Wandering Wheels: A Woman’s Experience of Solo RV Life

Solo RV Life can seem scary and lonely to some. But for the woman we meet in Episode 470 of the RV Podcast, it has been anything but. It has brought new friends, a strong sense of community and the joy of discovery.

You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below.

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Solo RV Life with Teri Rostberg: Interview of the Week

For years, Teri Rostberg worked as the executive director of a hospice company and saw many people who simply waited too long to retire.

Determined not to have that happen to her, Teri retired at age 57 and set out to explore the country in her 21-foot 2016 190 Popular Roadtrek, often using work camp jobs to help with costs.

From Yellowstone to Grand Canyon to Alaska to a whooping crane refuge in Texas and more, Teri has been all over, loving every minute. 

Here's an edited transcript:

Mike Tell us why you decided to retire. Was it really because of what you saw in your hospice work?

Teri Rostberg Well, you know, people would reflect on the end of their life. And you never, ever heard anybody say, I wish I'd have spent more time working. You know, usually, it's travel plans. You know, they may be retired at 65 and were planning to travel and then got a cancer diagnosis. I was even seeing some of the people that I've worked with get cancer and they were younger than me. So yeah, I just, you know, wanted to have a good work-life balance and didn't want to have any regrets, so I figured I could always go back to work.

Mike Well, I'm curious because you kind of have worked all the way through this, but oftentimes as a volunteer, how did that come about?

Teri Rostberg Well, sometimes people do say, when are you going to retire? And I said, I am retired. This is fun. You know, this is my hobby. This isn't work to me. And most people that do work camping, I don't think, feel that it's work. You know, they're going places they enjoy going. I feel like I'm living places I could never afford to live otherwise. Unless you're working a full job with the Park Service, how do you enjoy that beautiful environment of the National Parks besides work camping?

Mike I mentioned some of the intro, but tell us about the places and how you discovered work camping in the first place.

How she started Solo RV Life

Teri Rostberg I'm a researcher, so I did a lot of research, watching shows like yours, reading some of the Escapee Club news articles. Anytime I would come across someone, I would ask them, where they've been, and just kind of made a list in my mind and on paper, and went back and researched some of the places. Also looked at places I wanted to go and then would google, volunteer, and sometimes things would come up.

Heard about volunteer.gov, workampingjobs.com, and CoolWorks.com I explored all of those and picked out the places I wanted to go.

Mike What kind of stuff have you done and where?

Teri Rostberg My very first job was a volunteer at the National Park in the winter at Grand Canyon South Rim. And I was a volunteer with the National Park Service doing interpretive talks and working at the visitor ce...