Vanlife has become the movement of the pandemic. Whether you are an avid member of the outdoor community or not, I am sure you have seen a post or two about this crazy idea of living in a van. And without jumping too far to conclusions, I can only assume that since you have arrived here that you have indeed been sucked down into the beautiful rabbit hole of entertaining vanlife yourself. In that case, welcome! What others view as a crazy idea, we view as completely rational.
Already decided that VanLife is for you? Check out how to choose the right van for vanlife!
Vanlife is one of the best decisions you will ever make. It is a grand opportunity of freedom and exploration. VanLiving is 100% what you make it and can be defined in so many different ways. It is a community of individuals who cherish experience and adventure, which can again be defined in so many ways. Whether you live in your van full time or simply use it as a means of a weekend escape, you have come to the right place. It is so beneficial to have a general understanding of what you are jumping into, and I hope that this list helps you prepare for your adventure!
Let’s chat about the cons first. As you can imagine, Vanlife comes with some compromises. While I personally do not hold a lot of value in these downsides, I know a lot of people might struggle adapting to the reality behind the Instagram photos! Remember to give yourself time to acclimate to this lifestyle and figure out what works for you.
Cons of VanLife:
Limited space/storage
This one is pretty obvious. When living in a tiny space, there is not much room for “extras”. You will have to really decide what is important and lean into the necessities. For us, downsizing into a van was difficult at first but ended up being very liberating. Also, beware that clutter builds quickly. There are moments in the van where I want to scream because there is stuff everywhere and nowhere to stand. My advice for these moments would be to take a deep breath and put things back where they belong. It is a daily struggle, but keeping things tidy will go a long way.
Water capacity
Probably the biggest shock that we had was how much water we use on a day to day basis. It was a steep learning curve for us to understand our water requirements as well as timing our dump stations ect. There’s no getting around the fact that this is a con. Again, this is one that will take some time getting used to, but once it becomes a part of your weekly routine, it’s not so bad. We all take clean/fresh water for granted and living in a van has opened our eyes to how privileged we are in that fact.
Toileting/showering
The #1 topic we get asked about is how we poop and shower. It is always fun to laugh and say “in the van!” and see the look on their face (this should be on the pro list). But realistically, it is not all that glamorous. We have an optional outdoor shower that is fantastic…. when you’re completely isolated. Isolation is key and harder to find than you would think. Otherwise, we use gyms (like planet fitness) and campgrounds to shower in. Not amazing, but not bad. Now onto the topic of relieving ourselves.. We aim to use public restrooms for pooping as much as we can. Otherwise our composting toilet gets the job done. Again, not glamorous but highly functional.
Laundry
Laundry can definitely be a con if you are used to the luxury of having an in home washer/dryer. Finding a safe laundromat, having quarters, going during business hours, and losing as little time as possible is indeed an art. There’s no sugarcoating it, it’s as annoying as it sounds. We usually just re-wear clothes as much as we can and only have a laundry day when absolutely necessary AKA we are out of clean undies. Pro tip- your undies are your laundry threshold therefore loading up on a few extra pairs makes for less laundry days.
Temperature changes
Outdoor temperatures can really affect your overall vanlife experience. As much as you insulate your van or have a fan, or heater, or a/c, you will still run into days and nights where it’s not as comfortable as you would like for it to be. A lot of VanLifers base their destination on where the good weather is for this reason. Best tip here- get comfortable with being uncomfortable (sometimes).
Repairs
Your house is your vehicle, and vice versa. When the van goes in the shop, you are officially homeless. Depending on the fix, this could leave you stranded for more time than you’d like. In my opinion, it is absolutely necessary to have an “oh shit” savings for the moments that you pray never happen to you.
Okay now that we have gone through the not so fun parts of VanLife, it is time to chat about the reason why we put up with the above sacrifices!
Pros of VanLife:
Ultimate freedom
If this was the only pro to vanlife, it would STILL BE WORTH IT! The freedom you gain from vanlife is priceless. On any given day, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want! My favorite adventures are always the unplanned ones. Having a van allows you to enjoy your days however you please without worrying about traditional travel necessities such as hotels/campsites/rental car/flight… you get the gist! If you like an area, stay longer! If you hate it, move on! It is an indescribable feeling to get to wake up each way and choose your path.
Lower cost of living
Finally! A means to live without dumping money into a building that you do not even own! The financial liberation of not worrying about a monthly rent and utilities is so wonderful. Of course, your tradeoff is gas money, but it still does not come anywhere close to the comparison of rent.
Vanlife community
One of the concerns we hear the most about living in a van is the thought that it might get lonely. I feel like that is so far from the truth! The community of VanLifers is huge and growing each and every day! Living on the road, you will find that there are so many other like-minded people out there. Apart from physically meeting people, there are so many groups on fb and other social media where you can do meet ups or ask questions! It is truly such a wonderful community and we have never felt like we were alone or lonely.
Exploration
One of the main reasons we moved into our van was to get outside and adventure more! We spend about 10% of our time in the van and the other 90% exploring wherever we might be! Every day is a new adventure which is exactly how we like it!
Ultimately, a pro/con list is never accurate, as many people have different ideas of what adds value vs what does not. For us, the decision to peruse VanLife came from a place of wanderlust. We wanted to explore a new adventure every single day. For us, it was so easy to compromise the everyday luxuries such as a long hot shower or a living room to be able to see the world. I urge you to look within yourself and decide what is most desirable to you. Life is all about compromise, but NEVER compromise your dream!
Happy Travels!
