Sort of full-timing for a year ... helpful hints please

[SmithsInFrance]

Looks like our home in France is sold and we plan to full-time for a year whilst we are having a new one built locally. Planning to put everything into storage and then use the MH as a base, although we have got some long-distance travel planned as well which will we do in the winter months giving us a break from the MH and help with the 90/180 day rule which affects us even though we are French resident.
We are going to Spain for a few weeks over Christmas which we do most years, but this time it will - hopefully! - help to focus on how we will manage being in it longer term. Longest we have done before is 6 weeks
Any hints, advice etc please anyone? TIA

 

[dawsey]

depends on how you operate, do you use full sites or just aires, any wild camping ? - what countries are you planning to visit ?

 

[Lynne Roy]

You will enjoy it, 20 months for us now, we have to cope with Schengen rules but always head to Bonterra, at least you don’t have that problem. Got a French visa last year and spent months around the Royan area. We use Aires, camping car parks, and only good campsites (very few of them about) we spent a couple of months in Portugal as well. Just got off the tunnel a couple of hours ago, making plans for tomorrow x

 

[Lynne Roy]

You will enjoy it, 20 months for us now, we have to cope with Schengen rules but always head to Bonterra, at least you don’t have that problem. Got a French visa last year and spent months around the Royan area. We use Aires, camping car parks, and only good campsites (very few of them about) we spent a couple of months in Portugal as well. Just got off the tunnel a couple of hours ago, making plans for tomorrow x

You will enjoy it, 20 months for us now, we have to cope with Schengen rules but always head to Bonterra, at least you don’t have that problem. Got a French visa last year and spent months around the Royan area. We use Aires, camping car parks, and only good campsites (very few of them about) we spent a couple of months in Portugal as well. Just got off the tunnel a couple of hours ago, making plans for tomorrow x

Apologies I didn’t think you were restricted by Schengen days if you were French residents, and as you cross no manned borders wouldn’t it be difficult to know where you are

 

[SmithsInFrance]

We use a combination, mainly sites if we are stopping somewhere for a while but aires and a bit of wild if we are travelling

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[SmithsInFrance]

Apologies I didn’t think you were restricted by Schengen days if you were French residents, and as you cross no manned borders wouldn’t it be difficult to know where you are

Yes we are restricted by Schengen days as french residents. We meet at Bonterra last year - glad you are making your dream come true.
I was looking for some practical hints about little things like what clothes do you take, bearing in mind the change of seasons ( do you go back to base every few months to swap according to season ? do you need that many clothes anyway ? What about shoes ? Or do you do a Jack Reacher and just wear a few until they wear out and then buy new??)

 

[Lynne Roy]

Yes we are restricted by Schengen days as french residents. We meet at Bonterra last year - glad you are making your dream come true.
I was looking for some practical hints about little things like what clothes do you take, bearing in mind the change of seasons ( do you go back to base every few months to swap according to season ? do you need that many clothes anyway ? What about shoes ? Or do you do a Jack Reacher and just wear a few until they wear out and then buy new??)

We have a storage locker and we do change over equipment and clothes, we carry a lot of clothes for all weathers, we have just collected ski gear for this trip. I have 3 pairs of boots + wellies walking boots trainers sandals and flip flops, oops now I feel bad The hardest thing I find is washing, I don’t like tumble drying my jumpers and I like to hand wash them, which is ok in the sun , but impossible in awful weather. I have a small slow cooker and a compact soup maker. Refillable gas bottles are a life saver too. We wish we had moved to France before Brexit, it’s difficult now, so we are undecided where to settle. Enjoy your travels, hope we catch up again x