What it’s really like living in a van

Living in a van is something that’s being romanticized on many platforms. It’s easy to find cute videos of granola girls parked at beautiful locations and sipping coffee…the lifestyle looks unbeatable. Well, I tried it out and I’m prepared to give you the lowdown, pros and cons. Just a heads up though, I rented the cheapest van I could find so I could stay in Hawaii for as long as possible. I’m ignoring the outward appearance of the van in this experiment for the sake of fairness and I’ll only talk about practical pros and cons that will apply to you as well.

let’s start with the cons

1. Inconvenience. This is probably the biggest con of vanlife. The day to day activities are CRAZY inconvenient. Simple things like making sure you have enough water to wash your dishes, cook and eat become more difficult. Laundry can become a problem as well because you’ll spend significant time waiting at a laundromat, and their not always close by.
2. Space. If you are planning on living in a van prepare to be an INSANE minimalist. If you pack more clothes than you need, you wont end up wearing them because laundry takes too much space and time to do. Save yourself the trouble, pack things that all match and are low maintenance to clean. You’ll also probably need to meal plan in order to maximize fridge/freezer space because you’ll have a very small unit.
3. You probably wont have AC or heating. So if you’re going to a hot climate, pack a small fan and if you’re going to a cool climate, pack a space heater. They’ll take up some space but they will also SAVE your life.

Still, here’s why I’d do vanlife all over again in a second

1. There’s NOTHING in the world as liberating as not being tied down to any specific location. It saves so much time in the day just being able to park where you’re exploring and call it good for the day. You no longer have to factor the drive home into your plans. you can drive for as long as you want and it’s never too far. Wherever you go IS home. Are you kidding?? What could be better.
2. It’s cute!! I mean not always because small spaces can get dirty quickly. But if you keep up on the cleaning there’s something so cozy about curling up in bed at the end of the night in YOUR van. Especially at the end of a good days’ adventuring.
3. Vanlife is cost effective! And we love that:) Choosing to travel in a van combines the seperate cost of hotels/airbnb’s and gas/rental cars into one. And if you’re looking at vans to rent, you’ll find that most decent vans are only a third of the price per night of a regular hotel room. Talk about affordable, especially if you’re traveling with someone and you split the cost. THE ONLY reason I afforded living in Hawaii for so long was because I opted to rent a van and I split the cost with a friend. If you look at my pictures you’ll notice we also rented a VERY cheap van. I’m not kidding, I paid 15$ a night. In HAWAII. If you’re trying to travel on a budget, at least look into vans as an option. I recommend checking out outdoorsy, although airbnb will also have a few van options.

The best part:

Wherever you travel somewhere in your van, you won’t just be seeing it on the surface. You won’t just pass through, say, “Oh, that’s wonderful!” and continue on.

Instead, living in a van gives you space to dig into the land you’re traveling on. To see it from its bones up. To spend your time in real exploration, to pause wherever you want to and breath the air and not worry about getting home in time. It’s a purely beautiful way to live.

As an example, my friend and I worked our way around the island probably five times over, staying where we wanted to and exploring every inch. We once visited the beach at Turtle Bay resort, an incredible hotel that charges nearly 2,000$ PER NIGHT. The beach was pretty, but not nearly as beautiful as other beaches we visited. It blew my mind to know that the people staying there were paying more to see just one beach and spend ONE night in a nice hotel room then I would be paying for 6 weeks of deep island exploration. While their experiences were limited by proximity, there had been no end to our options. You can’t beat that.

If I’m being real:

I’m completely sold on the lifestyle. I fully intend to buy my own van and renovate it to be livable. Now that I’ve had the experience of living in a van I know what I’m looking for in a functional, beautiful space. I’m excited to bring that to life! Could I live in one full time? Honestly, probably not. Having a place I can come home to is important to me. I love to feel rooted, so I’m not likely to live in a van long term. At the same time, the freedom of living in a van satisfied my soul so completely that I’ll definitely be making it my mode of exploration and adventure. I’ll never see travel the same.

Maybe don’t try it. Maybe don’t book a van with your best friend and hit the road. It’s a slippery slope and you may never be able to go back. But it also just might be the most beautiful adventure of your life so far. It might be where you bloom.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you:)

If you want to hear about some more specific experiences, I wrote about my initial take on vanlife after my first week. Click here to read about them!