Many of you are probably wondering how long we are going to stay in L.A. and to be honest I was wondering the same thing. To share some back story Lee has wanted to live and work in LA/Hollywood/Burbank since he was 10 years old. He even joined the military hoping he could work in media there but unfortunately they thought he would make a better air traffic controller so sent him to school for that. He hated that and asked to be put in the military version of the post office instead. (He hated that too) When he got out of the service we reconnected and within a week we were living together and within a year we were married pregnant with our fist child. If I was a different kind of person I would have had the courage to move to LA with him, but as a small town girl the thought of a big city like that was terrifying.

Lee loved me, and followed along with my dreams to have a family but his own dreams never died. Over the years he always managed to work in some form of media and although he found much to love about the work, it never was the fulfillment of the dream. Fast forward and we have been on the road for 8 years and the only major city we have never visited was LA. That first month we stayed in Burbank was a whirlwind, and it turns out that some things do live up to people’s dreams. He loved every part of it, except the unusual cold and rain, but even that was made tolerable.

I, on the other hand, was frankly not a fan, and found myself as intimidated as I regularly thought I could be. But as Lee started to seriously explore what it would take to “break into” the industry, I realized that it was finally his turn to pursue the dream. Turns out that his age (54) isn’t really a factor at all, and his real life practical experience (versus a college degree) is a benefit. The more he reached out to his friends who have ended up here over the years, (he knows people in Glendale, Silver Lake, Manhattan Beach, Korea Town and Redondo Beach!) and got the lay of the land the more he felt this was possible, and although breaking in can take up to a year, for once we are in the perfect financial situation to try something like this.

I don’t make “L.A. money” but I make enough to live here in an RV park as long as we don’t go crazy with our spending. Plus whatever Lee makes will be on top of that, so we can definitely afford to live frugally. And I am just going to have to find a way to get used to L.A. Getting really sick when we first arrived here certainly didn’t help, and I made the mistake of going all around the city instead of starting small and working my way outwards. LA is really a group of cities (neighborhoods, really) more than one large city and they all have VERY different characters. If you don’t believe me, think about the fact that Beverly Hills and Compton are only 14 miles apart.

Finding a place to stay that was both affordable and near enough to Hollywood/Burbank that Lee could reasonably drive back and forth was not easy but we managed to find a very nice RV park in the small town of Northridge. $1400 a month plus metered electric may seem like a lot but for this area it is a steal. It was very difficult to get into the park though (both physically and from a paperwork perspective) because they have VERY strict rules. The RV park itself is really nice (it’s absolutely spotless and very quiet and not at all like most RV parks) but on the small side, and the original spot they gave us in the middle we just couldn’t get into. It was exactly 40 feet for one thing and the person behind us was hanging over into our spot so I had to ask him to move. Then Lee had a hell of a time making the turn and when he was trying to straighten out he crunched the power pedestal. In 8 years of RVing he has never hit the box (or ANYTHING) and I was super upset. It was worse because the office was closed and no one was onsite so ultimately we ended up moving to another spot which they let us stay in. It was incredibly stressful.

Thankfully they let us stay in the spot we selected although this is only for 6 months. You have to leave for at least 2 days every six months and they put you in a new spot but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Turns out I really like Northridge and the surrounding neighbrhoods. The traffic is still pretty crazy but much better than other parts of the city. I am also taking advantage of being in one space for awhile by looking for things like a gym, ceramic classes, and other community events that we can’t always take advantage of. This is still not the place I would choose to be but by learning the immediate area first and slowly venturing out I am doing better.

This is also the first place in a long time I am hesitant to drive. We learned the traffic on the 405 is the worst in the nation and I get particularly nervous driving next to all the Rolls, Mercedes and BMWs. I am trying to force myself to drive more locally but this really isn’t a big truck friendly town. If we stayed though we would definitely invest in a smaller second vehicle which would help with tooling around town. Lee has his first real TV gig booked in March for an initial ten days so I will see how only having one vehicle is. I can always Uber of course (they are plentiful here) and I am reluctant to take on any debt (or buy a car for cash, or change our domicile state) until we see how all this pans out.

That’s the thing. Financially it makes sense to stay in the RV park and keep only one vehicle until we discover if Lee can make enough to cover other expenses. Decent two bedroom apartments for example run $2500 -$3500 here and of course we would need to buy all new (to us) furniture. This is another step I would take lightly, but if we are going to stay long term we will need to start thinking about those sort of things. Thankfully we have a place to stay indefinitely so none of those decisions need to be made in a rush.

Emotionally I am not ready to give up this lifestyle (even temporarily) unless Lee finds a job that will provide him with what he wants and can make enough for us to live roughly as we have been living. Then of course we would need to either store or give up the RV and lots of those decisions don’t make much sense if this is all short-term. I am a planner by nature and although I have loosened up on the planning somewhat with this lifestyle I don’t want to put myself into a situation where I am unhappy. No way would I buy a house here (the smallest boxes are $1M+) so I need to find just the right type of apartment community. Unfortunately there is very little in the way of senior living here either so its important to find a place where I feel safe and can find activities to keep me busy. I also want it to be Jack friendly and again that is not as easy as it might be in other places. We haven’t lived in an apartment for over 30 years, so there would definitely be some adjustment there.

It might seem like the decision has been made and I am pretty far down the path, but that is really not the case. I am just thinking ahead so if things take off for Lee professionally I am prepared. We would be giving a lot of things up for sure to stay here, but there are also some things I think I would like. We signed up for cable internet for one thing and its nice having a stable signal. I can get my nails done again if I want to (I gave that up because I didn’t want to go to different salons all the time) and I can join a gym or take ceramic or pottery classes. Yes those are things that I occasionally have been able to do in the last 8 years but it has been a challenge or next to impossible when we move so frequently.

Most of the people we started out with back in 2014 have found a home base, and many of those have stopped RVing altogether. At 55 we could take a break from the lifestyle and then start again when we retire if our health allows. Honestly I can’t see myself retiring here, cost if nothing else would be a prohibitive factor, but I can see staying here so Lee can fulfill his dream and we can simultaneously rack up some cash. We haven’t taken a traditional vacation in many years, and there is lots of the world we would like to explore. Our jobs might open up the possibility of some international travel which would be really great as well.

Honestly I just don’t know how it will all play out, but I do believe God put us here at this time in our lives for a reason. At minimum Lee deserves to see if he can make it in the industry, and if so whether or not he wants to devote the rest of his working years to it. I need to figure out how to build a life around that, just like he did for me when we moved to New Hampshire in 2001. I promise to keep writing this blog as long as we still live in our RV, even though it might look a little different, and share with you along the way what we decide as we decide it.

Oh, and one more thing. Even in the middle of a big city RV park stuff can happen. We have had lots of rain and wind and one morning we woke up to a tree that fell over and took out an RV in the park. Thankfully no one was hurt and the people have a relative they can stay with but it just goes to show that stuff happens everywhere.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog

• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
• You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes

When I was a kid I loved the show Big Valley and for me Barbara’s Stanwyck’s character was the epitome of grace and strength. She reminded me very much of my grandmother Pat and I can remember thinking clearly that I wanted to be a woman like her when I grew up. Fast forward to a few days ago and Lee mentioned that he had learned the RV park we are staying at was once part of the original Stanwyck ranch. Her house was less than a mile away and since it was bought by the city (during the recession in 2001) the grounds were now a public park. That was exciting enough but the very next day I learned that were going to have docent led tours of the house on Saturday for $15 admission. I immediately signed us up and thankfully on Saturday the rain held off during our visit.

The house has quite the history because it was originally built by Barbara in 1937 when she was 29 and the housing/ranch development it was a part of was a joint venture between Barbara and Zeppo Marx (her manager). The story goes that Barbara was orphaned at the age of 4 and grew up in multiple foster homes. When she became a teenager she went to live with her older sister but her early life was one of poverty. So she built her dream house, an English Tudor style home that was 6,500 sq feet and had five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, four fireplaces, and a swimming pool. Because it was so far (at the time) from the studios she even had her own gas pump in the garage.

One of the reasons the house was so remote was Barbara was getting a divorce from an abusive husband. They both traveled from New York where they met when she was working in the theater. Her career took off in Hollywood but his did not which seriously strained the marriage. After divorcing him she lived in the house with her adopted son until 1941 when she remarried and moved back to Hollywood. The house’s second owner was Jack Oakie who was a famous comedic actor and whose wife raised afghan dogs. Eventually they sold off the ranch portion but his second wife lived in the house for many years. I mention this because the tour was a mix of what the house looked like in Barbara’s day and then in Jack’s so it was a bit confusing from that standpoint. Still it was cool to see the house although since it sat empty for 8 years until the city bought it (and was broken into several times) it is not in the greatest of shape.

The downstairs had a guest suite, large living room with built in bar, and a huge kitchen. It also had a guest house that previously served as Barbara’s work out area. The bathroom in the guest house was done in this very cool can-can girl wallpaper (with matching toilet seat) but unfortunately no one knew who put it up. They have tried to compile information through old records and talking to people who are still alive but its been a rough go finding information.

The grounds also had a swimming pool and later Barbara’s second husband built her a tennis court for a birthday present. Jack used to roller skate on the court and they had a cool picture of that.

My favorite though was the upstairs. The master bedroom was absolutely huge (perhaps the largest I have ever seen) and there was a second bedroom for her son. My favorite though was the huge (for it’s time) marble bathtub which is original to the house was the one thing Barbara always dreamed of having when she was in foster care. I also really liked the dressing room which had beautiful built in shelves and a circus theme. The circus theme was redone by Jack’s wife but I imagine the shelving is all original. Super cool.

One sad thing we learned was that Barbara was estranged from her adopted son. By all accounts she was incredibly strict which I have no doubt was due to her upbringing. One biographer even stated that she couldn’t naturally have children because of a botched divorce when she was 15 which considering her childhood wouldn’t surprise me.

The fact that she had a complicated history though contributed to the woman she became. I am really glad we got to tour the house and was equally glad to learn that funds had been set aside to ultimately restore it. One of the cool things about staying here is that almost everywhere we turn there is a piece of Hollywood history which Lee and I both really appreciate.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog

• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
• You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes