Family packs up and takes life on the road
Angela and Richard Hoy are part-time digital nomads.
About six months a year they travel in their recreational vehicle, maintain two online companies and home school three children.
The Hoys, both in their late 30s, are able to successfully juggle their work and home lives because their business is completely virtual.
“We just push information around with our computers,” said Angela from their home base in Bangor, Maine.
The Hoys own Book Locker.com, a publishing company, and Writers Weekly.com, an e-zine for freelance writers.
“I started Writers Weekly as a hobby back in 1997,” said Angela. “It kind of exploded and that’s how Book Locker came about.”
Book Locker provides an infrastructure for more than 900 self-published authors to help them market and sell their books in both electronic and print copies.
“Our e-books are delivered automatically over the Internet,” said Angela, “and our printer in Tennessee drop ships our print books directly to customers.”
Because the Hoys don’t actually touch any physical products, they have the flexibility to take both their business and their family on the road for extended trips.
It all came together about two years ago when the Hoys purchased a 24-foot, 1989 Damon Ultrasport Class C for what they thought would be weekend and vacation trips.
“On the way home from the dealership,” recalled Angela, “I jokingly said to Richard, ‘I bet you’d just love it if we took the kids out of school and hit the road full-time.’ He looked at me and said, ‘I would if you let me.’ ”
By 6 o’clock that evening, Richard had researched possibilities for online home schooling.
“Two weeks later our two middle children were out of school and we were on the road,” said Angela.
In addition to Richard and Angela, the RV became a rolling home to Ali, then 13; Frank, then 11; Max, then 2; and Percy, the family dog.
Their oldest son, Zach, who had just entered college, stayed in Bangor to watch the house, forward the mail and feed the cat.
On the road, the Hoys kept connected to their business by using “Wi-Fi” (wireless Internet) access points. As backup they had a cellular data service, cell phones and a standard dial-up telephone card.
“We had talked for years about one day retiring, selling the house, getting an RV and hitting the road,” said Angela.
“Then,” she added, “we realized it was something we really wanted to do now. Our business was 100 percent portable and our kids were excited about doing it, so why wait another 30 years.”
Since starting on their RV adventures, the Hoys have taken several extended trips and last year they upgraded their motor home to a 23-foot, 2002 Winnebago Adventurer.
Expenses
On a typical day the Hoys cover about 250 miles, averaging about six miles per gallon.
“Our daily driving time is limited to about five hours,” said Angela.
On their last journey their average RV-related expenses amounted to $96 a day, including $65 for fuel and $25 for campground fees with full hookups and Wi-Fi access.
“We only ‘boondocked’ one night and that was at a truck stop,” said Angela. “We had some mechanical difficulties that day and we were all dead tired, so we just pulled in and went to bed.”
This year they have temporarily suspended their travels because Angela is due to deliver their fifth child, Nicholas, in June.
“We probably won’t take the RV out again until late summer,” she said. “And even then, we’ll probably just stick to the New England area.”
The family’s long-range plans include a cross-country trip to California and up the coast to Washington and back to Maine.
“RVing is a wonderful way to spend time with our kids, see this fabulous country and have the memories forever,” said Angela
For more information
The Hoys can be reached online through their virtual businesses www.booklocker.com and www.writersweekly.com. Read more about their travel adventures at www.wirelesstrips.com.