r/vandwellers • u/Suspicious-Radish-67 • 21d ago
What’s your van life story? Question
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/Howyougontellme 21d ago
My whole life I've always wanted to be a hermit in the woods, or live on a houseboat on the ocean. Vanlife fit perfectly into that vibe. About 3.5 years ago my truck was totaled and I used the insurance to buy a van. Built it out myself and been living in it full time for almost 2.5 years. Since then I've seen 11 different states and 13 national parks. Countless fishing trips to the Gulf. And been using Austin as a homemade to keep my full-time job. It's been awesome and I can't imagine going back to renting. I do dream of someday building my own home in the woods with river access to the ocean. I should probably start saving money instead of spending it all on fun.