I’ve been teasing it for months, but my Airstream dream was realized this summer. I’m fully nomadic now and can say I absolutely love the Airstream lifestyle.
Why I Decided to Leave Guam and Live in an Airstream in the U.S.
I was living on Guam and decided it was time for a change. I moved there in 2009 and loved it. I started a business there (The Guam Guide) and made my first documentary film about the people of Guam, “American Soil, Chamorro Soul.”
I poured myself into making friends, understanding the local culture, and serving the community of Guam. It took a lot out of me emotionally, so I knew it was time to hit the refresh button.
I’ve been an independent creative since 2011, so I can work from anywhere. Wondering how I do that? Read this: The Honest Truth About How I Can Afford to Travel So Much.
After much debate — and a second visit to Bali to seriously consider it as our next destination — the Hubs and I decided to move back to the States. After all, we had never seen the Grand Canyon or visited more than a handful of the national parks. We were excited about embarking on the Great American Road Trip.
Having watched every tiny house show on HGTV (and this Portlandia skit which we re-enact weekly), we agreed to buy an Airstream trailer.
Buying a Used Trailer & Renovations
New Airstreams are expensive, so we opted for a used trailer. We left Guam in May and picked it up in Arkansas in June. We drove it to Michigan and spent the summer updating everything.
We wanted to customize it to perfectly suit our needs to live and work. We haven’t seen anything on the market quite like ours!
Thankfully, the Hubs is a super handy man and my in-laws donated tools and time. I actually used an electric saw to reface my cabinets so I wouldn’t have to pay IKEA $2,000 for a new set. It was brutal!
In the end, we still went over budget, but we’re both very happy with our work. We’ve been living in the trailer full-time since September and just hit the road a few weeks ago!
Life & Work on the Road
We’ve been staying in parking lots (not as ghetto as it sounds) and campgrounds and I love our new lifestyle. We have everything we need in the Airstream (I named her Rosie the Riveter. Get it?) and it’s super cozy and comfortable. Even Kashmir Kitty loves it (the car, not so much).
I shot a film in my birthplace of Cincinnati, falling in love with it all over again. On recommendation from FB friends, we drove to Asheville, North Carolina, which I loved. From there we spent a week in Washington, D.C. where I museum’d till I dropped. I was thrilled to experience the brand new African American Museum (full post on that), and tons more Smithsonian museums. After D.C., we spent a week in Charleston, South Carolina, and two weeks in Savannah, Georgia (because it’s crazy beautiful and I can’t stop filming/photographing everything.)
I’ll be sharing tons more about what it’s like to live and travel in the Airstream, but feel free to ask questions here.
I will have more pictures as we travel. I’ll be posting Instagram stories (those temporary stories that last only 24 hrs), so follow me on Instagram.
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