I can’t believe I’m writing this, it has been TWO years since we moved into our converted sprinter van full time!! It started off as a little project and a ‘why the hell not’ moment thinking we would just give it a try and two years later we are still full time van living.
We’ve been through it all, all the season, a nationwide lockdown, storms, snow, frost, heatwaves (one being the hottest we’ve had in the UK for 40 years or something). We’ve been through every emotion possible, sheer joy, rage, misery, excitement, frustration. What an experience.
It’s definitely not all sunrise and roses. Sometimes your parked up by the beach, doors open, watching the waves with no bills to pay, feeling free and it really is like omg how is this my life.. we’ve made it! and then other times your just parked on a road, people walking past your door every minute, no gas left to make a brew, no water left and all you want is to be away from people having a bath and your like omfg how is this my life! We love the contrast (deep down).
So here are a few of my favourite things about living in a van full time and a few things that aren’t great.
THINGS I LOVE
Fave #1 - Going with the flow
I love being able to pick up and move around. I love the variety vanlife brings because your always moving around and ‘living’ in different places. We still spend a lot of time in one place because we have commitments to stay around for but even with spending a lot of time in one area we’re always moving around.
I’ve never been much of a settler, never could commit to one house for more than a year or two at the most. Living in a van definitely gives you a freeing feeling, that your not tied down to one spot, you can just pick up and move your home wherever you fancy that day.
Fave #3 - Minimal living
Living in a van obviously means you can’t have a lot of possessions, and there’s something really freeing about that. It’s kinda like with having less stuff to think about your mind clears.
You just have what you really need and that feels good. It stops meaningless spending too because you can’t just go shopping and pick up lots of things for the house.
Fave #3 - Appreciation
You really learn to appreciate things. Most things people class as normal standard of living become little luxuries, like baths, running hot water and separate rooms.
After two years of living out of a van we’ve learnt not to take things for granted. A tap to fill up water is a bonus, someone offering us a hot bath is a dream and getting a free wash load done at someone’s house (thanks everyone) is a gift.
There’s a lot we all take for granted, a lot we think are just normal things and are expected but they really are little luxuries that we can be grateful for.
Fave #4 - Closeness
Obviously living in a van means we are all together all of the time. No separate rooms so we are very close. Sometimes it’s stressful but all in all I absolutely love being this close with my family.
At night we all snuggle in and sleep together and I do believe it has helped us build a really strong bond with our children and in our marriage.
THINGS THAT AREN’T IDEAL
Not so fave #1 - Missing luxuries
While I say it’s nice to miss these little luxuries, and it really does grow a sense of appreciation for them, some days it’s just hell not to have them.
Some days we just want a bath, or we want some space from each other and the kids, and we just can’t have it. Those days are hard. On those days it feels like we’ve fucked up big time, we’re stuck in the box, with no bath, with no separate rooms and we just want out.
Not so fave #2 - Inconvenience
Living in a van is anything but convenient. All the conveniences you have living in a house you loose. No washing machine, we have to go to the laundrette so washing is a full task not just something you stick in and carry on with your day.
No plumed in toilet, so we have to manually empty our toilet every few days. No running hot water, we’ve got to boil it. No central heating, we have to fill up a tank with deisal every week (few days in winter) to run the heater.
There’s many inconveniences living in a van, sometimes it’s nice because you feel fulfilled that you’ve made the effort to do things and sometimes it’s just outright annoying.
Not so fave #3 - Privacy
I think the worst thing for me about living in a van is the lack of privacy. Your mainly having to park on roads which means you have people around all the time. Obviously you can move around and you always have the choose to drive off and park somewhere remote but it’s not always possible or convenient to do so you end up parked somewhere public and busy.
This was especially hard through summer because you need to spend more time outside but have no private garden to relax in.
Again, sometimes it’s nice because we’ve met lots of new people and friends because we’re parked up and it sparks conversion with people but at other times it’s just hard work. We tend to escape somewhere remote if it gets too much.
So the summary, living in a van is hard. I won’t pretend it’s this amazing vanlife 24/7, it’s really hard work and it’s not for everyone. But the perks that come with this minimal, simple lifestyle, and the mindset it gives you, are definitely worth it for us.
All the little inconveniences are far outweighed by the magical moments living on the road bring.
If you have any questions about what it’s like living in a van, leave me a comment below or comment on my Instagram post. Or if your reading this and you live in a van let me know your favourite and worst thing about vanlife.
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