, the sand settles to the bottom of the gray tank and is hard to flush out. It's just one more thing to think about.

Here are even more things you have to remember when living in an RV

Don't turn on the second electric space heater while someone is using the hairdryer. It's no big deal if you do. You just have to reset the breaker.

When living in an RV, you must constantly be concerned with the weather. Whether you're driving or camping, you must deal with it raining, being too hot, too cold, the wind blowing too hard, snow, and so on.

When you're living in a house, you talk about the weather and see the forecast on the TV, but in reality, it doesn't significantly affect your life most of the time. In an RV, the weather affects everything you do.

Repairs and modifications are a way of life when you live in an RV

There is always something that needs to be fixed on my 20-year-old motorhome. It's probably in better condition than when I bought it ten years ago. That's mainly because I have kept up with the maintenance, and I'm always making upgrades.

You have to be doing repairs on an RV constantly. If 60 mph winds were constantly bombarding your house, and it was shaking harder than it would be during a strong earthquake, you would need to do a lot of repairs on your house. That's what's happening to your RV when you're going down the road.

Wanderlust describes the RV lifestyle. When you get the RV travel bug, there's no cure for it. There are treatments (such as taking a trip) but no cure.

Closing thought: The one good thing about constantly keeping up with things and learning new things when living in an RV is that it keeps your brain active. The medical community is publishing more information all the time about how important it is to keep your brain active as you age.