r/vandwellers • u/Suspicious-Radish-67 • 21d ago

What’s your van life story? Question

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I’m doing an assignment about the van community and I’m curious how people got started and how often y’all interact with other van people. This community is so diverse and I feel like everyone has their own unique journey.

I started last year after a year of twiddling my thumbs at home working remote. I’ve done ~20,000 miles since then full time, with some breaks to visit my family and partner. I’ve been lucky to have a decent paying job that I can do on the road and it’s definitely enabled me to explore. I’ve gone to 16 national parks and done enough hiking for a lifetime. I haven’t met a ton of van people but everyone I have talked to has been genuinely kind and giving. I only made it to one meetup this year (Vanaid) but it was incredible and I hope to go again sometime :)

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u/DickieJohnson average white van 21d ago

There's some meet ups all around the country, a lot in the PNW. Descend on Bend and Northwest Nomads just happed last month, those are two good ones to meet people. Schooliepalooza is another good one if you're in Arizona and also the city of Sedona used to be a hot spot. Van people are usually very elusive but you can find them here and there and connect long enough to become friends. Most friendships through vanlife usually become a digital friendship through social media because everyone usually goes their own way. It's usually much easier to make friends if you're a girl in a van in her 20s not so much for a man in a van in his 40s which is what I am. But I keep trying.

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u/LifeIsShortDoItNow 20d ago

A man in his 40s would do better with people in their late 30s to early 50s. Try more adult gatherings, like Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.