I've weighing my options for moving out of my parent's place lately. The thing is, I live in the Bay Area of California, where the cost of rent can get pretty bad for someone who is currently working at a restaurant. Through my research, I came across "Van Life", a trend that's been taking off lately.
With the cost of living going up, some people are resorting to living in vans to save money. These can be simply covered trucks, to mini-vans with a bed in the back, to tricked-out Sprinter vans with solar panels, a kitchenette, etc.
There's plenty of pros and cons to this lifestyle; you don't have to pay for rent or utilities and you're more free to travel without having to spend money on hotels, but at the same time finding overnight parking can be a chore and if you get into an accident, you're pretty fucked because you've lost both your transportation AND your home all at once.
What I want to know is what Facepunch thinks about all this. Does this seem like a cool concept? Have you or someone you know tried Van Life? Can you see this as something you'd do for a short while or long-term? What kind of vehicles do you think would be the best on a budget?
http://www.adventurewednesdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Allivanfamily.jpg
https://www.climbing.com/.image/t_share/MTQ5MzEzNzkzOTQyMzY1OTAz/ellison-20170716-09323.jpg
https://www.wweek.com/resizer/t61YdcetxcKagxTKNqoPKHm0S7Y=/1200x0/filters:quality(100)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-wordpress-client-uploads/wweek/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/26140528/lede_VanLife10_coOutsideVan_4435.jpg
There's a full-length documentary on the subject here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OniYdmH6QKA
Is this just the trendy version of living in your parents driveway in a 1970s Winnebago you bought off craigslist?
I've always been really tempted by this lifestyle but what worries me most, especially with climate catastrophe looming, is how easily your new home would be destroyed.
A house can withstand gale force winds, torrential rain and sleet and hailstones, likely to stand for hundreds of years.
If you live in a van all it takes is one dickhead to T-bone you and you're homeless
There is a certain romanticism to it that's been drawing me to it, but at this point I personally think this is something I'd only try for a year or two just to help save money towards paying off my student loans. Plus afterwards the van could still be used as a great camping vehicle.
I think the issue will be slow and/or expensive internet.
You can drive away from disasters.
From what I've seen most people in the Van Life movement tend to go to places with free WiFi a lot, like Starbucks or Libraries.
Also it helps if you have a gym membership because it gives you access to the bathrooms and showers.
If it helps save money I suppose, do it. I often wonder how much money I'd have saved by now after over a decade of renting if I'd never paid any rent ever.
Still, sad that working people even need to think about resorting to this shit, it's basically one step above being homeless.
This is probably gonna sound a little on-the-nose but glorifying and romanticizing what is essentially a band-aid for a VERY serious problem is such a uniquely American thing.
I mean it sounds practical if you're in dire straits, but those instagram-y filtered pics passing it off as a ~quirky~ ~free-spirited~ lifestyle choice seems really tone deaf to people who don't have a choice about living in their vehicles. Welcome to 2019, I guess, where even homelessness is being gentrified
I was quite heavily invested in vanlife for a while. Still am, just not on a practical level since I'm back in the UK.
I lived in a van solo for a week and a half before embarking on a month and a half long road trip with a few other people. Besides obvious issues like electricity and internet (Both of which are solvable in various ways) it was extremely cosy and a nice way of living. If I had an office space as well as solar panels I feel like it'd be possible full time.
The idea of living in a van is extremely viable. Even in places like Minnesota and Montreal during the winter. I've met a bunch of people that manage it in things like converted sprinters, converted school busses and even just a simple van with a trailer.
The images that romantasize this shit are awful, sure, but once you take notice of the patterns it you can just appreciate some of them in a different way. The people that post these are usually posers and half of them don't even live in the van they post about. I like to follow more grounded accounts on Instagram cause they're more wholesome and genuine. I even have a generic van posting instagram myself.
https://www.instagram.com/vansofmontreal/
Living in it is hard though, but you have to really want to do it too. It's not all sunshine, dogs & smiles there will be times it's -20 outside, the car wont start and the generator is out and you have to stay in a Motel overnight until a service truck can come and help you out. Moving into a van is both freeing, cheaper and liberating in the same way it's oppressive, cramped and can drive people insane if they're not ready for it.
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/111492/10905e19-02d1-4187-ae11-866f3619d337/image.png
One of my friends is a professional photographer and two others might as well be and this is the kind of photos we took. These van life things are trying to sell you something usually and the vanlife is a facade for it.
What Vanlife isn't:
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/111492/ff886dfa-64e4-4c39-ab24-a7a1e8aa9082/image.png
A more realistic depiction of what vanlife usually is (White flourescent lights at night)
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/111492/daeb81dc-8892-4119-ba8b-195bd4d5cd1f/image.png
It really is a very personal choice if you want to dedicate to something like this. At the end of the day you technically have a home you can call yours and move anywhere, with the obvious downsides being electricity (unless you can hookup) and internet (again, unless you can hookup). Both of which make you stationary.
The good thing is unless you live in CA or VC the upfront and every day costs will be the same regardless of where you park it.
I'd like to think in a few years I'll live in a school bus.
The Bay Area is full of what are basically hoovervilles, it's shocking to see what my hometown has become over the years.
To be fair, Van Life actually got its start in Europe and is only now catching on in North America. Canada is also seeing more Van lifers as well.
No one but the 1% will be able to own a home in 20 years.
I see van life the way ambitious people see mansions. God I'm trying so hard I just can't find a running van in my price range and in my area. I might just end up buying a small camper and a cheap truck. I've lived in a pickup truck/w topper before and that was just like, homelessness not really fixing it up or anything so I already know I'd be able to hack sleeping outside in public (topper had no locks).
I also grew up with midwestern metal/punk tour culture so I'm quite fond of the idea of a permanent/long term road trip. I wanna see something other than cornfields and flat horizons. I wanna see a coast. I wanna travel a long distance but take my time. I wanna sleep in national parks. I wanna sleep in walmart parking lots. I wanna sell artwork out of my vehicle in the parking lots for festivals and then pack up and travel to the next festival. I want a van dog.
You have a fairly romantisized version of vanlife in your head, it's got these moments but remember you have to endure the other stuff as well.
Also the midwest is beautiful just get tf out of corn territory and up to the UP eh
I mean it's a comment on an internet forum why wouldn't I only bring up the potential highlight moments? When you talk about your dreams do you talk about the mundane or negative stuff?
Gee I'm so excited for inaffordable gas prices. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no friends or family to help out. Having to cut back on all of my electronic usage because electricity is limited. Cant wait to get told I cant sleep somewhere and have to find a new location in a place I've never been while already tired. Super excited for not knowing where to shower, or showering out of a cold bag. One day I hope to poop in a bucket!
Sorry if this comes off rude, it isn't meant to be. It's just that I've been encountering a lot bullshit in real life when talking about this. I'm getting real tired of saying the phrase, "well actually I'm shopping around for a van if you know of anybody" and people responding like I've asked them if they could help me find some crack to smoke. It's very frustrating to open someones eyes to a new concept and then have them suddenly be experts on why nobody could ever do this and by happy. I get that this isn't for everybody, but that doesn't mean someone can convince me I'm going to regret it.
I'm on your side friend. I didn't mean anything negative by it just good to not get engrossed in the romantic aspect of it. OP was asking about it and I just thought it was best if we give him both sides.
In semi-related news, I now remember pissing in a bottle several times at night lol.
Funny because my brother just but a camper for his truck to avoid paying rent and his buddy bought an old UHAUL box truck and renovated it to be a room with a kitchen in it.
https://charleston.com/media/com_jbusinessdirectory/pictures/companies/237/uhaul02.jpg
I kind of adore the idea of it all, and the idea of having the freedom to roam, but I feel like it would get old quick. Like those people who live in tiny houses or move ~off grid~ in a Yurt because of some trendy Pintrest page. I feel like its gotta be something you're dedicated to and fully understand the risks and non-glamorous sides of. I think it would be cool to just go wherever you want whenever you want, though. It's sorta like living in a sailboat but with wheels on it. At that point I'd probably personally just rather live in a sailboat.
I probably don't have the balls to do it, but if you understand the risks, more power to ya.
#rubbertramp
I'm not a rich trust fund baby so unfortunately I need a job and an actual address.
Once I was getting into my street-parked car and the guy parked next to me was getting into his too, a minivan. He opened it up and basically jumped onto a mattress in the back, kicked off his shoes, and turned on a fan he had to air it out. This was san francisco. I got he impression he was just a guy living and working in the city, but slept in his van. Not ""vanlife"" but still doin it to it.
Due to a recent natural disaster on florida me and my gf are currently living in this
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/150670/d03946ee-eca9-451f-896e-ef5f9cd5fd67/20190116_021450.jpg
It's a one-room camper with a small bathroom. Admittedly it is quite cozy and we have all of our needs met although the bathroom is a bit uncomfortable. Best of luck to ya.
Living in a van/truck costs money for upkeep (gas/food/cooking gas/ registration/ insurance/ toilet chemicals) and a good solar setup is $500 (panels/batteries/ charge controller/ inverter)
But in many places it's $3000 to move into a shithole (first and last months rent and an additional deposit), $3000 will buy a good van/truck outright.
Just be ready for everyone to hate you for being visibly poor, and read some of the anti homeless laws to see how low the law stoops to find a reason to hassle people just trying not to sleep on the pavement.
I think this is a terrible idea that you should put out of your mind completely if other alternatives are open to you. Vehicles require constant maintenance and without an address you are pretty much shut out from the financial sector -- banking, auto insurance, health insurance, credit, etc. You also aren't going to be able to hold down a job either, which means limited cashflow. Consider these problems and then think on why this sort of lifestyle appeals mainly to young, healthy, well-off bohemians.
There's a youtube channel i follow where a dude bought off land and build his own log house. Definitely going for the long term for him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2HtvcpXP4A
He said he had to pay about 20-25k CAD for the place, i think and 6k to build the loghouse up to a specific point, but plans on expanding the place.
The irony with Van Life is that you need a lot of money to actually get started on that and a decent amount for fuel, supplies, and repair. The top picture in the OP is beautiful, it shows the free spirited couply and their big red van, even with solar panels for power. But without money, you're just going to be the vagrant in the rusty van who parks in any space he doesn't get kicked off of. Nobody wants to be that.
The flipside to this is you can have a home larger than most apartments for sub $10k if you play your cards right and aren't afraid to put in a bit of leg work yourself.
That's hypnotic, I love the idea of living like this. My dad during the hippie era of the 70s did something similar and bought up a bunch of land with some other guys and built his own amazing cabin. Eventually the other guys sold their shares to him and now he's got it all to himself. I've lived in the city all my life but I've been thinking I should learn everything I can about how to be out somewhere like this.
I've been strongly thinking about moving out to a rural area in Canada and building my own cabin for a long time.
All I wanna do is live in a semi-rural environment with forests and raise animals and grow vegetables. Should've been a farmer.
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