The writer just didn’t seem to understand what he was getting into. Vanlife definitely isn’t for everyone, and when stuff like closet space is a point of contention than it likely isn’t something...
The writer just didn’t seem to understand what he was getting into. Vanlife definitely isn’t for everyone, and when stuff like closet space is a point of contention than it likely isn’t something that should have be done. Which, don’t get me wrong, the writer does seem to understand that as well talking about wearing rose colored glasses.
I’ve always enjoyed living out of a minivan, but this is definitely in the crusty-hippie way and not in the influencer way. It’s very lonely to do by yourself though, so I’ve only done it when I’ve had a partner willing to…and most people aren’t willing to, especially when you point out what you need to be okay with to make it work. But when it all comes together, man is it the best way to live with the amount of freedom you have.
Other people do suck though. I’m straight but non-binary is probably how to describe me - just an eg, had a guy threaten to shoot me because of my pink clothing/hair/nails at a campground in Ocala (do not recommend the Ocala National Forest, experienced a shit ton of racism and homophobia over the years. There’s basically a local town in the forest and they are not very friendly people)
I find it weird though the article is presented as if #vanlife is some new thing - it’s been a staple of instagram since it’s inception. Maybe there was some uptick after COVID, but it’s not like it hasn’t been massive for nearly a couple decades now.
A bit more than a couple decades if you ask me. Being a 'vanlifer' was cool back in the 70s - except the vans were VW minibuses and the vanlifers were hippies who were dropping out of mainstream...
A bit more than a couple decades if you ask me. Being a 'vanlifer' was cool back in the 70s - except the vans were VW minibuses and the vanlifers were hippies who were dropping out of mainstream life to 'stick it to the man'. It never really went away although in the intervening time, van life for many years was more closely associated with the poor and homeless than the carefree bohemian lifestyle being sold on Instagram.
The part that makes me smile is watching these builds when someone starts a channel after buying a $3000 school bus and has a great deal of enthusiasm and very little experience with what lies ahead. I've built out a 40' coach from a transit bus, as well as two 24' custom van bodies and there is a crap ton more work than you'd ever think when you have to custom build everything from scratch.
Watching a sped up 10 second clip is so deceiving when reality smacks you in the face and you realize it just took two days to put up a simple dividing wall. Not to mention the trickier plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilation, gas/propane, solar, and all the other joyous systems that goes into a full build out. Which explains why there are a lot more "Episode 1: Hey we bought a bus!" videos than there are "Episode 78: Holy crap this is a sh*t ton of work and Im getting really tired!" videos :)
My spouse and I have lived out of our van for 9 years so far. We're traveling musicians, singer/songwriter type stuff, and one of my spouses jokes on stage is, "you know the #vanlife? Yeah, we can...
My spouse and I have lived out of our van for 9 years so far. We're traveling musicians, singer/songwriter type stuff, and one of my spouses jokes on stage is, "you know the #vanlife? Yeah, we can tell you with authority, Instagram has been lying to all of us!"
It's definitely not glamorous, but I agree with you that it can be endlessly rewarding. You just can't be the kind of person who's going to miss closet space.
Yeah there very much is a difference between van life and #vanlife. I’m always of the opinion that if someone is selling you something, you shouldn’t fully trust them (big fan of Bill Hick’s bit...
Yeah there very much is a difference between van life and #vanlife.
I’m always of the opinion that if someone is selling you something, you shouldn’t fully trust them (big fan of Bill Hick’s bit on marketing lol). So that goes for #vanlife for me, and thankfully there are a lot of resources on line that deal with what actually living out of a car is like and what to expect and how to make it better (truck stop showers woo!). But they can be hard to find, especially over time, with how much #vanlife stuff pushes it out - and it’s very easy to see the glamour of #vanlife and get sucked into it.
I definitely second truck stop showers! They always let my spouse and I pay for one and use it together, and sometimes there will be a trucker who doesn't need it at that stop so they'll just give...
I definitely second truck stop showers! They always let my spouse and I pay for one and use it together, and sometimes there will be a trucker who doesn't need it at that stop so they'll just give it to us. They're so nice and spacious and clean with plenty of towels too!
There's a vanlife influencer that I check up on occasionally on Youtube specifically because she stopped living the #vanlife and got a house. She's kind of terrible at "house-y" stuff but she has...
There's a vanlife influencer that I check up on occasionally on Youtube specifically because she stopped living the #vanlife and got a house. She's kind of terrible at "house-y" stuff but she has a DIY attitude so she's just really interesting to see what kind of projects she does. At one point she was trying to make her own RV (which was what got me interested in her content) but she appears to have shelved it.
I wonder if #vanlife only appeals to people who have no persosnl connection with homelessness. Like, to a lot of people who grew up with precarious living, it would just sound immediately and...
I wonder if #vanlife only appeals to people who have no persosnl connection with homelessness. Like, to a lot of people who grew up with precarious living, it would just sound immediately and obviously "not fun"
Going in, I thought the writer would talk more about the challenges of living in non-city, such as where one gets mail, insurance with no known address, how does one do taxes, bad phone reception, showers, finding places to park and do waste disposal, and the uncomfortable feeling of taking selfies while parked next to truly homeless families struggling to make ends meet. He briefly mentioned the broken coffee maker as if that was worst thing about road bumps he experienced.
It was also odd how he kept alluding to the divorce without really getting into it. Would they have divorced if they didn't live in a van? What would have to had change for it to work out with them? He didnts generalise the personalities involved that would make it work either.
Lastly, I think it's horrifically sad that he didn't feel safe in many places in America due to hate.
Well, on one hand, I agree. If you're housing insecure living in your car sounds like your worst nightmare. On the other hand, there's a certain minimalism and control to it. You've got the bare...
Well, on one hand, I agree. If you're housing insecure living in your car sounds like your worst nightmare.
On the other hand, there's a certain minimalism and control to it. You've got the bare minimum for survival essentially meaning even if, worst case, something happens to the van you haven't lost much.
But there's certainly a greater allure when you've got a home base (read, Mom and Dad's place) to head back to for the tough times.
I had a buddy who used to literally ride the rails all summer and then in winter he'd head back to couch surf at people's places he'd met along the way. I couldn't imagine that life but it was better than him ODing like a few of our other friends. People who try to glam it up too much are missing the point. It's not supposed to be a house on wheels, that's an RV.
The writer just didn’t seem to understand what he was getting into. Vanlife definitely isn’t for everyone, and when stuff like closet space is a point of contention than it likely isn’t something that should have be done. Which, don’t get me wrong, the writer does seem to understand that as well talking about wearing rose colored glasses.
I’ve always enjoyed living out of a minivan, but this is definitely in the crusty-hippie way and not in the influencer way. It’s very lonely to do by yourself though, so I’ve only done it when I’ve had a partner willing to…and most people aren’t willing to, especially when you point out what you need to be okay with to make it work. But when it all comes together, man is it the best way to live with the amount of freedom you have.
Other people do suck though. I’m straight but non-binary is probably how to describe me - just an eg, had a guy threaten to shoot me because of my pink clothing/hair/nails at a campground in Ocala (do not recommend the Ocala National Forest, experienced a shit ton of racism and homophobia over the years. There’s basically a local town in the forest and they are not very friendly people)
I find it weird though the article is presented as if #vanlife is some new thing - it’s been a staple of instagram since it’s inception. Maybe there was some uptick after COVID, but it’s not like it hasn’t been massive for nearly a couple decades now.
A bit more than a couple decades if you ask me. Being a 'vanlifer' was cool back in the 70s - except the vans were VW minibuses and the vanlifers were hippies who were dropping out of mainstream life to 'stick it to the man'. It never really went away although in the intervening time, van life for many years was more closely associated with the poor and homeless than the carefree bohemian lifestyle being sold on Instagram.
The part that makes me smile is watching these builds when someone starts a channel after buying a $3000 school bus and has a great deal of enthusiasm and very little experience with what lies ahead. I've built out a 40' coach from a transit bus, as well as two 24' custom van bodies and there is a crap ton more work than you'd ever think when you have to custom build everything from scratch.
Watching a sped up 10 second clip is so deceiving when reality smacks you in the face and you realize it just took two days to put up a simple dividing wall. Not to mention the trickier plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilation, gas/propane, solar, and all the other joyous systems that goes into a full build out. Which explains why there are a lot more "Episode 1: Hey we bought a bus!" videos than there are "Episode 78: Holy crap this is a sh*t ton of work and Im getting really tired!" videos :)
My spouse and I have lived out of our van for 9 years so far. We're traveling musicians, singer/songwriter type stuff, and one of my spouses jokes on stage is, "you know the #vanlife? Yeah, we can tell you with authority, Instagram has been lying to all of us!"
It's definitely not glamorous, but I agree with you that it can be endlessly rewarding. You just can't be the kind of person who's going to miss closet space.
Yeah there very much is a difference between van life and #vanlife.
I’m always of the opinion that if someone is selling you something, you shouldn’t fully trust them (big fan of Bill Hick’s bit on marketing lol). So that goes for #vanlife for me, and thankfully there are a lot of resources on line that deal with what actually living out of a car is like and what to expect and how to make it better (truck stop showers woo!). But they can be hard to find, especially over time, with how much #vanlife stuff pushes it out - and it’s very easy to see the glamour of #vanlife and get sucked into it.
I definitely second truck stop showers! They always let my spouse and I pay for one and use it together, and sometimes there will be a trucker who doesn't need it at that stop so they'll just give it to us. They're so nice and spacious and clean with plenty of towels too!
There's a vanlife influencer that I check up on occasionally on Youtube specifically because she stopped living the #vanlife and got a house. She's kind of terrible at "house-y" stuff but she has a DIY attitude so she's just really interesting to see what kind of projects she does. At one point she was trying to make her own RV (which was what got me interested in her content) but she appears to have shelved it.
I wonder if #vanlife only appeals to people who have no persosnl connection with homelessness. Like, to a lot of people who grew up with precarious living, it would just sound immediately and obviously "not fun"
Going in, I thought the writer would talk more about the challenges of living in non-city, such as where one gets mail, insurance with no known address, how does one do taxes, bad phone reception, showers, finding places to park and do waste disposal, and the uncomfortable feeling of taking selfies while parked next to truly homeless families struggling to make ends meet. He briefly mentioned the broken coffee maker as if that was worst thing about road bumps he experienced.
It was also odd how he kept alluding to the divorce without really getting into it. Would they have divorced if they didn't live in a van? What would have to had change for it to work out with them? He didnts generalise the personalities involved that would make it work either.
Lastly, I think it's horrifically sad that he didn't feel safe in many places in America due to hate.
Well, on one hand, I agree. If you're housing insecure living in your car sounds like your worst nightmare.
On the other hand, there's a certain minimalism and control to it. You've got the bare minimum for survival essentially meaning even if, worst case, something happens to the van you haven't lost much.
But there's certainly a greater allure when you've got a home base (read, Mom and Dad's place) to head back to for the tough times.
I had a buddy who used to literally ride the rails all summer and then in winter he'd head back to couch surf at people's places he'd met along the way. I couldn't imagine that life but it was better than him ODing like a few of our other friends. People who try to glam it up too much are missing the point. It's not supposed to be a house on wheels, that's an RV.