Who doesn’t want to travel for a living? Living in a van allows for endless travel opportunities. The word is your backyard and you get to wake up with a different sunrise every morning. With the job market now becoming more and more remote-friendly, van life seems more possible now than ever. Tik Tok and Youtube will show you hundreds of people customizing their school buses, vans big or small. Recently, the demographic for van living seem more diverse than ever. You can find older couples who have made the move to their RV years ago, families adapting to huge school buses, young couples flipping an old van. Everyone seems to be loving life on the road. But how does it work?

The most important thing before any big life changes is to consider the finances. Especially with a change that will affect your housing. Van life means living on the road, leading to a job that allows you to work from anywhere or to working for yourself. Many of the younger people who have made the move to van life work as content creators on the internet. Not only does this allow them to work from anywhere but their lifestyle is directly related to their means of income. While van life has now become increasingly popular among the younger generations, for years retirees have made the move to RV-living. Whatever it is that you do, a 9-5 is certainly not in the books when living on the road.

Before making the move, it’s important to first understand what van life is all about.

The nomadic lifestyle pushes for minimalism and simplicity. Vans now come in all shapes and sizes, many choosing to flip busses into their new homes. No matter how big your mobile home is, it will certainly not be as big as the average home. Making the move to van life will force you to evaluate your belongings, keep only what’s most important to you. Storage is obviously limited so multi-purpose furniture that doubles as storage is often the way to go. Of course, if you’re considering van life, you’re probably already apt to minimalism or ready to get rid of anything that doesn’t add value to your new nomadic lifestyle.

Naturally, it all comes down to picking your van. As mentioned earlier, there are many options when it comes to vans. Some larger, luxury vans even allow for enough space to build a bathroom with a shower and a kitchen. Ask yourself how willing you are to scavenge for resources. Will roadside bathrooms and campsites be enough? Life on the road comes with adapting, but there are some luxuries you don’t need to give up depending on your van of choice. More commonly, people usually go for enough space to build a bed and some form of storage, possibly even a sitting area. Basic comforts as such are certainly enough, but with the proper budget, there’ so much that can be done. The possibilities are endless, it all comes down to how much you are willing to spend.

Van life can also be incredibly challenging and a lot can go wrong.

There’s only so much planning you can do when it comes to depending on the environment that surrounds you and your housing is also your mode of transportation. The best you can do is plan ahead. Of course, van life attracts so many due to its seemingly carefree nature, being able to get up and go at any time, anywhere. But it’s not as simple as it seems. Many people are now becoming attracted to the lifestyle through social media posts. Like with anything else, social media can be incredibly misleading. Pictures always look beautiful, the van always looks clean and tidy, everyone’s always happy to be out on the go. That’s not always true. Social media can be great a great source of inspiration when it comes to starting out, tips to building your van, places to visit. But when it comes to practicality, blogs and forums will always provide a more honest perspective of what van life really looks like.

Are you ready to make the move? Or should we stay, are you ready to never stop moving? While such a big change can be daunting, the advantages that come with van life are undeniable. The initial investment might seem high, but you are ultimately saving a lot of money in housing. Van life also allows you to explore more of your favorite outdoor hobbies. What better way to experience that dream vacation than in your own home? Van life is for the adventurous. Being on the road is all about new experiences and learning to adapt, rediscover yourself in a new setting every day.