Workamping Couple Discusses The Questions & Solution Of Embracing A New Lifestyle While Still Mid Range In Age
Jim Nelson & Rene Agredano started their life together in San Francisco in 1998 then moved to Humboldt County in Northern California where they established a graphic production business. 9 years ago when their dog was diagnosed with terminal cancer, they decided they wanted to go on the open road. They sold their house and possessions and bought a Dodge truck and an Artic Fox 5th Wheeler. It was only going to only be for a year but it became a calling. Before the current trend of “Workamping” became mainstream, this business-minded couple was working the ground, enjoying travel but also understanding the practical applications and important lessons to enjoy the lifestyle that they love.
The Buzz: Can you speak on where you entered this lifestyle…more in the mid-range of life instead of the normal retirees?
Rene Agredo: Where we started out…we were at an interesting point in our lives because we were looking for something new to take on in terms of the type of business we wanted to run. We used to own a printing and design business. And before that, Jim came from the corporate world. He was a designer and marketing guy. But we’ve been self-employed for close to 20 years now. Nine years ago, when we decided to start work hunting, we were in this transition stage that we were thinking “Let’s take some time off…and see where that leads us.” We never had any intention of continuing to travel but we learned that we liked it so much that we started to say “Let’s see what we can do on the road…[if it] can support this lifestyle”. That’s how we were exposed to it.
Jim Nelson: So long story short, we had to grow our home service marketing firm to a point where it was time to expand or get out of it. Our dog at the time got cancer and lost a leg…and he had a few months to live. So we made a quick plan to sell the business, sell the house, buy an RV and plan for a year on the road. Well…he lived two years. So by the end of that we had the blog going…and we had certain other things going online so we thought we could just keep doing it.
The Buzz: How has the advancement of commercial mobile internet enhanced the ideal of the work ethic for workamping?
Jim: After 6 or maybe 8 months on the road, we met a camping couple …and, prior to that, we had heard nothing about it. We were at a campground…I think somewhere in Eagle Springs, NC…and thought “They have a pretty sweet set-up”. Nice, remote campground. Don’t have to do much. They got it pretty right. So we starting looking into “workamping” and found “Workamping News” and subscribed to that. We decided “Let’s take some workamping jobs that might help us determine what we want to do next…” We initially thought we would be on the road for only a year or so. Our first job was an animal rescue. We thought we’d start an animal rescue center. That quickly helped us decide that we didn’t want to do that. Next we worked on an organic farm because we thought it would be great. We checked it out, partly to work on a farm. Next we worked at a hot springs resort. Then at a dude ranch in Colorado which we have been returning to almost every summer.
The Buzz: Those jobs though are determined seasonally because of different harvest points. How does that dictate where you would like to go?
Jim: It is determined by location. We are not in Colorado right now because it is buried in snow but come summer it will be the best place to be. So we would look for jobs in the areas where we want to go at a particular time of year. In summer, we want to be in Colorado. But come winter…we took a job last year at a resort in Kennett, California, which was our first traditional RV park type job. It was for 2 days a week and with special projects. We weren’t parking RVers [which means] dealing with restrooms and other people. It was more “We’ll see you next week and give you another project!” So Workamping jobs for us…and we are really selective about it now…they are primarily dictated by where we want to go or the type of work we might enjoy. We understand that it is not a way to make a living. The jobs that pay sometimes turn around and charge you for your site. And a good money job like a gate guard or Amazon will work you to death.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the psychology of being on road and how you experience in life has given you guidance in time management and budget say versus younger RVers like Millennials who maybe don’t have the experience yet.
Rene: It’s really interesting. In the last year or so now, we have been seeing so many couples in their early 30s who are starting to do this. In past year, we’ve seen over a half dozen different couples [like this]. Kyle & Olivia are two of them and they are kind of a cute couple from Alabama. But yes, we were fortunate to have 12 years of business experience before we hit the road. So, to your question, it takes a lot of discipline to work on the road, travel and make the most of this lifestyle because we don’t get to go out and check every restaurant in every town that we visit. It informs the decisions we make…and some sacrifices financially because payment wise, you can’t do it all or you would be dead broke. We choose where we go and what we do very carefully. When we get to a situation, the truth of the matter is that we spend a good part of the day working. The good news is that we make our own hours pretty much being that we are a 24/7 kind of thing. We’re never really offline. Our customers are always around. But we can choose whether or not to pick up the phone or go on a hike if we want to.
The Buzz: Can you talk about this kind of work structure reflects in the tax implications?
Rene: That is kind of my part of this relationship. I leave that to the professionals. There are some really good tax professionals that I know. We left that to them for a couple years. Now we work with another type of CPA because our businesses have grown. But, in general, yes, I leave it to them.
The Buzz: Because you have expenditures and whether you’re working off a 1099 or a W-4, it has different consequences…
Rene: And even if we do a W-4…like with some of our Workamping jobs like the Dude Ranch in Colorado…we are employees there so we have to file state taxes in Colorado every year. If you are going to be working across state lines, you got to file in multiple states. It is just a lot easier to let a professional handle it because you don’t want to wade into it with the IRS.
Jim: Logistically, if you have a number of jobs in a number of different states, you need to report them to the rest of the states. It is just a matter of tracking them and filing them appropriately.
The Buzz: What are you most proud about in the evolution of Jim & Rene?
Jim: One of the most important things that I am most proud of is that we developed the ability to roll with the punches because this lifestyle is going throw your curve balls. You are going to have blowouts on the highway or a rear main engine seal will go out on your engine or you’re going to get flooded out of a campground. You never know what is going to happen. And in our previous life and the earlier days of our journey, we would panic and kind of freak out at things. Even though they might have been major, that gets you nowhere. People who roll with it understand that this happens and you go with it because it is part of your lifestyle. Along those lines, the planning and budgeting part of it…that is just so important. We see so many people get into a mortgage on an RV and hit the road and then ask “Can I make money Workamping?” No. You have to plan ahead and that is one thing you have to remember and after years of people asking us [those questions], we put up a free 3 part blog series about how to plan for a life on the road. You need to plan before…budget…and stick to the budget because otherwise your dream is going to become a nightmare.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
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