Why Vanlife?

Hi, I'm Heather and I'm in the process of converting a van into a small remote home for myself and my two cats.

But why?

So, I'll start by saying that I'm not close to being finished with my van conversion. Not close at all, in fact. However, I feel there is something special about where I am in this process so I wanted to talk about that. This 'something special' I'm referring to is the awareness I have over the change in my motive to pursue vanlife. This is a feeling I need to capture and document as I know some of you may be able to relate to my 'why' and be inspired to go after your goals as well.

I was exposed to the tiny home movement and vanlife during Covid by watching a ton of youtube videos with my boyfriend. We indulged in this content for the majority of the Covid-19 Pandemic, but it took me a really long time to really put the thought of me pursuing that lifestyle in my head. Now, I couldn't tell you the exact moment that I started to realistically consider making this change, but I do know that I had many triggers in a consolidated amount of time that ultimately pushed me over the line. Some of which consisted of my threats to personal security, the dream of financial freedom, anxiety I faced from my parents lack of retirement, the ability to work remote, and a desire to travel the US and be closer with nature.

Let's talk more about what I just said;

Initial Triggers;

Security.

The number one thing that my parents were mostly concerned with when I told them about my decision, was security. I mean, I definitely don't blame that at all. They weren't expecting to hear that their daughter was going to sell her car to buy and convert an empty cargo van into a house for her and her two cats. But hey, sometimes I can be a little spontaneous. They also know that once I've made up my mind — there's no stopping me. But to answer the question of security and how I reason with not staying in a home or apartment, is that I don't necessarily feel this sense of security where I am now. Which is living in a fixed location.

I know many people out there can relate to this, especially women. But quite frankly, people try to grab us, people try to take us. They target us and follow us home for whatever reason they have. Whenever that happens, you are no longer secure in your home. So, when 'home' is a fixed location, this is a problem that you can't easily escape. During the Covid lock down, I personally have has about 4 encounters of men following me home while I was running outside in addition to one attempted break in from an 'admirer'. All within about 6 months. So yeah... I can't really speak to how secure I'll feel when staying in the van in the future, but it does make me feel better knowing that I will have the option to leave whenever I feel threatened.

Freedom.

I am extremely aware that youtube glamorizes vanlife. With that said, this content doesn't necessarily make the lifestyle any less about freedom. The main thing this lifestyle brings people is freedom. In fact, I've actually heard that it can feel overwhelming due to the amount of freedom you suddenly acquire. I probably didn't word that the best, but what I mean is that this 'freedom' can lead to anxiety. Such anxiety due to having to plan where you're going to stay at all times, in comparison to a fixed home where location is a constant and therefore not something to ever worry about.

Having the freedom to explore the native country and all of the beauty that is around us is a major draw for me. Enough of a draw to help me make the decision to drop the everyday adult life 'normalcy' that I've been living for the past 8 years. I feel the benefits of this sacrifice is larger than us as individuals who make it. But I'll get into that later, as this 'freedom' trigger was really to have experience life hiking everywhere that I can while I have good health.

Anxiety.

Trigger three being the amount of anxiety that I felt as my mom told me about my dad's plan to retire soon... No big deal, right? People retire all the time! Well, their situation is that neither of them have a retirement plan or fund. I had this conversation with my mom shortly after the intruder and the abduction scares so I was already pretty overwhelmed with the thought of physical security and really just being 'over it' by this point.

Having that conversation with my mom initialized thoughts about my financial independence and security. For the most part, I feel financially secure as an individual. I provide for myself and have extra for things like traveling and converting a van on the side. However, I also pay a lot of money on thing that I'm okay without having, like my apartment and everything that comes with having an apartment. I've sort of become bitter towards the idea of paying rent and I fully intend to not sign another lease for a very long time. The money I will be saving by cutting out rent and all other bullshit that comes with this normal type of lifestyle will allow me to grow my investment portfolio as well as provide the financial ability to establish a retirement fund. And the cherry on top, is that I can do this while I live a minimal life, chasing views in the US.

Initial Reasoning;

Ability.

One positive thing that Covid brought into our lives was the opportunity for corporations and many businesses explore remote work and get creative with surviving in a contactless world. I feel many companies wouldn't have tried to provide this option for their employees without the pandemic impacting everything that we do. So I am extremely thankful to have been in an industry that did well with this transition and allowed me to be employed, working from my home. This played a major part in the decision for me to buy a van, as I would be able to work remotely, anywhere in the US while I support myself and my goals.

The other part to me feeling able and good about this decision is the support system I now have. Although pursuing this lifestyle means that I'll literally be alone on the road, I do feel less alone than I ever have. A lot has changed over the past 2 years, the most impactful change is that I now have an actual support system with people who love me and of support me in going after what I want. And for that, I'm forever grateful.

Desire.

Okay, so I'm not going to gush too much about my mental state and the emotions that I deal with due to past experiences, as we can talk about that later. However, I will say that I grew up somewhat isolated with a very limited amount of exposure to people that are different than me. You can say that I was sheltered. So naturally once I turned 18, I left the house ASAP to experience life. But as soon as I got this 'freedom,' I gave up living my life to struggle with people who weren't good to me.

This was a reoccurring mistake that I made for about 6 years. Although these were not the best times of my life, it wasn't all for nothing. Everything that I experienced in my hometown area pushed me to make the greatest decision of my life; Drop everything that I know to start a life in Austin, Texas.

Austin gave me opportunity to explore different types of jobs and schools which lead me to an industry that I found a career path in. Austin gave me the ability to travel, to meet new people, create friendships, and to fall in love with being in nature.

Austin is where I discovered me.

The Big 'Why'

Purpose.

Okay, so here's the big one. You've made it to the end! Kudos to you for sticking with me though all of that. Before I get into my shift in perspective on 'Why Vanlife,' I'd like to say that all of my initial triggers above are very much so still a valid part of this decision. It's just that during the conversion process, I've had the opportunity to take a look at the bigger picture here and I think it's important to share.

Throughout the research and design phases of converting my van, I've become exposed to a lot of content around conservation, preservation and really the overall threat that the planet is under due to the impact of humanity. Reading about the very likely chance that we will face irreversible damages to the planet during my lifetime has been incredibly heavy. This feeling has ultimately become the majority part of the why I'm pursuing vanlife.

The world needs us. We are very close to irreversible damage to the planet and this is something that is so much bigger than any of us. The good news is that we can all help preserve what we have and help our planet recover from the damages we as humans have caused in the past. I'm not saying that I am making a huge difference to this crisis with my decision, or ebven that I'm doing a really good job at it. I know there are some things that I am unable to avoid, being in a van. But overall, I do know that this decision is going to help me reduce the negative impact that I make to the planet.

Special note to my readers!

To all of the people deciding to live tiny, off grid, remotely, and even those of you who are making small changes in your everyday life to conserve water, waste and reduce or omit the use and consumption of animal products — You've inspired me to be a better human to this world. You've inspired me to do what I can to reduce my carbon footprint. And to all of you reading this, I hope you feel inspired to incorporate at least one small change to help the planet recover.

Thanks for spending some time with me, and reading my words. Until next time. Tips & likes are much appreciated. ❤️