The What, The Why and The How
The first thing to note is that my way will NOT be your way.
I am Kimberly Anne, 56 years old and "semi-retired" in that I retired from my paying "day job" but I still work about 4 hours a day on my passion projects. I lived in a converted "camper" van named Eyho. Eyho stands for eat your heart out because she has a heart decal on the front with a fork through it - she used to be a catering van. Eyho is a Nissan NV2500 and I lived in her full-time for a year. I now live in Portugal. There were a lot of ups and downs for sure but many more ups! And yes, I'd do it again in a second! This page is about vanlife so please read on for van information, but if you're interested in expating, I do write about my experiences in Portugal on Amazon Vella, which you can find here.
Why I moved into a van:
Traveling is my #1 passion and I worked two jobs for forty years just so I could take yearly vacations. During my last three years in practice I ended up in the 50% tax bracket (even though I was barely making enough money to survive on near San Francisco) and after working over 60+ hour weeks (no exaggeration) I found myself paying half my income to the IRS which didn't even leave enough money left for me to save after living expenses. My overhead was $10k per month for my apartment, living expenses and office expenses. When Covid hit I didn't work for 3 months (and didn't receive unemployment) and realized I could survive on much less. I was tired of working over 60 hours a week to pay the government. I knew I'd have to give up one of my major expenses, my apartment and made a list of options: move into a tiny home, an rv, a mobile home, a van or a studio apartment an hour further north in fire country. I'd never left California (other than 6 week vacations) and it was time. Coupled with the break-up of a long term relationship (where they couldn't handle my changes and decided they'd rather withdraw their love) I chose a van. I had lists upon lists leading up to this and went down every avenue first. I was approved for a home loan, I found a tiny home I could afford and a place to put it, etc. But in the end what I really wanted to do was leave California and I didn't know where to go so I figured a van would be the best way to decide. Drive around the country and look at cities that interested me.
My Van:
I chose to buy a van and have it converted. Aesthetics are very important to me and I'm a bit of a home-body so the van needed to be "pretty" and it is. It's gorgeous.
I test drove the main vans people convert: Ram promaster and Ford Transit. I loved the Transit but it was too much $. All the vans I looked at sold within 24 hours. A friend of mine begged me to test drive the Nissan NV2500 and I did. It's a long story but the first buyer fell through at the last minute and I jumped on it. Things to think about if you take this route. Height and length. I wanted a van I could stand in, that wasn't negotiable. I could deal with a shorter living space, over height and that's what I got. The Ford and Ram come in different lengths, the Nissan does not. It's the shortest but also very tall. The 4th choice is a Mercedes Sprinter. This was not on my radar. They're the most expensive and the most expensive to fix. When they break down (and all vans break down) you can only get it serviced at Mercedes but what happens when you're in the middle of somewhere and a Mercedes dealership is not?
I chose to work my two jobs, even more hours for a year to save enough to pay for the professional conversion of the van. I stopped spending money, ate frugally, didn't go out with friends unless it was hiking, etc. I also sold all my furniture, electronics, a lot of my clothes and shoes and gave away the rest of my belongings.
The entire van was a little over 75k. There are less expensive conversions too, like a modular option: https://wayfarervans.com/ And there's one conversion company (probably more now) that will finance the cost of your van + the cost of your conversion. And people that live comfortably in their Prius's or minivans.
What Does Your Van Look Like?
Here's My Van Walk-Through:
https://youtu.be/3Hg_Bcg_7as
How do I afford this lifestyle?
I live on $2,000 a month. I have book royalties from seventeen novels I wrote and published starting in 2016 and I continue to write and publish (my passion projects). And I have investments.
Minivan Lee started by living this lifestyle on $600 a month.
How can YOU afford this lifestyle?
There are many ways to live as a full time nomad.
The truth is that traveling full-time on a budget is cheaper than living in an apartment in a major city. If you don't believe me, start listening to podcasts where people are doing this exact thing. Lists here: https://www.anunknownadventure.com/resources.html and here: https://www.anunknownadventure.com/links.html
What do I think of Vanlife?
I received an interesting message asking about "vanlife" in response to a post where I talked about the struggles I had while I was just finishing a year of fast van travel. Now that I've been out of the van for 6 months I can look back clearly. At the moment I'm sitting in my apartment in Portugal listening to insanely loud construction on the other side of my shared wall. Construction (pounding, drilling, sawing that rivals a sound level of 15) and tbh I miss vanlife! I miss being able to move, to get away from noise and still be able to work, anywhere.
The important thing is that, looking back, I have zero regrets and after experiencing that year, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I saw the most incredible sights and met the most amazing people. Adventures I would never have had any other way.
It's true I experienced a lot of growing pains while living in my van, Eyho. The three most difficult things for me were a lack of showering (I had a shower in the back of my van/outside but since I stayed in urban areas for 11 of my 12 months I didn't use it) and even worse was the wifi issues I encountered - until I got all of that dialed in, and I did eventually. And the last, though I wouldn't change it for anything in the world, was taking care of my aging and very sick dog. This is challenging in a best case scenario but living in the van made it even more so.
So here's a question: would I do it again now? I would definitely be a weekend warrior, even spending several months at a time on the road (which is still the vanlife definition of a weekend warrior 😁) but I wouldn't full-time it again, no. Why? There are many reasons, I currently live in Europe where I don't know the roads yet, I like having a home base, I like settling in to a place and setting down some roots, meeting people I can see on a regular basis and immersing myself in a new culture.
Looking back what would I do differently? If I was going to do fast travel (which I did), I would limit it to 6-9 months tops. But what I really wish for was the opportunity to have had 3 years of slow travel. Yup, it's true. I really did love it that much. ❤️ And yes, I miss it!
Where did I shower?
Planet Fitness. $23 a month and they're nationwide. I have a shower built into my van as well but I don't use it because I mostly stayed in cities.
Where did I poop and pee?
There are a lot of options. You can use a camping toilet that separates solids from liquid and dump it at dump stations. You can have a composting toilet. There's even a toilet that contains everything in a tossable bag for you. But these toilets are pricier.
I used a toilet where I put in my own bag, closed it up and tossed it. You can add coffee grounds or these already made absorption chemicals to cut odor and liquid. You can get the coffee grounds for free at Starbucks. I never had an odor issue.
Where did I park and sleep at night:
You can use the app iOverlander (free) or Sekr (free) to find free parking. You can also pay a yearly fee for "Boondockers Welcome" now part of Harvest Hosts where you meet people and park in their driveways (for free). You can park for free at most Walmarts, Cracker Barrels and Kabelas -- they're all on iOverlander. You can park for free in most Casino parking lots or you can pay for a campground. A lot of people park on BLM (bureau of land management) land for free, I do not.
Before starting this lifestyle, I heard from others that finding a place to sleep each night was one of the most difficult parts of vanlife and was very worried about it but it's the easiest part for me (maybe because I stay in cities). I stopped planning after week three. I had no idea where I was going to sleep each night, it was super easy to figure that out when I arrived in a new city each day.
At the beginning, I did I stay in several campgrounds, but they're pricey (it adds up quickly) and often loud and smokey. Mostly I stay in cities, because that's what I like and I park in residential areas or hotel parking lots (not upscale and not motels). Traveling across the country, last week was the first time, after 6 months in the van, I parked at a Walmart. It was fine. Tonight I'm at a Cracker Barrel. Last night I was in a residential neighborhood.
****Note about parking in campsites, Walmarts, Cracker Barrel's etc: if there are RVs there, they WILL run their generators, often all night long. They are very loud and if you're a light sleeper, you will not be able to sleep through it.
If you park in a residential area, you must be respectful and quiet.
I did have a "cop knock" and security guard knocks. A neighbor (retired officer) called the cops on me in Florida because they thought the vehicle was abandoned. The officer knocked, I came to the front and we had a lovely conversation. He told me I was welcome to stay and to call if I needed anything! If you're not welcome to stay, they will often tell you where to go. In states where it's illegal to sleep in your car you tell them you were too tired to keep driving and pulled over to nap. In this situation there was a lightning storm and I told him I pulled over because of that, which was 100% true. I also have white, female privilege and this may not be the same for others.
Traveling with Pets:
I traveled with my dog. Most vanlifers have dogs. It's not an issue if they're healthy. They're paramount for safety. Dogs love traveling full time. Obviously you don't leave them unattended if it's hot out but if you're traveling full time you can travel with the weather and go to cooler places in the summer (the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California or the mountains of Colorado for example) and in the winter you can go to warmer places, like Arizona. Most vanlifers also leave their dogs outside the van, with a long tether and take them on lots of walks.
That said, my dog was very old and became extremely ill and it was a huge burden (on him and me) but it would be almost as difficult if I had been in a brick and mortar home. I know this for sure because the last four months of his life I lived in an apartment and it was brutally difficult. I loved my dog more than life but it was too hard having an old, sick dog on the road. Update: he made it to Portugal, had an amazing life and died in my arms this year (2023).
Living in or out of the van:
Most vanlifers live OUT of their vans. They're hikers and bikers and snowboarders and younger LOL. They park on BLM land (which is free) in the middle of nowhere and they let their dogs roam. I do not do this. I do not feel safe alone in the middle of nowhere. I have parked on BLM land and in other remote areas when I'm with other people and it's been great, but rarely alone, and that's just me.
Most 20 something female vanlifers report feeling safer alone in the middle of nowhere than they do in a city. I have lived in cities all my life. I feel much safer in a city. Police and firefighters are in cities. I have had zero issues parking and sleeping in major cities (in residential areas) like San Francisco (the easiest) or Los Angeles, etc.
Safety:
Be aware and listen to your intuition. Most people I've met on the road carry guns. Each state has different gun laws so you need to know those and only get one if you know how to use it. Otherwise, there's pepper spray, bear spray, stun guns, and dogs. I wrote a long post about safety: you can find it here. I also have a satellite phone in case my cell doesn't work, which saved me once because the only time I had a scary encounter, my cell phone didn't have service and I was able to use my satellite phone, which also has GPS and an emergency button that alerts local authorities. The service is $35 a month (but there's a cheaper option too, I think $10/mo). The unit itself is selling for much more than I bought it for but I think I got it on Black Friday. https://amzn.to/3AWe84w
If you don't feel safe, you leave. Park face out so you can leave quickly. Park under lights and cameras if possible: for example some Cracker Barrels and Walmarts have cameras. I always parked under them.
What's Next For Me?
After a year of US vanlife, I moved to Portugal.
People ask me "why Portugal", here's why:
Waiting/Fear/Etc.
I can't tell you to just do it. You'll do it when you're ready, or not. My favorite quote is by Tony Robbins: “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”
What I did was research the hell out of this lifestyle and all the others I was considering. I watched hours and hours of youtube videos. I hired a woman who lives in vanlife as a coach (https://hollycpriestley.com/work-with-me/). I listened to hours and hours of podcasts. I asked friends to put me in touch with people living this lifestyle and I spoke with them. I joined Clubhouse and listened in on all of the full time travel rooms.
What you'll find is that full time nomading is a small/ish community and you'll hear or meet the same people over and over again. And it's a welcoming community.
I hope you'll take the leap when you're ready because full time travel is enriching and leaving all the consumerism and "stuff" behind is liberating.
You can read about my Portuguese escapades here.
If you find value in what I'm sharing and would like to buy me a coffee - I'd be over the moon!
Live Your Dream!
KA
*** there are a couple affiliate links in this article, if you chose to use them I get a couple of cents, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Thank you in advance if you choose to support my content in any way! :)
I am Kimberly Anne, 56 years old and "semi-retired" in that I retired from my paying "day job" but I still work about 4 hours a day on my passion projects. I lived in a converted "camper" van named Eyho. Eyho stands for eat your heart out because she has a heart decal on the front with a fork through it - she used to be a catering van. Eyho is a Nissan NV2500 and I lived in her full-time for a year. I now live in Portugal. There were a lot of ups and downs for sure but many more ups! And yes, I'd do it again in a second! This page is about vanlife so please read on for van information, but if you're interested in expating, I do write about my experiences in Portugal on Amazon Vella, which you can find here.
Why I moved into a van:
Traveling is my #1 passion and I worked two jobs for forty years just so I could take yearly vacations. During my last three years in practice I ended up in the 50% tax bracket (even though I was barely making enough money to survive on near San Francisco) and after working over 60+ hour weeks (no exaggeration) I found myself paying half my income to the IRS which didn't even leave enough money left for me to save after living expenses. My overhead was $10k per month for my apartment, living expenses and office expenses. When Covid hit I didn't work for 3 months (and didn't receive unemployment) and realized I could survive on much less. I was tired of working over 60 hours a week to pay the government. I knew I'd have to give up one of my major expenses, my apartment and made a list of options: move into a tiny home, an rv, a mobile home, a van or a studio apartment an hour further north in fire country. I'd never left California (other than 6 week vacations) and it was time. Coupled with the break-up of a long term relationship (where they couldn't handle my changes and decided they'd rather withdraw their love) I chose a van. I had lists upon lists leading up to this and went down every avenue first. I was approved for a home loan, I found a tiny home I could afford and a place to put it, etc. But in the end what I really wanted to do was leave California and I didn't know where to go so I figured a van would be the best way to decide. Drive around the country and look at cities that interested me.
My Van:
I chose to buy a van and have it converted. Aesthetics are very important to me and I'm a bit of a home-body so the van needed to be "pretty" and it is. It's gorgeous.
I test drove the main vans people convert: Ram promaster and Ford Transit. I loved the Transit but it was too much $. All the vans I looked at sold within 24 hours. A friend of mine begged me to test drive the Nissan NV2500 and I did. It's a long story but the first buyer fell through at the last minute and I jumped on it. Things to think about if you take this route. Height and length. I wanted a van I could stand in, that wasn't negotiable. I could deal with a shorter living space, over height and that's what I got. The Ford and Ram come in different lengths, the Nissan does not. It's the shortest but also very tall. The 4th choice is a Mercedes Sprinter. This was not on my radar. They're the most expensive and the most expensive to fix. When they break down (and all vans break down) you can only get it serviced at Mercedes but what happens when you're in the middle of somewhere and a Mercedes dealership is not?
I chose to work my two jobs, even more hours for a year to save enough to pay for the professional conversion of the van. I stopped spending money, ate frugally, didn't go out with friends unless it was hiking, etc. I also sold all my furniture, electronics, a lot of my clothes and shoes and gave away the rest of my belongings.
The entire van was a little over 75k. There are less expensive conversions too, like a modular option: https://wayfarervans.com/ And there's one conversion company (probably more now) that will finance the cost of your van + the cost of your conversion. And people that live comfortably in their Prius's or minivans.
What Does Your Van Look Like?
Here's My Van Walk-Through:
https://youtu.be/3Hg_Bcg_7as
How do I afford this lifestyle?
I live on $2,000 a month. I have book royalties from seventeen novels I wrote and published starting in 2016 and I continue to write and publish (my passion projects). And I have investments.
Minivan Lee started by living this lifestyle on $600 a month.
How can YOU afford this lifestyle?
There are many ways to live as a full time nomad.
- You can earn on the road- here's a book about it: (https://amzn.to/3sPyevd).
- You can sign up for a program such as Workaway or Woofing where you exchange several hours a day of work for room and board. I know people of all ages, even in their 60's doing this, and they love it.
- You can move to an inexpensive country and teach English. One of my friends currently lives in Cambodia and teaches English online: here's her podcast interview: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-kqpw5-fb39fb -- I also interview several people on my podcast who are maintaining a life of full-time travel and earning from busking to taking their job remote and everything in between.
- You can housesit full-time through one of the many housesitting websites. Here's a class about how to do that: (https://steph258.krtra.com/t/te7DflF5kya4).
- You can even live in hotels full time on $2,000 a month. My friend Ashley travels the world this way and has an inexpensive class teaching you how to do it too. (https://insearchoftraveler.podia.com/)
- I have friends who rent 1-2 bedroom apartments for as little as $400/month in Mexico, Thailand, Cambodia, Bali, Sri Lanka, Laos, Columbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, etc. There are more options than you think.
The truth is that traveling full-time on a budget is cheaper than living in an apartment in a major city. If you don't believe me, start listening to podcasts where people are doing this exact thing. Lists here: https://www.anunknownadventure.com/resources.html and here: https://www.anunknownadventure.com/links.html
What do I think of Vanlife?
I received an interesting message asking about "vanlife" in response to a post where I talked about the struggles I had while I was just finishing a year of fast van travel. Now that I've been out of the van for 6 months I can look back clearly. At the moment I'm sitting in my apartment in Portugal listening to insanely loud construction on the other side of my shared wall. Construction (pounding, drilling, sawing that rivals a sound level of 15) and tbh I miss vanlife! I miss being able to move, to get away from noise and still be able to work, anywhere.
The important thing is that, looking back, I have zero regrets and after experiencing that year, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I saw the most incredible sights and met the most amazing people. Adventures I would never have had any other way.
It's true I experienced a lot of growing pains while living in my van, Eyho. The three most difficult things for me were a lack of showering (I had a shower in the back of my van/outside but since I stayed in urban areas for 11 of my 12 months I didn't use it) and even worse was the wifi issues I encountered - until I got all of that dialed in, and I did eventually. And the last, though I wouldn't change it for anything in the world, was taking care of my aging and very sick dog. This is challenging in a best case scenario but living in the van made it even more so.
So here's a question: would I do it again now? I would definitely be a weekend warrior, even spending several months at a time on the road (which is still the vanlife definition of a weekend warrior 😁) but I wouldn't full-time it again, no. Why? There are many reasons, I currently live in Europe where I don't know the roads yet, I like having a home base, I like settling in to a place and setting down some roots, meeting people I can see on a regular basis and immersing myself in a new culture.
Looking back what would I do differently? If I was going to do fast travel (which I did), I would limit it to 6-9 months tops. But what I really wish for was the opportunity to have had 3 years of slow travel. Yup, it's true. I really did love it that much. ❤️ And yes, I miss it!
Where did I shower?
Planet Fitness. $23 a month and they're nationwide. I have a shower built into my van as well but I don't use it because I mostly stayed in cities.
Where did I poop and pee?
There are a lot of options. You can use a camping toilet that separates solids from liquid and dump it at dump stations. You can have a composting toilet. There's even a toilet that contains everything in a tossable bag for you. But these toilets are pricier.
I used a toilet where I put in my own bag, closed it up and tossed it. You can add coffee grounds or these already made absorption chemicals to cut odor and liquid. You can get the coffee grounds for free at Starbucks. I never had an odor issue.
Where did I park and sleep at night:
You can use the app iOverlander (free) or Sekr (free) to find free parking. You can also pay a yearly fee for "Boondockers Welcome" now part of Harvest Hosts where you meet people and park in their driveways (for free). You can park for free at most Walmarts, Cracker Barrels and Kabelas -- they're all on iOverlander. You can park for free in most Casino parking lots or you can pay for a campground. A lot of people park on BLM (bureau of land management) land for free, I do not.
Before starting this lifestyle, I heard from others that finding a place to sleep each night was one of the most difficult parts of vanlife and was very worried about it but it's the easiest part for me (maybe because I stay in cities). I stopped planning after week three. I had no idea where I was going to sleep each night, it was super easy to figure that out when I arrived in a new city each day.
At the beginning, I did I stay in several campgrounds, but they're pricey (it adds up quickly) and often loud and smokey. Mostly I stay in cities, because that's what I like and I park in residential areas or hotel parking lots (not upscale and not motels). Traveling across the country, last week was the first time, after 6 months in the van, I parked at a Walmart. It was fine. Tonight I'm at a Cracker Barrel. Last night I was in a residential neighborhood.
****Note about parking in campsites, Walmarts, Cracker Barrel's etc: if there are RVs there, they WILL run their generators, often all night long. They are very loud and if you're a light sleeper, you will not be able to sleep through it.
If you park in a residential area, you must be respectful and quiet.
I did have a "cop knock" and security guard knocks. A neighbor (retired officer) called the cops on me in Florida because they thought the vehicle was abandoned. The officer knocked, I came to the front and we had a lovely conversation. He told me I was welcome to stay and to call if I needed anything! If you're not welcome to stay, they will often tell you where to go. In states where it's illegal to sleep in your car you tell them you were too tired to keep driving and pulled over to nap. In this situation there was a lightning storm and I told him I pulled over because of that, which was 100% true. I also have white, female privilege and this may not be the same for others.
Traveling with Pets:
I traveled with my dog. Most vanlifers have dogs. It's not an issue if they're healthy. They're paramount for safety. Dogs love traveling full time. Obviously you don't leave them unattended if it's hot out but if you're traveling full time you can travel with the weather and go to cooler places in the summer (the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California or the mountains of Colorado for example) and in the winter you can go to warmer places, like Arizona. Most vanlifers also leave their dogs outside the van, with a long tether and take them on lots of walks.
That said, my dog was very old and became extremely ill and it was a huge burden (on him and me) but it would be almost as difficult if I had been in a brick and mortar home. I know this for sure because the last four months of his life I lived in an apartment and it was brutally difficult. I loved my dog more than life but it was too hard having an old, sick dog on the road. Update: he made it to Portugal, had an amazing life and died in my arms this year (2023).
Living in or out of the van:
Most vanlifers live OUT of their vans. They're hikers and bikers and snowboarders and younger LOL. They park on BLM land (which is free) in the middle of nowhere and they let their dogs roam. I do not do this. I do not feel safe alone in the middle of nowhere. I have parked on BLM land and in other remote areas when I'm with other people and it's been great, but rarely alone, and that's just me.
Most 20 something female vanlifers report feeling safer alone in the middle of nowhere than they do in a city. I have lived in cities all my life. I feel much safer in a city. Police and firefighters are in cities. I have had zero issues parking and sleeping in major cities (in residential areas) like San Francisco (the easiest) or Los Angeles, etc.
Safety:
Be aware and listen to your intuition. Most people I've met on the road carry guns. Each state has different gun laws so you need to know those and only get one if you know how to use it. Otherwise, there's pepper spray, bear spray, stun guns, and dogs. I wrote a long post about safety: you can find it here. I also have a satellite phone in case my cell doesn't work, which saved me once because the only time I had a scary encounter, my cell phone didn't have service and I was able to use my satellite phone, which also has GPS and an emergency button that alerts local authorities. The service is $35 a month (but there's a cheaper option too, I think $10/mo). The unit itself is selling for much more than I bought it for but I think I got it on Black Friday. https://amzn.to/3AWe84w
If you don't feel safe, you leave. Park face out so you can leave quickly. Park under lights and cameras if possible: for example some Cracker Barrels and Walmarts have cameras. I always parked under them.
What's Next For Me?
After a year of US vanlife, I moved to Portugal.
People ask me "why Portugal", here's why:
- I'm a Europhile
- I qualify for a residency visa here
- It has the same weather as CA (with 50% humidity so it's not the same LOL) - it's colder but my skin looks great.
- It's the most affordable country in Western Europe
- It's the 3rd safest country in the World
- They have a good healthcare system
Waiting/Fear/Etc.
I can't tell you to just do it. You'll do it when you're ready, or not. My favorite quote is by Tony Robbins: “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”
What I did was research the hell out of this lifestyle and all the others I was considering. I watched hours and hours of youtube videos. I hired a woman who lives in vanlife as a coach (https://hollycpriestley.com/work-with-me/). I listened to hours and hours of podcasts. I asked friends to put me in touch with people living this lifestyle and I spoke with them. I joined Clubhouse and listened in on all of the full time travel rooms.
What you'll find is that full time nomading is a small/ish community and you'll hear or meet the same people over and over again. And it's a welcoming community.
I hope you'll take the leap when you're ready because full time travel is enriching and leaving all the consumerism and "stuff" behind is liberating.
You can read about my Portuguese escapades here.
If you find value in what I'm sharing and would like to buy me a coffee - I'd be over the moon!
Live Your Dream!
KA
*** there are a couple affiliate links in this article, if you chose to use them I get a couple of cents, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Thank you in advance if you choose to support my content in any way! :)