# Moving Around the US For 2 Years As A Nomad, Month To Month, City by City
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 30, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827 "2018-01-30T19:44:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/21 "2018-01-31T22:22:26Z")
> [@TSBG](#):
>
> I would beware of mail forwarding. I recently moved, luckily just around the corner, and a great deal of my mail did NOT get forwarded. Change addresses yourself for anything important.
There are companies that are setup to forward mail for people in just this situation. You change your address to have mail sent to one of these companies. This company will then send the mail on to you. They generally have a lot of options and services like holding the mail for a while then sending it in bulk when you get a new address in a new town.
This is one such service. I have not used this one and there are many others.
> **[Best US Mail Forwarding Service for RVers/Travelers | Physical Street...](https://myrvmail.com/)**
>
> MyRVmail is the premier digital mailbox service provider. We offer premium USPS mail forwarding, mail scanning, virtual postal mail, physical street address in Florida & other related services.
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### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/22 "2018-01-31T22:59:06Z")
The OP’s plan might be a bit easier in some states than others. There are places where AirBnB landlords, and others with short-term rentals, are going to be wary about any rental of a month or more.
The reason is that some states, including (i believe) California, New York, and Illinois, give tenant rights to anyone who rents for more than 30 days. That means that if your AirBnB guest is there for 40 days, and decides they don’t want to leave, the only way to get them out is through a long and often expensive eviction process.
That’s exactly what happened to [a woman in California](http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Squatters-don-t-sit-well-with-Airbnb-hosts-5631952.php) a couple of years ago, when she rented her Palm Springs condo out for 44 days on AirBnB. The renter paid for a month, then refused to pay any more, and also refused to leave. She couldn’t just have the cops boot him for trespassing, because after 30 days he had tenant rights under California law.
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### Author:  [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/23 "2018-02-01T00:14:17Z")
I’ve used [homeaway.com](http://homeaway.com) for short term rentals before, and they were fine.
J.
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### Author:  [@Carlarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlarm)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/24 "2018-02-01T01:13:12Z")
Even though you’ve written off the idea of living in an RV, I suggest you rent one for awhile to be sure it really won’t work for you. Moving in and out of temporary places gets old pretty soon.
Also, USPS has a really neat new feature called informed delivery where they send you email each day with photos of the fronts of all the letters you receive that day. We have a second home and when something that appears urgent comes in I call my daughter (who has a key to our house) and ask her to open the letter and send a PDF copy of it to us.
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/25 "2018-02-01T01:54:23Z")
> [@PastTense](#):
>
> Then this means you will be limited to furnished houses–and those are much rarer than unfurnished ones.
Hence part of the complications.
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/26 "2018-02-01T01:57:23Z")
> [@jharvey963](#):
>
> I’ve used [homeaway.com](http://homeaway.com) for short term rentals before, and they were fine.
>
> J.
I will check this out.
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### Author:  [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/27 "2018-02-01T01:58:24Z")
> [@luvrbcs](#):
>
> One of our thoughts is looking for places outside of the cities (like San Antonio) and take public transportation into the city for sightseeing. I am not fond of city driving. And, it would be cheaper.
Check with the cities you are going to first. Got a friend outside of Houston who can’t get around at all because: no public transportation.
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/28 "2018-02-01T02:03:28Z")
> [@Carlarm](#):
>
> Even though you’ve written off the idea of living in an RV, I suggest you rent one for awhile to be sure it really won’t work for you. Moving in and out of temporary places gets old pretty soon.
>
> Also, USPS has a really neat new feature called informed delivery where they send you email each day with photos of the fronts of all the letters you receive that day. We have a second home and when something that appears urgent comes in I call my daughter (who has a key to our house) and ask her to open the letter and send a PDF copy of it to us.
We actually are still thinking of renting a Class C for a long weekend to a campground near by to experience it.
We are trying to think this through completely, this is one of those life affecting events. I just hope we just don’t miss something major. But, 18 months is a long time to plan, and drive yourself crazy sweating the small stuff. 🙂
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### Author:  [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/29 "2018-02-01T04:00:06Z")
By the way, I love the idea, I am jealous, and do not let minor obstacles stand in the way of your awesome plan.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/30 "2018-02-01T04:12:16Z")
> [@luvrbcs](#):
>
> We actually are still thinking of renting a Class C for a long weekend to a campground near by to experience it.
>
> We are trying to think this through completely, this is one of those life affecting events. I just hope we just don’t miss something major. But, 18 months is a long time to plan, and drive yourself crazy sweating the small stuff. 🙂
Someone mentioned the problems with proximity to public transit. This is the case most everywhere, as campgrounds are rarely within walking distance of bus/train lines, other than sometimes being located next to a freight line, which can be unpleasant. The best you can usually hope for is to find a park-and-ride lot and take it from there.
Something else to keep in mind is that 18 months is a long time to be rootless. Six months was long enough for us, and we were used to the RV life. We saw a lot of people who had sold their homes and bought a big RV to live in. They mostly looked lost to me. It sounds like a romantic life, but it can get claustrophobic; and you usually end up camping in what amounts to a large parking lot with hook-ups.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/31 "2018-02-01T04:56:52Z")
In the sublets/temporary housing section of Craigslist, you can find renters looking for someone to take over their lease. I don’t know if you’d find anything for just a month, but it’s worth checking into. It would likely be cheaper than a vacation rental, but you’d have to figure out the furniture situation.
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/32 "2018-02-01T13:19:57Z")
> [@jharvey963](#):
>
> I’ve used [homeaway.com](http://homeaway.com) for short term rentals before, and they were fine.
>
> J.
How did [Homeaway.com](http://Homeaway.com) work out for you? Anything to be aware of?
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/33 "2018-02-01T13:21:26Z")
> [@TSBG](#):
>
> By the way, I love the idea, I am jealous, and do not let minor obstacles stand in the way of your awesome plan.
Thank you. 🙂
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/34 "2018-02-01T13:24:30Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> In the sublets/temporary housing section of Craigslist, you can find renters looking for someone to take over their lease. I don’t know if you’d find anything for just a month, but it’s worth checking into. It would likely be cheaper than a vacation rental, but you’d have to figure out the furniture situation.
Something to look into.
Vacation rental are something we will be looking at, also. A month or two at different beaches or in the mountains is a part of our plan.
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### Author:  [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/35 "2018-02-01T14:04:00Z")
My wife and I have been doing exactly this for the last 18 months or so, just on the other side of the pond. We retired (at 41), rented out our house and now travel by motorhome seeing the sights and swimming, cycling and trekking everywhere we can. It’s a great life, although surprisingly tiring, so we have interspersed our travels with [housesitting](https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-and-pet-sitting-assignments/). You should look into this, as not only will you get to stay in some nice places, you get to stay for free. There are so many options available to you; we are currently looking after a beautiful house in the South of France
If you’re interested, you can read our blog of our travels here (hope this is okay to share on GQ) - [www.aaronandnickytravels.wordpress.com](http://www.aaronandnickytravels.wordpress.com)
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### Author:  [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/36 "2018-02-01T15:09:27Z")
> [@Aro](#):
>
> My wife and I have been doing exactly this for the last 18 months or so, just on the other side of the pond. We retired (at 41), rented out our house and now travel by motorhome seeing the sights and swimming, cycling and trekking everywhere we can. It’s a great life, although surprisingly tiring, so we have interspersed our travels with [housesitting](https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-and-pet-sitting-assignments/). You should look into this, as not only will you get to stay in some nice places, you get to stay for free. There are so many options available to you; we are currently looking after a beautiful house in the South of France
>
> If you’re interested, you can read our blog of our travels here (hope this is okay to share on GQ) - [www.aaronandnickytravels.wordpress.com](http://www.aaronandnickytravels.wordpress.com)
An interesting thought. Wonder if that would work with dogs?
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/37 "2018-02-01T16:19:16Z")
Moved to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/38 "2018-02-01T18:17:40Z")
> [@luvrbcs](#):
>
> An interesting thought. Wonder if that would work with dogs?
I would imagine so - many sitters I know have their own pets, so assuming that the home owner was okay and happy that your pets would get on okay with theirs, I can’t see any issue. Also, some house-sits are only to look after an empty home and have no pets involved (maybe gardening and general maintenance instead) so they would potentially suit you. Once you’re a member there are many thousands of options to browse through, and lots will meet your requirements. Timing wise, they can range from 1 week to 1 year, so you can also find that staying put for a few months at a time in a place is beneficial for getting to know the area well (as we are currently in France). Good luck with it all!
( Also: the site I linked to was one one of many internet based sites that offer house-sitting opportunities - there may be others more focused on the US that would suit you better. )
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/39 "2018-02-01T18:53:32Z")
As to the furniture situation one possibility is to buy a SUV and a cargo trailer.
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### Author:  [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-around-the-us-for-2-years-as-a-nomad-month-to-month-city-by-city/807827/40 "2018-02-02T04:16:23Z")
> [@luvrbcs](#):
>
> [vrbo.com](http://vrbo.com). I will check it out.
Used them once last October and had a great experience. I researched it a lot as it was eight of us, three generations. Many, many choices, all price ranges, two day minimums to months availability, they seem to be everywhere and lots had pets welcome.
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