An Astonishing Way To Drive Into A Fresh Start

Every year my resolution is to not set any resolutions. For years, this has worked for me. I considered it humorous, and because of my naturally rebellious nature, it fit my lifestyle. But as I have aged, I have come to appreciate things like structure, organization, and goal setting. Please don't tell my parents but I think I'm finally growing up.

This year I set goals related to my credit, finances, and acquiring a home. But fear not Peter Pan, I am not quite ready to give up on Neverland. I treasure experiences rather than material goods, and because of this, I travel extensively. With covid restricting where we can go and how to get there, road trips have become the only way I can get my fix. Speaking of covid, it has had such a huge impact on the travel industry in general that it will forever change the way we travel.

My plan is to purchase either a van or a short school bus. Both of these can be converted into a mobile home. This allows me to work on and achieve all of my goals for this year. I created a savings plan. Working on my credit will help if I need to take out a loan for any reason. Additionally, because so many people are into the "vanlife" lifestyle that if I want out there is a market, and the vans keep their resale value.

The van or skoolie (which is what a school bus converted into an RV is called) will have everything I need. It will have a small kitchen, an area for me to use as my office, and a bedroom area. Depending on the measurements, there might even be room for a full-size bathroom! The van or bus has all the amenities of your standard home. But it has the convenience of going anywhere, so the possibilities for adventure are endless. I can go to sleep in Yellowstone, and if I want to wake up on the beach instead of hearing wildlife, I can drive to the coast. If I miss the snow, I can always drive north and find some fresh powder.

One advantage of having the van would be that should a pandemic such as covid happen again, there are plenty of places to park the van to shelter in place. With remote work being widely available now more than ever, I won't have to worry about reporting to an office as my van will be my office. Writing has always been my passion, and since it keeps me in pizza slices and soda pop I know it can keep gas in the tank. This helps me to keep working towards my finance goal.

With so many opportunities for adventure, there will also be an endless supply of inspiration for stories. There are so many interesting people in the skoolie and vanlife community. People willing to help out other people if there is a breakdown or something that needs repair. Not to mention everyone is always eager to share recipes for how to cook small meals. They will also share secrets for storing things in such a small space. Have a question you can't find by googling the answer? Ask it in one of the hundreds of Facebook Groups there are on vanlife, building a skoolie or full-time nomadic living.

Each person out there has a very unique reason for how they ended up "living in a van down by the river." Mine includes running away from a horrible break up and not wanting to be homeless. I met a former marine who creates art kits for other veterans and tours the country with her daughter giving art lessons out of her skoolie. Another is building a handicap-accessible skoolie for her brother, who is disabled, and wants to see the United States. There are large families and people like myself who are solo but travel with their pets.

So even if this lifestyle isn't a way for you to have a fresh start, it is definitely something everyone can enjoy with Facebook and Instagram. Not to mention blogs like the one I have to document my journey so anyone can follow along like they are right there with me.