Since the pandemic hit us, more people have been eager to ditch their day jobs and live life on the road. When surveyed, 52% of Americans were more likely to consider living in a van because of COVID-19.
But is it as easy as buying a van and waving goodbye to your old life? Unfortunately, it may not be that easy for everyone. There’s a lot of preparation that needs to go into this transition.
If you’re ready to make that transition or are just pondering the dream of living in a van, keep reading. Here’s our brief introduction to van life.
Preparing for Van Life
Your van life journey begins with a lot of forethought and planning if you want everything to go smoothly. Without careful planning, there’s also a higher risk of spending money on things you could have saved earlier. Your prep may include the following:
Downsizing Your Possessions
You can’t take everything with you because, in a van, you’re limited in space. So either sell off or store unneeded possessions.
Manage Any Real Estate
If you own property, you’ll have to decide if you want to sell it or rent it out. This decision depends on how long you plan on living in a van.
Consider Your Car
If you didn’t trade your car in for the van, then, depending on how long you’re taking life on the road, you might have to sell it. But, on the other hand, if you’re going to return home for periods, then store the car instead.
Buying a Van
If you still need to buy your van, you’ll have a range of options available. When buying a car for life on the road, you want to ensure it has everything you need. So, spend time looking at both new and used camper vans because you never know where you’ll get a good deal.
If you’re buying a regular van that you are converting into a camper van, you’ll need to look up creative ways of using your space to have as many amenities as possible without overcrowding.
New mobile homes will generally come with a small kitchen and other comforts of home if you don’t want to convert a van yourself.
Van Necessities
In your van life journey, you won’t have all the comforts of home, so it’s essential to look over any van necessities before you set out. Your van necessities will be the items you use most in your everyday life.
If you end up with an extensive list of things, you’ll have to keep re-evaluating it until you’ve downsized enough.
Living in a Van
When living in a van, you may not have access to bathrooms or showers. Even if your van can fit a bathroom, the amount of water you need to carry will be a problem.
Most campgrounds will have toilets and showers, so you may have to pay a small fee to park your van and use their amenities, so plan your van life journey around this as much as you can.
Take On One of the Best Travel Challenges Today
Living in a van can be an enriching experience if done correctly. This means taking time to research everything you need before setting off. If you’re buying a car to convert into a camper, there are a lot of conversion layouts online. Van life is not for everyone but can be a fantastic adventure for those who choose to take on the challenge.
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