When you think of Van Life, what do you imagine? People in beautifully decked out sprinter vans? Backdrops of the ocean on a sunny day, snow capped mountains or sunsets over the desert? Traveling full time, spending everyday hiking, climbing and skiing while working remotely in order to sustain this lifestyle?
What would you say if I told you that not all vanlifers live that lifestyle?
Traveling full time is not something that everyone is able or wants to do. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to make it happen you probably can, but for some people it’s not possible, not a priority or staying in one place makes more sense for their lifestyle.
My name is Georgia and I have been living in my van full time for over four years with my fiancé Alejandro. Alejandro and I are both avid rock climbers which is what piqued our interest in vanlife and kept us in Squamish, a global climbing destination, for three years. Our dream is to one day be able to live on the road and travel to various climbing destinations around the world. Before Covid our van was a glorified tin box which meant any trips we took were short and very close to ‘home’. Once we had finally started converting our van into a tiny house Covid had hit and our ability to explore was majorly restricted. Once COVID restrictions had been lifted Alejandro was offered a job in Toronto as a head setter for a new climbing gym that was about to open. This meant that for the last year and half we have been living in Toronto in our van, so full time travel isn’t on the cards for us at the moment.
Our Why
Now don’t get me wrong it is definitely “The Dream” for us, and we take short trips whenever we can, but, in order to travel full time in a van, or any other mode of transport, you either need savings, a remote job or seasonal work. For us, since we had already done a lot of traveling while working part time jobs we decided that the next time we hit the road we want to be more financially secure and not have to live paycheck to paycheck.
Our Plan To Save For The Road
A few ways that we have been preparing for full time travel is by building our wealth, and we are doing that by buying a house and renovating it in order to rent it out, something I think a few vanlifers have done but haven’t really talked about. The way we were able to do this as two millennials working in the climbing industry was by living in a van, saving 75% of our paychecks and using Alejandro’s salary job to be approved for a mortgage.
Our plan over the next year is to finish the renovations and rent it out and hopefully it will have enough cash flow to be able to partially fund our travels. Obviously this isn’t an option for everyone so other ways that we plan to fund our travels are by guest setting at climbing gyms along the way, teaching online (Georgia has been teaching music for over ten years), and content creation.
Why It's Worth It For Us
Many people online don’t understand why we would live in a van and not travel, and to be honest yes we would love to be able to travel full time (hence why we’re working on a way to do that).
That being said, full time travel can be exhausting and living in one spot is great, you know where to fill up your water tanks, where to dump your grey water, where to buy your favorite groceries, and safe places to park. When you’re on the road you have to constantly figure those things out at every new spot you get to which can be exhausting, stressful and frustrating.
I guess what I’m trying to say is if you want to travel, do it! Find ways to make it happen and go for it, don’t let your fear hold you back. However, if that isn’t possible for you right now there is no shame in setting yourself up, taking your time, and figuring out exactly how and what you want from travel.
Georgia Broderick
Author
1972 I did a very basic conversion of a 1967 For Econoline window Van. Removed a back door and put a salvaged gas/electric frig in it’s place. 20# propane tank on top of it. A piece of airline hose & a two burner camp stove, salvaged plastic water tank, hand pump. Plywood bed in two parts that stacked, foam pads & down sleeping bags. Old highway billboard made into a water proof box that served as a bathing spot & also stored a camping toilet. I carpeted the floor, my GF made curtains. We had a tin barBQ pan & my tool box. Started in New Mexico end of Feb. Got snowed in in the mountains for a week. Found a hot spring in the desert that was great. Wandered across AZ, CA, NV, OR, WA, ID, MT, Canadian Ice fields, then plains, MT, WY, UT, NM. Woke to a grizzly shaking the van one morning. 5 months in the van. I’d do it over again in a heartbeat, if I wasn’t so damned old. Lots of out of the way places, nice people.
Thank you for this. My van life journey will not even start for another year, but I know I will be tied to the place I live for at least a few years in order to work full time and payoff debt while living in my rig. Plus I live in one of the most beautiful counties in NorCal state why not stay put while I become accustomed to van life. I will definitely be following you, Georgia 🌺. I am a huge fan of Sydney already. !