The Purpose; How and Why Gopezing Around Came To Be

The Purpose of Gopezing Around:

Gopezing Around started as an idea to document our successes and failures as we begin the adventure of RV life, homesteading, homeschooling, and learning about each other and the world around us. We wanted to be able to share our lifestyle for those worried about making a change, to show that while it’s not the easiest, it doesn’t have to be the hardest either!

How it started:

So in May of 2018 we lost our home. Unfortunately, Albert’s father passed away from cancer in 2011, and during his treatments we fell behind on rent. Our landlady was understanding and allowed us to remain in the house as we had resumed paying as soon as we could. Unfortunately, we went from three people working to one working around this same time, and due to this we were not able to pay two month’s worth of rent each month to catch up, which resulted in our rent being backdated and partial payments of 1/3 rent being paid without receipts. In 2018 our landlady claimed that we hadn’t paid rent in 6 months and had us evicted.

With no other options, we sent Lola and Tita to stay with family while looking for a place. My good friend was able to rent us a room, and allowed us (Lola, Tita, Ari, Albert, and I) to live in their extra bedroom. We looked and looked for about a year before they needed to move to Vegas, so we had to find another option. I applied and applied and applied, but nobody was willing to rent to a family of 5 with a recent eviction, regardless of income or circumstances surrounding the eviction, and because Albert and I performed 1099 contract work rather than W2 work, we were unable to qualify for a home loan. This left us with what seemed like no options, until we started looking at RVs. We knew it would be a tight fit, but at least we could keep our family together, and after all, we had lived 5 to a single bedroom for a year, this was actually an upgrade!

So we got an RV and bounced around looking for a semi-permanent place to park it near Arianna’s school so we could keep the disruption to her life at a minimum…. That’s when we found that RV parks won’t rent to people with a previous eviction either. It’s like we can’t get a break! So we got gas for the generator to be able to run the ACs and cope with the heat of a California summer, and parked near our old neighborhood. We got knocks on the door at least every other day from the police, sometimes twice a day. People said there were people parked in an RV doing drugs, dumping their sewage in the street, throwing trash on lawns… all lies, but the police didn’t care. All they saw were some homeless assholes slumming in an RV and dirtying up their pretty streets. One time we parked at a community park on a nice weekend day that wasn’t too hot so that Ari could play. Albert was out driving for Uber, and he was the one who moved our 36 foot, class A, 1989 Fleetwood Bounder. Since he was working, trying to help us to save enough money for a down payment on a house, we remained at the park overnight. That, I discovered, was a HUGE mistake.

Around midnight there was a loud banging on the door, our RV was surrounded by six or seven cop cars with flashing lights and they yelled at us to come out. I had Annie, Zena, and Ari stay inside because I was concerned for them. You see, all of them are minorities, but I’m fat, blonde, white chick. So I inched the door open and stepped outside, closing it carefully behind me so that my daughter couldn’t see the numerous guns aimed at me as I stepped out. The lead officer informed me that they had received a call saying someone had set up a meth lab in an RV at the park, and that we needed to move. I told him that Albert was working and I couldn’t drive the unit. Thankfully he understood that the call was bullshit, and had his fellow officers holster their weapons while we spoke. He gave us until 9am to move the rig, which would allow Albert to finish driving. Good thing, too, since he was in San Francisco, a whole two hours away from where we were parked. As a white person, that was the first time I truly worried for my family in the hands of police officers. Now I don’t even let Albert drive alone…

Not terribly long after that, I managed to find a way for us to stay in a semi-permanent location within the bay while Ari finished school. Albert and I got to work and started ferreting away savings and making plans. Then COVID hit, and we had to hunker down. Thankfully, since we have a place to park that covers electric, water, internet, and sewage, our monthly bills are almost nonexistent, so the savings we had in place were enough to keep us afloat while I worked on my various online projects to start generating income. As we were able to spend more time together as a family, Albert and I realized that we were so lost in the grind of survival that we were missing the beauty of life! We decided that we wanted a more laid-back pace, and with all of our online ventures, we can have that from anywhere! And so the hunt for a piece of land to call our own closer to Lola’s sister in Southern Illinois began! To the Ozarks! To family travel! To offgrid homesteading and peace! Our journey begins…