I was first exposed to the concept of van living a few years back. At the time, it seemed romantic and intriguing, but far-fetched. I was still overwhelmed by things. I felt pulled to a nomadic, minimalistic lifestyle, but couldn’t clearly see how I could accomplish it.
I still have a lot of questions. Firstly, finding a vehicle spacious and sturdy enough for living. I mean, in theory most vans, SUVs and wagons could be converted into livable spaces, but what about the logistics? What about air-conditioning, water and plumbing?
And then there’s safety. How can you keep yourself safe on the road? What about wild animals? What about questionable people, thieves and perverts?
I’ve scoured Instagram van hash tags – #vanlife, #vanlifers, as well as subreddits such as r/vandwellers to get more information. Van lifers are out there, or at least it seems. But they’re hidden, and somewhat inaccessible, hidden behind Instagram filters and vagueness around upkeep.
Climbing Magazine did an awesome piece about the costs behind van living. Senior Editor Julie Ellison called out the lack of transparency about the expenses behind buying and upgrading a van, summing it up as:
“Yes, you have a rad van, a hot outdoorsy significant other, and the ability to climb anywhere, but how exactly are you paying for that? I’m not talking karma points in life; I’m talking cold, hard cash.”
I was in complete agreement with her, until I got to her Instagram feed. Nothing against Ms. Ellison, but if she’s supposed to be reporting on the reality of van-living, I’m missing it within her collection of perfectly lit photographs of rock-climbing. Where’s the truth behind van-living in the exotic locations she’s writing from?
It sounds snarky, I know, and I only sort of intend it to be. I’m just tired of the lack of transparency in the travel community. Some travel writers and photographers share realistic travel tips and insights into their costs, but only a glimpse. Everything else is hidden behind a wall of e-books about racking up frequent flyer miles, how to pack for a trip and finding cheap accommodations abroad.
That’s fine and I’m sure there’s a lot of people who look for that information, but where does it get them exactly? I’ve written about those topics too, but only because I thought I had to. I thought I was paying my dues.
What I’ve realized though, is that these methods of offbeat and fulfilling, simplistic lifestyles can’t just be achieved through articles about cost and times of year about booking, etc. It needs to be more than that. It needs to be about action.
I thought a lot about that as I was driving up to my parents house. I got in around 2 AM, went to bed, woke up the next day, and confronted my Dad as he was getting ready for work.
“I need your help with something,” I said, as he was pouring his coffee.
There are travel writers and editors. There are people who travel around the world, racking up sponsors, sharing breath-taking photos from thousands of away. I admire them, and they inspired me to get into this kind of content.
But I don’t think I’m one of them.
I’m tired of feeling pressured to be perfect. I love to write, and I love to explore, and I want to share those experiences with all of you. But I want to do it as Melissa, I HAVE to do it as Melissa.
I need to do it in a way that feels real to me.
So that’s what I’m going to do. It’s very possible that I’m just not as techy or artistic as other people. I don’t know a ton about coding and I’m still taking pictures with my Android.
But it is what it is. I’m going to keep doing it, and even if it’s not super polished, at least I’ll be trying to live in a way that feels honest to me. That’s all any of us can do, right?
Let’s see what happens.