My husband and I couldn't afford to buy a home in Nashville, so we moved into an RV instead. We've been able to upgrade our vehicle, but haven't made the leap to homeownership.
- Kirsten and Devin Trout wanted to live in Nashville but couldn't afford to rent or buy a home.
- In 2017, they bought their first RV for $18,000 and relocated it to a campground north of the city.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kirsten Trout, 29, who, along with her husband, Devin, live in an RV to avoid paying high housing costs in Nashville, Tennessee. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
My husband, Devin, and I were born and raised in Delaware. We both grew up in normal households and never pictured ourselves getting into RV living.
Devin is a touring musician and has traveled all over the US and different countries. Whenever he has an upcoming show or rehearsal, he's typically flown out by artists. Due to this, we never thought we would have to leave Delaware.
But after returning from a trip to Nashville in 2017, he listened to a podcast that inspired him to want to live in the city. He later called me to discuss the show and it dawned upon us that we should pursue living there.
The next day, we looked into Nashville's real-estate market and realized it was expensive. The homes that we were interested in cost around $500,000, while more reasonably priced houses were located in areas that seemed unsafe. I was fearful that if we moved to Tennessee, we were going to spend all of our time working just to afford a home.
We thought about getting an apartment because we didn't want to commit to purchasing a home, but even those were expensive. Studio apartments cost over $1,000 and many didn't have amenities or utilities included in the pricing. We also have three dogs and I worried we would not be able to afford pet rent.
We began to think we weren't supposed to live in Nashville.
One day my husband was on YouTube, and he discovered a couple that lived in a renovated RV. He asked me: "What do you think about moving into an RV?"
At first, I did not want to live in a mobile home, but my husband encouraged me to be more open-minded. When I saw how the YouTube couple transformed their RV, I was inspired to take a leap of faith.
Our dreams became a reality
In October 2017, we purchased our first RV, a 300-square-foot 2008 Keystone Montana, from a dealership for $18,000. I wanted an RV that felt just like a house, and this specific model had a king size bed, and a bathroom that included a toilet and shower.
Living in an RV for the first time felt like culture shock. We didn't know what we were doing and everyone was a stranger. We also didn't get rid of enough things during our move from Delaware, so our dishes kept falling out of cabinets and the RV felt too small.
Some of our unexpected costs related to not having a surge protector. It led to our heater breaking and power outages. I had to learn how to tackle projects on my own, but the experience ultimately made me more confident.
Fifth-wheel living is not for everyone, which is why I encourage others to do their own research and make sure they're making the right decision. I have had to learn a lot of things related to the RV lifestyle the hard way. We have some years under our belt, but we are still learning.
We love the RV lifestyle, and have no plans to give it up just yet
Our plan was to live in an RV for one year before pursuing homeownership, but we fell in love with the lifestyle. As of 2023, we have lived in Nashville for five-and-half years and have purchased four different RVs.
In 2020, we upgraded to our latest RV, a 2021 Riverstone 391FSK. To afford the purchase, we're making monthly payments on the vehicle. We don't share how much the RV costs because it gives others false expectations of what they can or cannot afford.
Our new RV has the same layout as our third, but has residential features like a full-size washer and dryer, refrigerator, and dishwasher. I also have a convection microwave and a four-burner stove that sits on an island. It makes a huge difference when Devin and I are cooking. We're no longer running into each other.
The RV is parked on private property in Nashville and we pay $500 a month in rent, which includes WiFi, water, and sewer expenses.
We've found success on social media as RV influencers
In 2018, I created an Instagram account to document our RV experience, and in 2020, launched a TikTok channel. We now have about 830,000 followers between both sites. In 2022, we began monetizing our accounts.
In the beginning, I put myself on a high pedestal and thought I should be vlogging everyday. I'm more relaxed now because our pages are blowing up. In the last eight months our Instagram followers have grown by 200,000 and working with brands has become more frequent.
Being successful on social media is a blessing but we do face judgment from others. For my mental health, we have hired someone to filter comments on our social-media pages.
While we do get negative comments, there are still a lot of people that tell us we've helped them get into the RV lifestyle and achieve financial freedom — it's why I continue posting to my pages.
Living in an RV has given us financial freedom. Because our expenses have drastically decreased, I now work part time in tech. We are also saving up money to purchase a home someday.
For now, we plan to continue living in our RV. If we do eventually buy property, we'd probably get a home that we could fix up and then rent out to a tenant. Our eyes are open and observing Nashville's real-estate market, but we don't have any immediate plans. I don't want to rush into something and then grow resentful.