Inspired Travels With Patti

Is the Traditional Life Actually Making You Unhappy?

• Patti Hunt • Season 2 • Episode 40

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What happens when the life you worked decades to build no longer feels fulfilling?

In this episode of Inspired Travels with Patti, Jess Walker shares her journey from a fast-paced 20+ year career in marketing and PR to launching her own consulting business and embracing full-time RV life with her husband.

Jess opens up about the fears, planning, downsizing, and mindset shifts that came with leaving behind a traditional lifestyle to pursue more freedom, flexibility, and meaningful experiences. From selling their home in Florida to building a business on the road, this conversation is packed with encouragement for anyone questioning whether the “normal” path is actually the right one for them.

Whether you dream of RV life, entrepreneurship, or simply making a major life change, this episode offers practical insights and inspiration to help you start mapping your next step.

In This Episode, We Cover:

  • The emotional reality of selling their home and downsizing
  • Starting a consulting business at 45 years old
  • The tradeoff between stability and freedom
  • Why waiting until retirement might not be the best plan
  • The importance of planning without letting fear stop you
  • Building a lifestyle centered around experiences instead of possessions

Connect with Jess Walker

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If this episode inspired you, share it with someone who’s been dreaming about making a big life change. And don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and follow Inspired Travels with Patti for more conversations about adventure, freedom, and living life fully.

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Traditional Life Questioned

SPEAKER_01

Most women are realizing the traditional life they work so hard for isn't actually making them happy. Jess, was there a moment when you realized your life needed to change?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. You know, being in marketing at PR, it's always been a very busy hustle and bustle type of environment. And, you know, that's been great for so many years. But when my husband retired, we realized we wanted to explore more, have some freedom and flexibility. And that's when I realized I really wanted to try and make some changes towards that that would let us live the life that we wanted to enjoy.

SPEAKER_01

And

Meet Jess Walker

SPEAKER_01

I want to welcome my guest to Inspire Travels with Patty. If you are new here, I created this podcast and YouTube channel to inspire you to live life fully. And that is for adventure, unique experiences, going out and exploring, and meeting incredible people. Today's guest, Jess Walker of Jess Lifestyle Marketing, has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, public relations, and strategic communications. She decided to make a career shift from working from somebody else, for working for someone else, to working for herself. She and her husband, Bennett, have been RVers for over six years and two years ago decided to go full-time. And during that time, they created social media and YouTube channel, The Walker's Wandering. Welcome, Jess Walker, to Inspire Travels with Patty.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for having me. It's so exciting to be on here. I love just hanging out with you and talking with you in general. So this is just a big bonus to that, too. And uh just excited to share, you know, our journey and you know, something that we never thought we'd be doing. And here we are today. So kind of the path that got us here.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And we get on and we start talking. I know we were on a call a couple days ago, actually, and an hour and a half flew by. So this is what it's about. I want to take from those conversations that we've been having that I know helped me and encouraged me and bring them to my listeners so that hopefully they will be encouraged. Now, this show is not to convince somebody to go full-time RVing, but if that's what you're thinking about, we'll give you some help in making some life-changing decisions.

Why RV Life Called

SPEAKER_01

We talked about that moment in the open on what it was that had you decide that you needed to make a life change. You said your husband, Bennett, retired. You guys are not of retirement age. I want that just to be known. Um, so so what was that conversation? What led up to this idea that the life you had planned, educated on, and worked so hard for was not the direction you wanted to continue to go in.

SPEAKER_00

You know, when I was going to school and pursuing my career, you know, I always just thought about, you know, the professional side of things. And while I was in it, that was definitely where I was at. I think a big shift for so many people obviously was the COVID pandemic, which pushed people to kind of reevaluate, you know, priorities, choices in life, choices and careers. And, you know, it did that for us too. He was still working. I obviously was still working too, but I was working from home and it forced me to slow down. Before that, I was at events every night, networking during the day, working, you know, just nonstop, always available. And to have that slow down was a nice shift for me. And then, of course, many years ago, um, you know, seeing when loved ones go through health, you know, challenges and stuff like that, it makes you stop and realize what's important. You know, I love my job, I love my career, but obviously I want to live and experience things and do that while we can, while we have our health. And so when he retired, he wanted to do a big long RV trip. We took three months outs out west and we loved it. And we came across people doing it full time, and then we started kind of toying with the idea over the next few years, seeing how it worked for us to be together for so long, because you're 24-7 together, um, and talking about it. Because the only thing we were in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Florida at the time. That's where we were living. And the only thing that held us there was my job that I was working at the time. Our kids are grown, they're in different parts of the country. We didn't have family there, and it's a very popular place, so it was very, you know, touristy, very traffic driven. And um, we just thought, well, let's let's, you know, do it. And it was it was a fun conversation because you're like, well, I want to do it. Do you really want to do it? Are you just humoring me? Um and so we took a year, once we decided we were gonna do that, we took a year to plan and and make this happen. And now we've been full-time for two years. Um, so essentially three years ago, we thought, okay, we've got to start lining up doctors and mail and voting and all of the things that you don't really think about when you're stationary because it's just there. And uh, you have to be a little bit more intentional when you're traveling. Right. It was just a fun transition to to take that leap. And our girls are in different parts of the country, so it helps us to spend significant time with them when we're doing this. And it really was just between seeing family, um, struggles with health and all that, and and just realizing that the body, our bodies need to slow down was kind of that shit that pushed us towards it.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And for people who don't know my backstory, I was actually a teacher for 20 years. So I had gone to school, had my master's, and then went on and had 45 credits. So I was like a hop, skip, and a jump from a doctorate degree. And I don't say that to brag in any way, shape, or form. But after 20 years, I said, no more. It just wasn't the lifestyle. I was working now. I loved working with kids. The school system was broken, it still is, I believe. Um, but there was that point where I said, I am just working to work, and I wasn't fulfilled, I wasn't feeling happy. And so, you know, I told my husband, like, one more year and I'm dumb. We need to figure it out. And I'll be honest, it was scary as heck. Oh, yeah. We didn't have a great plan, I'll be honest with you. I do recommend a plan, and we'll talk a little bit about that, and and just made that jump. And then, like you said, during COVID, seeing people getting ill, seeing people passing away, you start to realize life is short. And I had somebody say the other day, unless you're in your 20s, life is short, kind of feeling. And that makes sense because we just don't know. And so that isn't to scare people. I don't want people to live in fear, but that's to have people look at am I really living this fulfilled life or waiting for that day I retire, that day I could go on vacation, take the trip. So we want to talk more about that. Full-time.

Planning The Leap

SPEAKER_01

Now you took a year to plan your full-time RV life. I took about two and a half months, which I don't necessarily recommend. It turned out, but let's talk a little bit about it. And I think the main reason people don't make that change is the fear. Yeah. So let's talk about it. Was it scary for you guys? Did you have that fear?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, and no. I think if you know, you get excited. It's it's something completely new, completely foreign. I mean, if you'd asked us five years ago if we would be living in an RB, you know, I would have said, what are you talking about? And uh, of course, me in college and growing up, if you'd have asked me that too, I'd be like, you know, living in a trailer out traveling around? Probably not. Um, but once we made that decision, we talked to our realtor because we owned a house in uh the lot next to the house in Cape Coral. We said, talk to us about the market. If we want to be on the road by April of 24, which was our target day, when do we need to list the house? What do we need to prepare for it? You know, um, getting things cleaned out. I mean, we went, we had a big house for two people and loved our house. It was great for entertaining. We loved our neighbors, we had a great neighborhood group, and so we had regular parties and stuff. And um I think we had about 2,300 square feet of space. It was a big house, had a pool, I you know, just we had a good setup and loved loved what we did then. Um, so trying to figure out the timing on that. And but that meant we also had to empty out a very large house um as well. And we do have a 10 by 10 storage and we have it um with like sentimental things. You know, you you have photo albums, you have things passed down, some furniture pieces, so very small things that we kept because eventually we will have to get off the road. It's inevitable, whether it's health or just tired on um of doing it, and I doubt it'll ever be tired of it. Um, but we we knew that we needed to plan for that. So multiple garage sales, um, trying to get the house cleaned out. And then, you know, looking at okay, how would we get our mail? How would we get our, you know, what are our driver's license, our state of residence, and all of that. And um, there's some really good businesses and organizations out there that offer these as services. And so, you know, we work towards that. Um, the other thing is doctor's appointments. Um we have family in Gainesville. That's where my husband was born and raised. And, you know, we spend a lot of time there. And my dad is just about an hour and a half away. And so we thought, well, let's make that a quote important uh home base. So we tried to get all of our doctors and stuff set up here so that when we're visiting, we just pile them all into a month or two and and knock it out. Um, but you just have to think about some of those things too. Um, our dog, we travel with a dog, you know, thinking of her vet visits and her doctor's appointments. Um, you know, so that year was a year of planning and working with the realtor to get the house, you know, listed and in the right price range and everything, and and just get it all lined up where hopefully, you know, it worked out to to happen at the perfect time. Um, and then the the lot sold separately, so we kind of had to have two real estate listings. So it was just a lot to kind of work through. But my husband's a big planner, um, and so it's definitely up his wheelhouse in alley to do that. And he was retired, so that was his focus. Um, and then I was still working for a company at the time. And our initial thought was I would still work for them and just go back to Southwest Florida for a couple months in their busy season. But once we hit the road, it just was so hard to know that I have to be back in this restricted area. I had to do certain things. And I love that the people there, the job was a great job. It just I realized that I just wanted that freedom. And uh we were working hard for

Friends Think Homeless

SPEAKER_00

it.

SPEAKER_01

And so the whole thing is the planning that at any stage people throw their hands up and say, This is too much, this is too difficult. Um, you talked about having a lot of friends. What were people saying? What I know I had people think we were homeless. Honestly, I had somebody reach out and said, Hey, if you need a place to stay, and it was like, No, we're not homeless. This is a choice. So, what what were your friends and neighbors saying about this crazy idea? Because to most people, I'm selling everything, I'm going full-time on the road. That is crazy to a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah, it is a foreign, foreign idea for so many people. And um, we waited to tell our neighbors very last because we just felt so guilty because we knew somebody else was gonna have to be in the neighborhood with them. Like, we just that was my biggest dread was telling them, you know, at the end that, hey, we're not gonna be around. Um, and so yeah, people had that question. They're like, Well, where are you gonna live? And I'm like, in the RB, like what we do for those three months, you know, when we're traveling out west or out, you know, up north, we're just gonna do that every month, like somewhere different. And, you know, when we say, Oh, we're gonna be home for Thanksgiving or this, they're like, Well, where are you gonna stay? And we're like, Well, probably the RB park, you know, or a resort or something like that. So it is. Uh, people, especially when we first took off. I we had family that like to tell people that we were becoming homeless, like you said. Right. Um, and it is, it's just, you know, it's difficult for people to understand. Um, there's like a a family condo, you know, it's on the market right now, but they're always like, well, if you need a place to stay, you can stay there. I'm like, we have a place to stay. Right. You know, and and and people, it's it's interesting too when you pick this lifestyle, your house is always with you. So when you have to travel and go to a hotel or like if you needed to get out and move into a condo, it's just you gotta take all your stuff. It's a lot of work. And I'm like, the house is fine, like in the RB, and it's you know, it's like 360 square feet or something. I don't know. It's you know, it's it's it's small, but it's ours, and it's you know, it makes you really evaluate what you need in life. Um, because when we started doing that garage sales stuff, I walk through the house every day as we'd get ready for an upcoming one. We had several, and I just start becomes addicting. I just start grabbing things off the wall. I'm like, this can go in this weekend's sale, and this can go, and I just start throwing everything out there, and you know, it becomes obsessive, you're excited about it, right?

SPEAKER_01

And and you know, talking about this idea of what people think. First of all, once they get past the idea that no, I'm not homeless, I'm good. They a lot of people just can't get that idea of living in an RV. I'll be totally honest. Before I moved into the RV, I had been in one, and I say this all the time on the podcast, for seven total nights. We would take the RV, go for a weekend to an RV resort, hang out with friends. That was my experience. So even I was kind of like, all right, this doesn't make sense necessarily to me. And you get past that. And I just jumped on this like, yeah, this is cool. I have my bed everywhere I go, I have my espresso machine, I have my stuff. And yes, while it's small, whole nother conversation because now you have these new places, you have the outside. So while there's the people who don't quite get it and understand and almost look at us with judgment, which is fine. There's also people that are envious. They're they I've had so many people say, I wish I could do that. That sounds so cool. I've always wanted to do that. And I wanted to bring you on because what we're here to get people to understand, it may not be full-time in an RV. We're not trying to push that. But if there's something that you say, wow, I'd love to try that, I'd love to experience that, just do

Starting Her Own Business

SPEAKER_01

it. Now, in this time frame, you also took a career that you worked 20 years plus on because you had the education piece, you worked for a company for 20 years. And at some point you said, yeah, I'm gonna go on my own. What was that like? What was that moment that you were like, not gonna work for this company anymore?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, same there. That was probably scarier than than transitioning into RV life. Um, I would have to say, you know, because I I was 45 at the time. I'd never in my life thought I was gonna own a business or be a consultant or contractor. I thought, you know, it's always just easier to work for a company, let them deal with, you know, taxes and benefits and all of those things. And I just realized, you know, the the freedom and the flexibility to be able to be where we want to be or where we need to be, because sometimes that's the case with, you know, family and loved ones, you might need to be helping out with them, um, was far more value to me than a big salary or, you know, this huge benefits package. And so that was the other thing we'd also figured out too, because when my husband retired, um, he put me on his benefits. Um, and so that way I always had that. I didn't have to get that separate. So luckily I didn't have to do that when I launched my consulting business. But it was exciting, and it's one of those things I can relate to the memes that I see every day that say, I'm a business owner. This is the best day ever. And 10 minutes later, I'm like, oh my goodness, what have I done? You know, and um, you know, you just go through that wave of emotions, but just knowing and hanging on to whatever's meant to be will be, no matter your beliefs, your backgrounds, you know, just knowing that things ultimately work out the way they're supposed to. And I know my husband was very supportive, and he said, Look, it we'll probably have a year where you're not making any money, but let's, you know, let's do it. And and luckily for me, the relationships that I had built through my career in Southwest Florida, I was able to get a few people that were like, Oh, you're doing this now on the side. I let me just give you some projects that I want you to help with. And so again, it's not massive, you know, salary, but it's enough for us to enjoy what we're doing. And and like I said, to me, the experiences outweigh any like big dollar salary because we're seeing so much, there is so much in this country. I mean, we haven't even touched on going, you know, abroad, just being in this country, there's still so many things that we want to go see. And places, every place typically we go to, we're like, we didn't have enough time here, we've got to come back.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

And so having knowing that if I did my own consulting, I could control my schedule because I know I have deadlines, I have things I need to meet. Sometimes that might mean that I'm doing work on the weekend when places are busier, because on a weekday, you could go to a state park or a national park and it not be near as crowded. Uh, or I might be doing work in the evenings, you know. And so it just gives us that chance to explore and and get out. But it is it's still even today. I mean, next month, June of this year will be two years that I launched it. And uh it's it's an exciting thing, and I still can't believe it's been two years either.

SPEAKER_01

So

Map Your Next Steps

SPEAKER_01

and it's like you said, it's still change and the unknown could be scary. And I want to acknowledge that for people, things worked out, they seem like they worked out rather easily. You were able to get health insurance. I could hear people saying to, you know, saying, Well, I don't have health insurance, I'd have to work on that, or I don't have the support, or and all of these yeah but kind of things. Yeah, yeah, it is kind of scary. You make the decision that, like you said, the freedom outweighed the scariness, the hey, I'm starting a business over, I might go a year or more without making little to anybody. Sometimes you're spending more money than you're making. Yeah. And and if it's worth it, it's like you said, for me, uh, traveling full-time in an RV with all of the issues and things that you have to deal with in RV breakdown, I will say over and over again, it was worth it. I saw things, I met people, I had experiences that I can't really even explain to people.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Because once you get to that point where you're not on vacation and you're being and you're in that place, it's a whole different thing. And so again, whether people are looking to just take that trip or make something of a career change or start that business while they're still quote unquote working, you find a path, find a way to do it. And that's the message here.

SPEAKER_00

It might not be that you get to do what you want to do tomorrow, but if you know this is what I really want to work towards, you know, like you're saying, find that path, build that map of saying, okay, if I do this in the next three months or this in the next six months, that gets me this much closer to it. And not saying to wait till retirement necessarily if you want to do certain things. Like, you know, I've mentioned this was never in the cards for us. Like, neither of them, one of us ever thought, oh, we'll just live in an RV and drive around. Um, but you know, we when we decided on it, we knew, okay, as much as you're excited and you want to say, let's go tomorrow, like there's things to to put together for it. And and, you know, even with my business, like when we started it, you know, in this lifestyle too, you you still have to be budget, you know, conscious. And that meant maybe not doing as many nights out to dinner, or maybe, you know, cutting back on things until we got to that point. And that's where you just have to plan, whether, like you said, it's a long-term or a short-term thing. You know, it's all achievable if you just try to really think about how to the steps and not the overall overwhelm.

SPEAKER_01

I'm just gonna reiterate: you have a vision, you think about what you want, you plan as best you can. I'm a planner. I really sometimes all the best laid plans are yeah, you know, the saying it's like sometimes you just have to let things flow, and life happens, and you have to appreciate the things that come into your life that are great, that are often unexpected, and get through those. Things that hey, I didn't see that coming kind of thing. Exactly. Um, so there's there's that. I just want to admit, I've never really been that flexible person that didn't have an idea of the plan, what was going to happen next. And in life, that doesn't always go so well. So I I hope from this, people are taking out whatever that is they're thinking about doing, whatever they're looking to do. Just start by admitting, first of all, I think it's admitting that this is something you want to do. And and then start down that path. Talk to people who support you. Talk to people who don't say, no, you can't do that, or no, you shouldn't do that, or what are you thinking? Moving into an RV kind of thing. No, talk to the people who are supportive.

Jess Lifestyle Marketing

SPEAKER_01

So tell people how they can get in touch with you and your business now, just lifestyle marketing. Talk a little bit about what you do for people.

SPEAKER_00

So my background is heavy in public relations, which is more of that organic and what we call earned media. Um, and so it's helping companies of any kind I work with, campgrounds, salons, restaurants, uh, magazines, all across the board, different industries, of getting their brand out there and getting awareness to their target audiences, whether it's through press releases, social media, building a strategic communications plan. There's just multiple ways to accomplish getting that awareness. And that's where I come in to kind of help them either map it out so that they can do the steps or do those steps with them along the way to help them get to that point. And being myself as well, you're you're going to only work with me. I'm not looking to grow this to be like a huge business. It's just something I want to do to support myself and to support others. And uh, so it's more, you know, you're always going to work with me. Um, and I can do long-term ongoing projects or I can do it just a single project, you know, and I talk to people about what their their goals and their needs are and what their budgets are and try to find a way to to find that middle ground. Um, and it's, you know, it's exciting to me because in doing this, I'm getting to do the things that I love. Um 20 years, yes, is great. And I've done a lot of different industry work, um, applying my skills to retirement and higher education and you know, accounting and all of these, you know, have used my skills. But anytime you're working for a company, you know, there's always gonna be things you have to do that aren't really up your your alley, not in the wheelhouse that you want to do. And where with this, of course, you have the the tasks that you have to do, admin stuff, bookkeeping stuff, things like that. But for the most part, what I pick and choose to do are the things that just make me happy and that I thrive on. Um and and and flexibility with my time, you know. It's it's I might be emailing from you know, out in the middle of nowhere or something, but I'm usually pretty reachable unless there's no signal. And I always try to make sure that that clients and people know that if they need to get me um just call, email, text anytime. Um, and then my website will have my information on there, and it's pretty simple. It's just lifestyle marketing.com. Um, and people can find, you know, all of the social links, the contact links there, and and the number on there is my cell phone. So, you know, I encourage people to reach out if they have questions. I always do consultations without charge, you know, because you you can't really give anybody any insight until you know about them and what they're looking for. And so it's always nice to just have a conversation and see what's out there.

SPEAKER_01

So for those people, not only do we talk about people who are looking for a shift, maybe in their career, a job, a thing they're doing. I knew you and I have talked, you all have already been so supportive to me in my new role. For those people who aren't aware, I am working with Happy Grounds, and they are a group of AT campgrounds. I'm super excited. I'm getting ready to leave and go back up and see a bunch of the campgrounds. Actually, a couple days after this, the recording of this interview, and you've already been incredibly supportive. And so I am going to encourage people to reach out to you. As you said, you do a consultation, you don't charge for it. Um, and then people could see, like, oh, I have this idea, this thought about a business, or I have a business, and here's where I'm struggling. And I know if there is something that you are not able to help with, you will make suggestions of recommendations. So I want to encourage people. So, and the website I will put in the show notes for

Final Advice And Wrap

SPEAKER_01

people. Um let's one final suggestion. What's a final thought for people who maybe aren't totally happy with where life has taken them?

SPEAKER_00

Everybody has been there, and it's definitely not a singular thing to somebody, but my my suggestion with them to them would be find and think about what would make you happy, and then think about the steps to get you there. Because one thing we all have to deal with is life is short. And no matter if you think I'll do this when I retire, I'll do this later, uh, you're not guaranteed that. And so that is my big thought is is you know, if there's something you can do sooner and it's gonna make you happy or let you do something that you enjoy, embrace that and find a way to get to that. Um, is is the biggest recommendation I can say, pick, and give.

SPEAKER_01

And I couldn't agree more. And I'm gonna encourage people to reach out on social media. We'll have that in the show notes, reach out to you. They can see what you're up to, they can connect with you on social media as well as going to your website. I'm encouraging people to call you, get on a call, and you know, find that direction, find that that, you know, like what's next for me kind of thing. And I want to thank people for listening. And it is really helpful. It is so helpful for me to have people hit that follow button, the subscribe button. So whether you're on a podcast or you're on the YouTube channel, I also have social media, Instagram and Facebook. Everything's under Inspire Travels with Patty. And I just want to thank you just so much for taking the time to be on and sharing your experiences and telling us how it was. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. It was such a pleasure for me. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

And I hope this episode inspired you, my listeners, in some way. And if it did, I hope you'll connect on Inspired Travels with Patty because living life fully is about taking that one simple step.