I know it’s just a meme, and I don’t want to be “that guy” but van life isn’t actually as affordable as it’s often made out to seem. Lots of hidden costs to take into account like where you can park and etc.
That must be a US thing, aside from the initial cost of the van I saved an absolute shit ton of money living in a van full time and never had to worry about where to park or ever pay for parking.
It certainly isn’t free but it is affordable as fuck compared to disgustingly high rent prices.
For food I cooked using a gas type stove or I also had a portable rice cooker type thing that I could cook rice as well as soups or stews or that type of thing in.
Cleaning I used a combination of a gym membership to a nationwide chain and used their showers, used family members showers if I was near to them and sometimes I’d have a baby wipe shower if I was really in a pinch and needed a basic clean.
Entertainment the same as I do in a house but just in a lot more energy conscious fashion. I run and cycle a lot so that was easy and I could run a lot of different places.
I had a small solar panel as well as the alternator charging a decent sized battery setup that I had hooked up to USB ports as well as a power inverter to convert to AC power so that way I could charge a laptop as well as devices.
So I had my phone to watch videos or listen to music on etc and then a laptop I could play games on or ran my DJ setup reliably. I had many options, I just always had to be conscious of batteries. I’d always have the laptop charging whilst I was on the move as the engine would make an abundant amount of electricity and then I could charge the laptop a few times if needed from the battery or trickle charging from the solar. So yeh, I had plenty to do.
I also smoked a lot of weed in combination of those things xD
I miss that life tbf, houses are over rated but it is also nice to always have a hot shower and stuff. Advantages of both
It definitely CAN be cheaper but seems like a good fraction of people choose to live on the high hog and dump a ton of money into their vans. Also there’s just a ton of anxiety needing to move around constantly. Where are you exactly where that’s not a worry?
Also there’s just a ton of anxiety needing to move around constantly. Where are you exactly where that’s not a worry?
Depends on your motivation to live in a van. My parents just moved into a pick up truck turned RV because they want to move a lot. Travel around, see the world as long as they still are able to. It’s not a thing to accomodate, it’s the real deal to them.
(Though they are kind if priviledged they can afford this with an early retirement and by selling the house they owned.)
Yeh a lot of people do but I bought my van for 2 grand which was basically 2 months rent. There is definitely some anxiety in terms of I hope this shit doesn’t break down as it is also my house but then owning or renting a house also comes with different anxieties based on different things and the constantly moving around part I loved.
I am UK based and just parked where ever I wanted to a point, as long as I was following the sign posted rules for parking up no one would say shit, parking is a civil matter here anyway so even if I had chosen to park somewhere that I was supposedly not meant to it isn’t technically illegal if it was public land and the cops aren’t coming out to do anything about it.
Its definitely a US thing. And even more so a regional US thing. Parking (where you won’t get in trouble) can be hard to find so you have to drive more. When you do find parking its usually in direct sunlight (great in winter not so much in the summer) so now you’re running your vehicle more or need a bigger less discrete generator to counteract the oven.
Fair enough - and yeah I’m going based off of what I’ve heard, not from personal experience, so I could definitely be wrong. But yeah, I’m sure it is largely location dependent as well as a lot of other factors as well.
I know it’s just a meme, and I don’t want to be “that guy” but van life isn’t actually as affordable as it’s often made out to seem. Lots of hidden costs to take into account like where you can park and etc.
That must be a US thing, aside from the initial cost of the van I saved an absolute shit ton of money living in a van full time and never had to worry about where to park or ever pay for parking.
It certainly isn’t free but it is affordable as fuck compared to disgustingly high rent prices.
The US is actively hostile towards anyone who doesn’t have a permanent address.
What do you do about food and cleaning yourself? What do you do to entertain yourself?
Not trying to be a prick, genuinely curious.
For food I cooked using a gas type stove or I also had a portable rice cooker type thing that I could cook rice as well as soups or stews or that type of thing in.
Cleaning I used a combination of a gym membership to a nationwide chain and used their showers, used family members showers if I was near to them and sometimes I’d have a baby wipe shower if I was really in a pinch and needed a basic clean.
Entertainment the same as I do in a house but just in a lot more energy conscious fashion. I run and cycle a lot so that was easy and I could run a lot of different places.
I had a small solar panel as well as the alternator charging a decent sized battery setup that I had hooked up to USB ports as well as a power inverter to convert to AC power so that way I could charge a laptop as well as devices.
So I had my phone to watch videos or listen to music on etc and then a laptop I could play games on or ran my DJ setup reliably. I had many options, I just always had to be conscious of batteries. I’d always have the laptop charging whilst I was on the move as the engine would make an abundant amount of electricity and then I could charge the laptop a few times if needed from the battery or trickle charging from the solar. So yeh, I had plenty to do.
I also smoked a lot of weed in combination of those things xD
I miss that life tbf, houses are over rated but it is also nice to always have a hot shower and stuff. Advantages of both
Honestly, as much as I don’t think I would actually have enjoyed that for long, it does sound kind of nice. At least when you put it like this
It seems simple, in a nice way. A little slower life. A break from all the usual
It definitely CAN be cheaper but seems like a good fraction of people choose to live on the high hog and dump a ton of money into their vans. Also there’s just a ton of anxiety needing to move around constantly. Where are you exactly where that’s not a worry?
Depends on your motivation to live in a van. My parents just moved into a pick up truck turned RV because they want to move a lot. Travel around, see the world as long as they still are able to. It’s not a thing to accomodate, it’s the real deal to them.
(Though they are kind if priviledged they can afford this with an early retirement and by selling the house they owned.)
Yeh a lot of people do but I bought my van for 2 grand which was basically 2 months rent. There is definitely some anxiety in terms of I hope this shit doesn’t break down as it is also my house but then owning or renting a house also comes with different anxieties based on different things and the constantly moving around part I loved.
I am UK based and just parked where ever I wanted to a point, as long as I was following the sign posted rules for parking up no one would say shit, parking is a civil matter here anyway so even if I had chosen to park somewhere that I was supposedly not meant to it isn’t technically illegal if it was public land and the cops aren’t coming out to do anything about it.
Its definitely a US thing. And even more so a regional US thing. Parking (where you won’t get in trouble) can be hard to find so you have to drive more. When you do find parking its usually in direct sunlight (great in winter not so much in the summer) so now you’re running your vehicle more or need a bigger less discrete generator to counteract the oven.
Fair enough - and yeah I’m going based off of what I’ve heard, not from personal experience, so I could definitely be wrong. But yeah, I’m sure it is largely location dependent as well as a lot of other factors as well.
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Actually Walmart is one of the more popular boondocking locations.
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True, did you know you’re allowed to park/camp overnight at any Walmart parking lot for free?
It varies. Some are prohibited by local regulations and others have pulled back due to people being entitled ass holes.