The Idea

The idea was to leave these shores and take up residence somewhere in Europe where living was cheaper and we would be unencumbered by the increasingly Nanny State. Since this is a huge step and we were unsure of where we would like to live in Europe we decided to do a bit of travelling first. Explore the land, meet the people, drink the wine, etc., etc.

We thought that the best way to do this would be in a motorhome, so some research was done and a short trip was taken in a rented motorhome. All this brought us to a decision that, if we were to live comfortably for several months, we needed a large motorhome. This lead to exploring the American RV market. There are many and varied American RV's large enough to call home for several years never mind months but we decided that the criteria should be that it had a four-seater dining area and that it would have at least one slide-out. A slide-out being an area of the side of the vehicle that moves outwards when stationary thus expanding the living or sleeping area by a considerable amount.

All this was being thought about, discussed and dreams dreamed about two years ago but things took a turn towards reality when I decided that I would retire before the law changed in 2010. This meant we could start to make more definite plans and we began looking around for a suitable RV.

Tricia and I both ride motorbikes so any solution would have to include being able to tow a trailer for the bikes.

We checked out the forums, bought magazines and even a book on the subject and, despite the warnings about American RV's, we purchased a Fourwinds Hurricane. This is an almost 34' long coach that will sleep up to six people. It has a king size bed in the rear bedroom and a proper toilet with a shower. It has a gross weight of just over eight tonnes so we are going to be getting our LGV licenses in the New Year.

In the first week of December I put in my request for early retirement so my last day of work will be Wednesday the 31st of March. The plan, as it stands now, is to move into the RV and rent out the house. We will then do a tour of the UK to ensure that everything is in top working order and we haven't omitted anything essential. After that it will be off on the ferry for France.

I intend to use this blog as a means of keeping friends and family informed of our progress. There may not be much change on here before March next year since that is when the adventure starts.