Feeling Safe While Full Timing

[Donna D.]

The latest thread in this particular forum is titled: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...rms-36371.html Which reminded me I just read a terrific recent post on Technomadia. I've been following Cherie's and Chris' blog since it started. I am so envious of their lifestyle and they've been sharing all they know about traveling full time in everything from a T@B to an Oliver and now their bus. Sigh... at any rate, check this out: Chapter 14: Feeling Safe while Traveling Full Time, you might be surprised or inspired!

[jen b]

This from the blog post...

And you know what? Living in a state of fear is exhausting, stressful and at the very least shortens our quality of life – if not quantity of life.

is so true.

I feel bad for folks who are constantly worried that the bad guys are coming to get them. That can't be at all fun. Sometimes I want to go around handing out Xanax like Johnny Appleseed.

[jen b]

And to add...over winter break we stayed several days at Collier-Seminole State Park campground just south of Naples, Florida. One evening there was an approximately 12 or 13 year old boy sitting on the bench in the women's bathroom/shower house. I asked the kid, "what are you doing in here, kid?" in a not particularly friendly way because, you know, unless it's an explicitly unisex facility it's just weird for a teenage boy to be lurking around the showering women.

The kid said his mom wouldn't permit him to go in the men's room by himself, so he had to take all his showers and use the toilets in the ladies' room, and stay there while his mom showered.

I could not wrap my head around believing that a campground is full of predators, yet taking your children there on a vacation. DOES NOT COMPUTE.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by jen b

This from the blog post...

And you know what? Living in a state of fear is exhausting, stressful and at the very least shortens our quality of life – if not quantity of life.

is so true.

I feel bad for folks who are constantly worried that the bad guys are coming to get them. That can't be at all fun. Sometimes I want to go around handing out Xanax like Johnny Appleseed.

There's a big difference between worried and prepared. I carry most of the time. I'm not worried in the slightest. Odds of having to use it? Very slim, and with any luck, never.

It doesn't shorten the quality of my life at all, in fact, it helps me to keep it, if somebody else decides to try and take it away.

With that, I'll leave it alone. I've been in enough of these discussions to know that neither side will change their thinking.

[honda03842]

In 12 years we have never felt concerned about the people we have camped with. The rare time we've felt fear is at a trail head in Alaska with a sign sayin "Grizzle on trail at 10:30 am".

RVing is very safe.

As to the boy in the ladies room, it seems the media and society in general seems to emphasize the negative, I hear it all the time in my young neices and nephews. It's really too bad, people should not live in fear.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by jen b

This from the blog post...

And you know what? Living in a state of fear is exhausting, stressful and at the very least shortens our quality of life – if not quantity of life.

is so true.

I feel bad for folks who are constantly worried that the bad guys are coming to get them. That can't be at all fun. Sometimes I want to go around handing out Xanax like Johnny Appleseed.

I completely agree, Jen. The fact that people are so concerned to go to great lengths to protect themselves, and always worry about dangers, definitely makes them a victim already. I may be setting myself up for being taken advantage of, but I tend to not worry about things too much. I am willing to take this risk for the peace of mind it brings me. Heck, I rarely lock a door, on house or trailer, unless gone for an extended time.

I am sure this threshold of feeling safe is different for everyone though.

Upon retirement, I intend to do quite a bit of extended travels, and would not be inclined to do anything different then, than I do now.

[deryk]

Yeah, living in fear is not good, and people do pick up on it and you are more likely to become a victim.

I remember at 17yo a senior in high school me and a classmate played hookie and took the train into NYC. Now he was kind of timid, Im far from it. We were walking down the street and I stopped to look in a window and I turn around and a street person/thug was talking to my friend, "Yo man, where the money you owe me?" I just walked up made eye contact, tapped my friend and said lets go. The criminal element can tel pretty easy who is a good trget and who is likely to resist.

If your afraid, take a martial arts class. Doesn't matter how old you are. I got thrown across the room by an 80 year old master... he impressed me and showed me slowly how he did it. Age doesn't stop you if you dont want it to.

deryk

[jen b]

A couple of years ago I did a solo hike across Pennsylvania with a pack horse in tow, which as you might imagine caused a lot of rubbernecking and astonished reactions.

When I walked through small towns or down residential roads, occasionally people would chase me down....with fresh baked muffins. Or glasses of iced tea. Or hot chocolate on the cold rainy days. Always with apples for my horse. Those same people would tell me what I was doing was dangerous, that they were scared for me, and that there are bad people out there looking for [some vaguely defined] trouble. When I pointed out the irony they couldn't figure out what I was talking about. Maybe I posted about this earlier in the thread, but I did learn that a lot of very well meaning people live in stranger danger terror, and are inclined to by default think badly of other people in their worlds, which is kind of a bummer.

I mean, there are some terrible people out there but they show up in ways most people never really can prepare for (if you're a child, or a woman, your own family is statistically much more dangerous to you than strangers are, for example).

I prefer being open to the possibility of somebody showing up with cupcakes, but will be satisfied if other campers just keep the level of their drunk yelling down when I'm in a campground and want to sleep. But certainly your comfort level therein can depend on past experience, etc.

The most trouble I ever have when traveling is noisy families or nonstop talking birders chasing away the wildlife I'm trying to photograph. Nothing much I can do to them besides laser stink-eye, and heading into more remote places.

[Francesca Knowles]

I'm not a fulltimer, but I camp alone a LOT, and folks inevitably "ask" me if I'm afraid when I'm out there alone/gunless. This puzzles me, since it seems to me that if I was afraid, I wouldn't do it...

I usually answer them by saying that in my opinion, most criminal-types are themselves afraid of being outside of the permanent lighting of urban areas, and of the woods particularly....and what are the odds of them plying their "trade" to advantage out there even if they had the nerve???

As for "The Hook", the escapee from the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, and the Mad Rapists that fill campfire stories everywhere: I'll take my chances that they won't travel forty miles up a Forest Service Road hoping against all odds that they'll come across a Helpless Female to do their dirty deeds upon....

Francesca

[honda03842]

I'm with Jen, one is almost always safe when RVing and beyond that usually near friendly people who will help you in a pich.

6n the road we are all typically away from cities, where most of the crime occurs in the USA and similarly the places where the law least allows you to protect your self.

I'm only conscious of danger when hiking, being alert for the presence of animals I might stumble across while walking thru their territory..

[Jim Bennett]

I think the key, as many have eluded to, is to have an AWARENESS of your surroundings, not a fear of the the danger that it may posses. This awareness will allow you to react appropriately for a given situation, with less chance of panic.

There is no way that we can prepare for every potential problem, and in fact, trying to do so instead creates a a big one itself.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by honda03842

........and similarly the places where the law least allows you to protect your self. ..........

Right, like Canada.

[Jim Bennett]

*throws snowball at Tom's head*

Okay, that was a soft one, the next one will not be though.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Right, like Canada.

...............you're a scream, Tom!

Francesca

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

*throws snowball at Tom's head*

Okay, that was a soft one, the next one will not be though.

Canadians: (Mountie)

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

*throws snowball at Tom's head*

Okay, that was a soft one, the next one will not be though.

Now now Jim remember your good Canadian up bringing. No rocks in the snowball and remember to say your sorry if you actually manage to connect with him

[Evan Friesen]

Thanks for sharing that Donna! What great insight!

[Gilda]

Until recently, when I took up a passion for murder mystery novels by park ranger Nevada Barr, I only feared animals higher than I on the food chain while hiking in the woods. If you want to feed your paranoia I recommend reading Ms. Barr's riveting tales that take place in U.S. National Parks. You will fear animals of the two-legged kind more than ever! Every one of her novels have been a great read so far. Enjoy.
Happy Camping,
Gilda (Jill-da)

[David B.]

Originally Posted by honda03842

In 12 years we have never felt concerned about the people we have camped with. The rare time we've felt fear is at a trail head in Alaska with a sign sayin "Grizzle on trail at 10:30 am".

RVing is very safe.

Norm,
The thing that prompted me to purchase a hand gun and get a concealed permit was a news article about an elderly couple in one of our popular northern Arizona camp grounds (not remote) who befriended a fellow camper, invited them into their RV where he promptly slit their throats and took what ever they had of value, and calmly drove off. Chances are it will never happen to any of us, but as slim of chance it is, it does happen, but then again I do purchase lottery tickets at times also, even though chances are slim that I will win.
Dave & Paula

[Glenn Baglo]

If they had a hand gun, he probably would have taken that too.