I wanted to put together a little list of things that I did not think I would be doing when I imagined myself traveling in a van. I have learned not to care what people think of me because you are bound to get some negative comments from people during your travels. When you see van life influencers on Instagram, YouTube, etc., their lives look perfect – perfectly staged. I want to give you a glimpse into the realness of van life.
1.) Peeing on people’s yards in a neighborhood or just on the street– this is when I feel the most ‘homeless’ haha. This one makes me laugh a lot. Sometimes I need to park in a neighborhood or on a side street because I cannot find anything on the APPs or websites I usually use or am really tired. Unfortunately because of the size of my van, I don’t have a toilet. This can be solved by having some emergency option in your van but I have not developed this yet.
2.) Getting ready outside – my van is not big enough to hangout in so usually in the morning I am outside of it cleaning and getting ready in the complete open (for everyone to see if I am in public).
3.) Washing my dishes in a gas station or public restroom – I do have a sink but try not to use it if I can help it. I only have four gallons of water so try to be sparse. I was uncomfortable doing this if someone saw me before but now, I can do this without any hesitation. :)
4.) The negative comments that you get when you tell people you live in a vehicle. This one you have to just brush off and laugh.
Let me know if you live in your van and any things that you were not expecting when you started or funny stories. I would love to hear from you!