Sometimes the cons are actually pros
I want to be a vanlifer.
I want to live in a van fulltime.
In this car-centric world we live in, it seems to me to be the most economical choice, when one is in the unenviable position where they have to choose between financing a car or a home. And I admitted to myself a long time ago that I will probably never be able to afford to buy a house.
When you have to choose and you can't live somewhere with decent public transportation or close to work, it's not really a choice. Especially in this day and age where corporations feel no more loyalty to their employees than I have for individual pairs of underwear, trying to buy a home that is sufficiently proximate to my employment is a waste of time and money.
Best just get an actually-mobile home.1
I've been repeatedly warned away from vanlifing by non-vanlifers.
Fortunately, I'm hardly so gullible to take the warnings of people who have never (not even briefly) participated in something to discourage me from doing said thing. Unfortunately, my biggest stumbling block is my own difficulty in taking leaps of faith, followed closely by decision paralysis.
I've been doing my homework. Lots of homework. And every vanlifer I find who has a website or a blog or a video channel, invariably also has an accounting of the downsides of vanlife. None of the downsides I've seen (it's a remarkably short list, given the magnificent number of repeats between accountings) is a deal breaker for me.
But feel free to let me know if you think I've missed anything.
Itty-bitty living space
Vans are small. I guess that's a downside for a lot of people.
While, yes, I am currently renting space inside someone's home and theoretically have access to most of the several thousand square feet, how much do I actually use?
I use my bedroom, one bathroom, and some of the kitchen (not counting all the hallways and stairwells I use to get between the rooms I use). Footprints all totaled, probably close to about a hundred square feet. And that could easily be reduced further, given that I don't need my bedroom to "exist" when I'm in the kitchen, or vice versa.
Before I lived where I do now, I had a studio apartment that was about two hundred square feet, and I was pretty comfortable there, but could have easily sized down.
When it rains, plans get cancelled, and you get stuck inside...
Weather happens. Hell, even when weather isn't happening, I'm frequently more inclined to sit in a chair in front of a laptop or computer all day every day, than to wander out into the world in search of adventure.
Homebody, hermit, introvert, shut-in... pick your preferred word.
I'm not looking into vanlife for the adventure, the dream that too many influencers paint of opening your doors to a different beautiful vista every week, less a house on wheels and more a hotel room on wheels.
I'm dreaming of parking in the most distant corner of my job's parking lot for five days-and-nights, and then spending the other two running errands, stocking up on supplies, and making it clear to the property owners that it's not an abandoned vehicle in need of towing.
Sure, there will be vacations and such where I have the opportunity to spend days opening my doors to nice views, but even there I'm not looking for stellar room service. As it is, my bi-yearly vacations rarely cost me more than a couple hundred dollars, the vast majority of which is spent on gas (second is food) driving to a campsite.
Reduced fuel economy
Everything costs money.
But if I can save a few quid on not having to pay a bottomless pit of rent on a room that doesn't translate to lienable property2, I'll have more to spend to keep my car in working order, fueled and moving.
Not even mentioning that I consistently get higher than rated fuel economy on my vehicles just from how conservatively I drive.
My Honda HRV was rated for 28-30 combined mpg, and I consistently broke 32 combined mpg.
My Smart Fortwo was rated for 36 combined mpg, and I consistently broke 40 combined mpg.
And yes, I do know that I will be using the van for non-intended purposes, so will likely be getting less that ideal mileage... well, at least how most people drive. If I build light and well, I think I have decent odds of getting closer to the rated mpg than personal accounts of adventure-bound vanlifers have led me to expect.
Furthermore, said adventure-bound vanlifers are putting loads of miles on their vehicles in relatively short spans of time, scaling mountains, crossing beaches, sea to shining sea. I have no intention of doing that.
Leaks, repairs, and maintenance
I'm pretty handy when I need to be.
I tend to do a lot of homework before I commit to anything.
I also tend to over-build for strength and durability when I build things.3
And I'm something of a budget-prepper.
Also, again, saving money from not paying rent, means more budget for repairs.
Chores and errands
Cleaning my dishes doesn't scare me. Even if I only have enough dishware for one meal, necessitating cleaning after every meal... cleaning doesn't scare me.
If anything (and I've learned this through vicious experience), having too many dishes (read: enough for multiple meals) makes the chore of cleaning them even worse for me. 4
And when I'm car-camping, it's hard for me to have more than a few days' worth of food. At least with the van, I intend to have enough electricity to power a small fridge and I don't have to worry about ice.5
As for the errands of buying food and water, and dumping waste, at least around these here parts I have opportunities to do that in spades; no need to call ahead like I'm venturing into the unknown.
Cleaning
Cleaning as-you-go is actually massively easier for me instead of setting aside time for the chore of cleaning. If that means I have to vacuum every day, then I will vacuum every day.
As for cleaning me, well...
This might make most folks cringe, but I actually prefer sponge-baths to "traditional" showers and baths.
I'm not saying I dislike showering, but it takes a lot of spoons for me to set aside time to do it, the majority of which involves the tedium of getting dry (my long hair doesn't help6).
Sex life
Yeah, no. Not a concern for me. I've got none to speak of as it is, made worse by my current living situation, but even when I had that studio apartment... no.
I'm not asexual, but my sex drive has started waning, and even before now, getting frisky with another human being has been pretty low on my priority list for the better part of a decade (at least compared to platonic affection).
Same meals over and over and over and...
I literally do that already.
My living situation allows me to eat a variety of dishes, and yet I'd much rather eat the same meals every day.
Internet connectivity
I already own and use a travel router, even when I'm just sitting at home. Tethering it to my phone hotspot isn't much of a leap either, because I do that too, albeit rarely.
Also, as said above, I'm not planning on adventuring to the wilder world while WFHing. I'll be spending the vast majority of my time in suburbia. My phone is all but guaranteed to have a signal.
Leave a comment or continue reading: other Thursday posts, more pros and cons, or something completely different.
Footnotes
I specify "actually" mobile, because most "mobile homes" I know of aren't actually mobile. They're relegated to nigh-rowhouse communities, and only ever move from their installation location if the weather gets bad enough to unseat the foundation.↩
If you're paying a mortgage on a property, every payment (assuming you're paying more than just accumulated interest) contributes to the value or the property. Property which you can borrow against or sell in the future. If you're paying rent, you're just paying for the privilege of occupying the space, you're not building any value. When you leave, you don't get anything back out of it (except maybe your security deposit (which your landlord has been collecting interest on the whole time)).↩
Admittedly, at this stage in my life, the vast gulf of things that I have build were made out of k'nex. Though I have had a few of them converted into wood furniture (by someone significantly more familiar with that particular medium than I am (though they used my plans)) and they've been massively studier than they had any need to be.↩
The more dishes I have, the more inclined I am to let them pile up between washes. The more dishes piled up in need of cleaning, the more difficult it is for me to find the spoons to clean them. It turns into a spiral that is really difficult for me to get out of. Also, I have no objections to eating out of the containers I cooked with. The only reason I'm not doing it right now is the people whose house I'm renting space in frown upon the practice.↩
Buying ice for keeping food preserved is like paying rent. Once it melts, you just have to toss it and buy more. In my experience, it's practically greywater.↩
Both fortunately and unfortunately, there's a time limit on how long I'll have my long hair, so I'm enjoying it while I can. I'm genetically predisposed for significant hair loss on both sides of my family, and it's severely thinning already. Anyone else would have given up and chopped it off already; I'm holding onto it by my fingertips, knowing in the next few years I'll have to let it go.↩