From High-Rise to Highway - My New Way of Living!

My huge life change - spilling the beans!

A huge life change has finally came together after brewing for almost a year!

During a phase of my daughter's early mental health journey, she had a North Star of an idea to drive off in a small camper and live in peace while on the road and finding new lands. We looked at travel trailers online for her to use one day, and that sparked something in me that I didn't realize at the time: one day would turn into my new story and way of life. Seeing an Airstream travel trailer with a desk built into its living space showed that working while traveling was possible. If you've ever encountered an idea that doesn't necessarily rock your world at the time but plants a seed (and then proceeds to take over your entire mental bandwidth), you know of my experience.

Earlier this year, my partner and I began research into buying an Airstream and visualizing, talking about, and dare I say, manifesting a rig that we could both live in and work while traveling down the road; what road exactly, we didn't know (though we quickly learned it would be whichever one led to the next charging station). This has been a year-long idea, almost coming to fruition with a near purchase back in May. The timing wasn't yet right, so we eased off, and then, in the fall, the Airstream that might as well have my name written on it revealed itself.

Not only was our research process delving into nomadic life, but we also watched a million YouTube videos about Airstream travel trailers, their maintenance, setup, and everything needed to pull it off (becoming unofficial PhDs in mobile living along the way). The plan was to move out of the 22nd floor, leave my recording studio (my closet) behind, pass on our furniture, store some of our wares, and drive off into the sunrise (my favorite time of day) in my EV. Yes, if this massive life change wasn't enough, I wanted to push more boundaries and tow with an electric vehicle. It just so happened that the Airstream dealership we were working with is owned by a top EV towing expert, who has kitted out close to 100 EVs to tow various-sized Airstreams safely.

Synchronicity showed up again. (She's becoming quite the reliable friend these days.)

In a nutshell, to keep this under a short novel, we left Toronto on November 27th and spent US Thanksgiving with our great friends Davis (Dr. B), his wife Erin, and his lovely family. The stress of packing, relocating furniture, our belongings, and our life to various people and places, and downsizing to what would fit in a 120 sq ft 27 foot long Airstream took weeks of planning and executing. We arrived a week later than planned (why rush into a complete life transformation?) and had a soft landing for a few days before a tremendous send-off with everyone in their snow boots, hats, and gloves with sub-zero, snowy weather.

The stress leading up to leaving, plus our first few days on the road, was enough to put our adrenal glands into utter burnout (cold temps and EV range are like oil and water - they don't mix well); however, we persevered and are slowly but surely finding a groove of planning where to charge, stay, and safely drive towing our new House-On-Wheels (nic-named HOWie).

The goal of this radical idea is to see places further to Toronto; new cities, towns and lands, to live simply, spend more time in nature, and expand our horizons. I also know that pushing oneself outside one's usual routine and comfort zone and following our heart offers opportunities that don't unfold by staying comfortable - and believe me, we've made ourselves very uncomfortable! I'm hopeful my brain is laying new pathways, having to learn SO much in such a short period of time while working a full-time job, so when I check back in, I should be at genius status, right? (Einstein wishes he had this much neural pathway renovation going on!)