The following is a report from Business Insider.
Empty nesters Renee and Kelley Hayes, 58, downsized from an over 2,000-square-foot home in Texas to a roughly 45-foot RV.
“We may be living tiny, but we’ve got the world’s largest suitcase,” Kelley said.
Kelley dreamed of living in an RV and traveling the country full-time during retirement. However, he and his wife got to embrace this goal a few years earlier than intended.
They loved raising a family in their Texas home with a three-car garage and a pool, but they’re happy exploring the US as retired empty nesters in their RV. They get to see what different states offer, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“We camped right on the grounds where the balloons took off, so every morning the balloons would fly over, right over the RV itself, and at night they would have the glow,” Kelley said.
Renee and Kelley purchased an RV for roughly $82,000 in August 2018, while their kids attended college. They were looking for something to do as new empty nesters. A few months later, Kelley, who worked for General Motors before his retirement in 2022, was transferred to an office in Georgia, which meant leaving Texas and figuring out their next home.
The family spent the 2018 holidays on the road and then visited Twin Lakes RV Park, a campground in Georgia, right after Christmas.
Kelley looked at some houses in January, but nothing caught his eye. Plus, Renee said, housing prices were expected to drop in Georgia, which could have meant selling their next home would be tougher. “We knew we were only going to be there three years, so we thought instead of taking that risk, we can just live in our RV,” she said.
Renee went back to Texas to downsize and work on selling their home, while Kelley stayed in Georgia for work, residing in the Twin Lakes RV Park. They listed the home for $399,000 in January 2019, and it sold in March. Renee rejoined Kelley at the campground.
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Find Kelley and Renee Hayes on social media here.
