General Discussion

I would love to try that, but the biggest issues are: safety and hygiene. Having a good parking spot can be a challenge already in the US/Canada where parking lots are everywhere and urban infrastructures were designed around cars. You can crash into a trusted someone's backyard, but is that actually a van life then?

And hygiene. Not even getting into pandemics, you need to be really disciplined not to waste water and be close to somewhere you can actually shower without worry. Can't rely on sponge baths forever.

Waste disposal is another issue. For van-lifers its simply discarding the nasty bag, but for garbage disposal? Not to mention the homeless opening up garbage bags to rummage through.

I followed some young people doing the van life and it's mostly walmart parking lots, gym parking lots, truck stop parking lots, and even sometimes (especially if van is in garage/repair) 1 or 2 hotel room in the month for proper showering and relax.

That's what the movie Nomadland is about.

Compared to a motorhome, you are trading away a lot of comforts for a cheap place you can drive around in.

If you read on people who live the lifestyle, there are usually two groups. One is people who use their van as a form of long term camping. The other who use the van because they can't afford anything better.

He’s recently released a video where he admits that he has had a “home base” for a few months (probably around 6 months at this point). For good reason too, basically his support network needed to be able to reliably plan to meet him at one place. It’s not like he’s renting an apartment to sleep in every night, but rather he’s using it as a place in between long trips where he can rest and his network can stop by and visit

Granted, he hasn’t had a home base for like years (2020/2021ish). Still, he has a cool channel and gives a more normal vibe than other vanlifers

That was an interesting video.I have known people who lived in vans, and the only ones that lasted long term are those that had a good support system. Some had friends/family where they could park up for a while now and then. All that lasted several years, tend to meet up with other van living friends and exchange good places to park and to avoid. And one thing they all had in common is that they were really tidy and organized.

Part of childhood was spent living in cars. We would find a rest stop each night. Most would have public bathrooms. Paper towels and few squirts of soap, soak the paper towels under faucet.. quick French bath. We'd go to the dumpsters in back of grocery stores, grab soiled boxes, put boxes in the well between back seat and front seat... instant bed space, 2 people could sleep in back seat. Truck stops were a godsend, some had showers. I remember eating a LOT of Vienna sausages straight from the can.

We'd go hit up random laundromats if traveling to new city, look in the dryers to steal clothes, sheets. Parent would park in front of a store, turn to my little brother and I, telling us what to go in and steal. We had special jackets with the lining ripped out, to hide stolen stuff in. And no one's going to expect a tiny quiet 7 year old to run a bait and switch scam, go into dressing room, and expertly hide 3 pairs of jeans tucked under their shirt, and walk out professionally, calmly. I got darn good at shoplifting. Quite an experience.

I have a friend who does "Van life"

He's disabled, so he gets a little money in. He uses that income to rent out a parking lot space if he's in the city or camping space in the country.

From the sounds of it, camping spaces are the best as they have hygiene facilities open most of the year.

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