Searching #vanlife on Instagram or Pinterest brings up swoon-worthy images of gorgeous, impeccably-renovated vans parked in front of the dreamiest sorts of locations, ranging from beaches to waterfalls to mountain majesties. It’s a new form of living, modeled somewhat after hippie culture in the 60s, dedicated to freedom and adventure over routine. What Is The Van Life Movement?Anybody who gets swept up in the VanLife hype will be quick to tell you that it’s more than just a hashtag -- it’s a movement, a style of life. And I have to admit, it seems like a pretty great one: it’s all about escaping the confines of 9-to-5 life to live a minimalist, nomadic lifestyle focusing on the love of travel and exploration. Obviously, as with any form of travel, there is a discussion of privilege to be had: the privilege of being able to choose to live in a van over being forced to live in your car out of necessity, as well as the privilege of travel in general. I recognize that I’m incredibly lucky that I not only have the ability to take off for a week to drive the Oregon coast, but that I also have a house to return to if I get too cold or miss my cats too much. When I did this little experiment, each person I met was living this life for a different reason, on different time frames, in setups ranging from the backseat of a car to vans converted into miniature homes on wheels. It is my firm opinion that everyone deserves a home and a safe place to live, one that they choose, be it a stationary home or one on wheels. That being said, choosing a home on wheels is becoming more and more popular of a choice. Although Instagram may lead you to believe it’s a culture predominantly populated by millenials, it’s actually been embraced by generations across the board, from millennials and retirees to young parents and middle-aged folks looking for a change. It’s a community that’s taken root worldwide, with van renovation companies popping up all over, and opportunities for vanlifer meetups in the most remote of places. While most people following the van life lifestyle live out of, well, vans, the type of vehicle matters less than the journey of simple living, so you’re bound to see everything from renovated school buses to more modest trucks and cars. You’ll also find articles online explaining how to renovate your own van for anywhere between the more modest price of $1500 to the extreme renovations of around $100,000. Testing The WatersI tested the waters last May, when I slept out of the back of my truck on a weekend trip to Yosemite. It was cold, even that late in the year, making me glad I’d decided to only stay one night, but I knew as I was driving away that it was something I wanted to try again. Cue the ultimate Oregon and Northern California coastal road trip: five days by myself in the dead of winter, driving hundreds of miles from sunny wine country east of San Francisco up to mid-Oregon and then back down the coast. I once lived along the coast in far northern California for several years, so I had some expectations of what might await me. Armed with little more than extra blankets to pile on top of my sleeping bag and ignoring my family’s dire warnings about the storms set to hit the coast and not-so-subtle suggestions that I head somewhere warmer instead, I set off. A First-Hand Account of a Newbie Van LiferAlthough refurbished van rentals are seemingly popping up all over the place, I decided to go simple and stick with my truck for the week -- after all, nothing screams “I’m embracing the simple life” like a 15 foot long, bright red truck, right? The night before I set out for my trip, I started getting really, really anxious. Oregon was famous for its coastal winter storms, and after driving in a sudden rainstorm earlier that day, I was abruptly reminded of just how much I hate driving in the rain. Furthermore, what if my GPS stopped working and I got lost (like in my trip to Big Sur)? What if the places I’d mapped out to stay weren’t any good? What if, what if, what if??? I get like this before every trip, and the best I can do is try to prepare as best I can to put my mind at ease. I loaded up on maps, got an oil change to make sure the truck was in the best possible shape, and downloaded every app I could think of that might be useful on my trip. The covered bed of the truck was more than long enough for me to layer twin-sized mattress pads for my bed, adorned with a sleeping bag, five blankets, and no less than four pillows (comfort is king, y’all). I put my gear to the other side, hung battery-operated string lights for mood lighting, packed my food and cooler in the backseat, and set off. I knew that I wouldn’t reach my destination on the first day, so I stopped for the night in a little rest stop a couple hours north of the Oregon border. There were a lot of other cars and trucks around, hot running water in the bathrooms, and a good view of the park and river. Then I settled into the back for the night, where there was nothing to distract me from the prospect of sleeping alone in a carpark with all of my things. Yikes. I called my parents and chatted with them for a little while, cued up a couple Netflix shows I had downloaded earlier to keep myself distracted, aaaaand in a little bout of anxiety, set my pocket knife within reaching distance, just in case. (I know most people use camping/van life as an excuse to disconnect from their phones and media, but let’s be real: it was dark and intimidating and I needed some noise to distract from whatever might be lurking outside… you know, the really scary stuff, like squirrels, or the occasional dog walker). I set my alarm to wake me before sunrise, and after spending a couple minutes getting ready, I headed for the coast. The world came to life around me as the sun rose over the empty road, and I arrived at my first stop not long after she had fully risen. It was drizzling at the beach, so I ate a breakfast of overnight oats in my new home while watching the ocean waves crash in. When the rain stopped, I hiked along the beach and up the massive dune to explore the nearby state park. The rest of my week looked a lot like this: rising with the sun, spending my days driving between destinations and living outside as much as possible, where I hiked beaches and mountains and forests. Although I’m the usual cook at home, since this was a solo trip, I kept things pretty basic: sandwiches were my go-to meal for brunch, while dinner depended entirely on the weather. I did stop at a restaurant one night when the weather was spectacularly bad (this was Oregon in the winter, after all), but it took me a couple days before there was a long enough break in the rain to allow me to pull out my camper stove for a warm, home-cooked meal. I set it up on the bed of the truck, and cooked up some chili and reheated rice in a parking lot overlooking the sea. Cleaning pots and pans was a bit of a hassle, so I tried to make things that I could save and eat for more than one meal. In terms of sleeping arrangements, I mapped out a few locations ahead of time with the help of iOverlander, a popular van life-ing app which allows people to share helpful places along the road and overnight parking locations, ranging from established campgrounds to off-the-grid sites (this isn’t sponsored, it’s just what I found useful). I opted for off-the-grid sites, so I could keep my budget as low as possible, meaning I mostly stuck to state rest areas, with one very memorable overnight stay in a Fred Meyer’s parking lot in Brookings, Oregon. Most of the sites I found were good, except for one night, when several options I had picked out didn’t end up working because they didn’t actually allow overnight parking… as best as I could figure out, people just listed it as a mostly safe place to stop for the night, and rolled the dice on whether or not the cops would come by to tell them to move. I wasn’t feeling quite so brave, so for that evening, I ended up staying in a traditional KOA campground, which was incredibly expensive but allowed me to get a shower after hiking in the rain all day, which I was pretty happy about. Van Life TakeawayVan life is all about independence and self-sufficiency, interspersed with glorious moments of freedom -- waking up in a new place every morning, calling anywhere you can drive your backyard, living with the rhythms of the sun and earth and sleeping under the stars. It’s also uncomfortable. There’s a fair bit of worry when you first start out, both for yourself (sleeping on the side of the road, traveling alone in a strange place) and your things (all of your stuff is on wheels). There’s also the little things: you can’t really cook outside when it’s raining, and eating sandwiches day after day gets old; cars can get very hot or very cold, sometimes even in the same day, and if it’s not properly insulated it can get miserable quickly; washing dishes is even more annoying in a van than at home; it can be hard to meet people when you travel, so you can end up feeling pretty lonely every now and then… especially if you’re used to sleeping with a cat or two, like me. For me, the discomfort was worth it. My first foray into minimalist full-time travel taught me about how little I really needed to be happy. Reconnecting with nature, having the freedom to travel wherever the wind took me any given day, and finding the space to embrace what’s most important to me was such a freeing, joyous experience -- and I can’t wait to try it again. Have you ever experienced the van life? What did you think of it? See more adventures!Like this post? Why not share it?If you enjoyed this article, please leave me a comment telling me what you think! Or, if you found it useful, share it with your friends! You'll be helping me turn my passion for travel into a business, and more importantly, you'll be helping your friends out with any travel questions they might have, too. If you liked this post, you may also like:
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Hi, there! Call me Kris. I’m a world traveler, author and artist working to showcase the world's beauty and inspire you to find your confidence to see the world!
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