I am a bit of a nomad at heart so living the vanlife is loving to travel and enjoying extended roadtrips exploring new places. There is so much to see and this is my way of visiting some of these places. Travelling down a new road I have not been on before is my idea of an adventure.
I love the freedom I feel living and travelling in my van. I can drive as far or as little as I want on any day. I can stop when I want and having a self contained van I can overnight most anywhere. My safety is an important part of my travelling and have some safety tips I always follow.
How do I pay for it?
First of all I live very frugally. I am not a big consumer and have never really lived with a lot of things so this has not really changed. I prefer to have a few essentials and live simply. This lifestyle is not for everyone but it works well for me.
Retiring early with a pension and having a small online bookkeeping business support me in living the vanlife. I definitely have to stick to a budget, but again this is not new and it works for me.
One downside of doing remote work is using my cell hotspot which can dictate where and how long I park at a certain place. My work is usually not on demand so I still have choices on where I travel.
Living the Vanlife – A Travel Day
When travelling I usually plan to drive 3-4 hours that day and start out early around 8am. I make a cup of coffee then get on the road. About 10 ish I pull over somewhere and make myself some breakfast. I use my induction stove to cook which is run on my solar.
A common breakfast is scrambled eggs with mushrooms and spinach or some kind of green vegetable. I sometimes have bacon, I buy the precooked bacon, which keeps my kitchen so much cleaner. Convenience is an added bonus when living the vanlife.
I try to stop somewhere mid day for a walk or bike ride if I can find a good place. Sometimes it is only a few times around a rest stop but I am committed to doing some kind of exercise every day. Generally being a lazy person, I have to make point to move more.
A quick lunch of an apple and some cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich, or leftovers and then I am back on the road. I may stop and explore a place along the way if I find something of interest on the road. Often when it is a travel day I am travelling from one place to the next.
Finding my night spot
Finding my night spot about 4ish is my goal. This way I can find where I am going in the daylight and I also have a chance to move if I feel it is needed. I make a dinner of some kind of vegetable and rice, or a can of soup and grilled cheese, or I pick up a cooked chicken at the grocery store. I don’t usually cook meat in the van as I do not like the smell.
My evenings are spent listening to downloaded audiobooks or watching shows that I have previously downloaded. Being frugal I only pay for one streaming service at a time, last year I had Prime this year Acorn. I always find more than enough to watch with one service.
When staying put for a few days
Gas can get expense if I travel everyday so I do stay put for a few days at a time. This is usually when I find a fabulous free camping spot that I want to enjoy.
This can be in the desert, on a beach, by a lake or river is always nice, a big grassy field or sometimes just a really great remote parking lot. I like to have access to a place to explore, walk and bike if possible. Also good cell service is a must.
When I am not travelling every day I do my remote work, relax, write, plan or binge some shows. If I have a great ebook I can sit in my camp chair all day enjoying it.
I also do chores like cleaning and laundry. Thankfully with a small space cleaning is not a time consuming chore and I do laundry every few weeks so that is not a huge event either.
I grocery shop every few days as I live in a small space so bulk buying is not really an opttion. If I will be in a remote area then I will stock up as I can be in the area for a week or more. Having enough water is a necessity especially when in a remote camping spot so I make sure I fill up before heading out.
Any drawbacks to living the vanlife?
One drawback of van living is that it can be solitary. I am comfortable being alone but sometimes I do wish I had a physical person to talk to. Meeting more like minded travellers or checking out some meet ups is on my to do list. I do reach out to family and friends via phone calls or social media.
I am happy I decided to live this lifestyle and am loving it.
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