Waking up to just birds chirping and fresh air. Relaxing in bed, and having breakfast under the shade of a tree. Then, travelling to anywhere my van will go and staying as long as I want. These are just a few of the best parts of van life.
A big reason I wanted to do van life and travel abroad was to experience something different. I had lived in the same city for seven years before, and life had become quite mundane. Especially on Canada’s west coast, which is wet and cloudy for most of the year.
After about two years of living on the road—with some breaks in-between to work—I’m sharing my favourite parts of living on the road. These have to deal with everyday aspects of this lifestyle, and overall reasons why this is such an awesome lifestyle.
Just to settle some things up, my van life has been predominately travelling and on the road. I don’t stay long in specific areas, especially metropolitan areas. I like to be in nature, whether that’s close to beaches or more recently, Australia’s outback. Those living the van life in the city might have completely different experiences.
Table of Contents
The Once in a Lifetime Factor
The top reason I love living in a van, is that I know it might only be once in a lifetime. Van life isn’t exactly part of a conventional lifestyle and it’s hard to live in a van full time while in a city and doing a 9-5 job. I don’t know what the rest of my life holds, but I know I love what I’m doing right now.
Taking advantage of that once in a lifetime feeling is a reminder of how lucky and special it is. Not everyone gets the same opportunities, and I know I’m lucky for this experience. Even with the complaints I have, if I don’t always live in a van, it’s definitely a time I’ll never forget or regret.
Freedom, Sweet Freedom
Don’t like your neighbours? Tired of being woken up by weird noises? Over the high rent for a closet-sized apartment? These problems are no more, friends. Van life is all about sweet, sweet freedom.
You may have bad neighbours here and there, but drive away. Do whatever. You don’t have to hang around, you don’t have to be friendly. Live your life to the fullest and your van will do its best to support every decision.
Live Anywhere, Travel Anywhere
I still get bitter when people demand a permanent mailing address and I try to explain how complicated that answer is. We’re not all in the same box anymore. Van life has opened the door for more people than ever to live in cute modern homes on wheels. And live we do.
It also means I can spend as much time in national parks as I do in cities. All depending on what I (and my partner) feels like doing. Live here, travel there, the options are endless.
There are many people living in cities, which can be problematic for parking, but there’s always solutions. As for travelling, well that’s the best part about van life. Head the direction of the sun, or snow, whatever you feel like. Travelling, or driving can get rather dreary sometimes, but it’s all part of the journey. And that’s what makes it so magical.
Save Money!
Finally, drumroll, it’s the part everyone wants to hear, saving money! Yes, living in a van can be complicated and requires patience, but overall should be saving you money. This is especially true if you aren’t paying for campgrounds. Woohoo, free rent!
There’s lots of free camping options around the world. Otherwise the rest of the cost for van life depends on the initial van build and set up. There’s also food, fuel, insurance, drivers licensing and other fun extras. Especially if you can keep the mechanic visits low, this will be an affordable life.
Less Commitment
This may not stand true for everyone, but buying a van its much less commitment that buying a house, personally. Some people live in van’s or other van life-type vehicles (cars, trucks, RVs, caravans, etc) for their entire lives. Whereas for others its just short-term.
Either way, there aren’t the same responsibilities as purchasing, maintaining and living in a house on a property. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but as everyone has different reasons for doing van life, the same goes for the sentiments behind making those decisions. Skip the yard work, and drive on van lifers.
I remodelled my medium-sized van to make it perfect for living in. Check out all of my tutorials and guides in: Van Build: Self-Converted Medium Van.
