Van Life - Try before you buy
My first experience of #vanlife was in 2017. My room mate asked if two friends he met backpacking could crash for a couple of days at our apartment. He then briefly mentioned that our friends referred to them as ‘van girls’ as they were living full time in a Mazda bongo. I will be honest. I only knew of the stereotype of people who lived in their vans: Dirty, vegan, yogi, eco-warriors who spend their time floating through the ether.
And these girls fit the profile to a tee.
They had not showered in weeks because ‘the ocean is our shower’
They scoffed at the ‘toxic chemicals’ that were my shampoo and body wash, before happily using it all without asking
They yelled at my roommate for flushing the toilet after urinating
They lectured us relentlessly about our meat consumption
It was awful and it seriously made me detest ‘van lifers’. But today I can say I am a changed woman (who still showered and enjoys meat).
The need for a van
When the idea popped into our heads that we would quit our secure jobs and go travelling for 12 months, two main themes emerged;
Prioritise the places that we find interesting and obscure.
Do it cheap, but comfortable.
We have both travelled the backpacker, bed bug, boozy, overnight bus, boulevard of broken bank balances before. It was great, we loved it, but we are not at the stage anymore and honestly, thank goodness.
So when our plan for Europe began to emerge, the question was: How do we get around to all these hard-to-reach places in the most efficient and wallet friendly way…we needed a vehicle…and so the idea of our own #vanlife was born.
Van Life ≠ Hippie Life
Being the pragmatic person that I am, I was not convinced about said “van life”. It didn’t seem to mesh well with who we are and how we like to live. I felt the pressure of conforming to this instagram world of vegan eating and sustainability whilst driving in a huge diesel guzzling van to be intimidating and hypocritical. But the deeper and deeper I got into the online community of van life I found that so many people from so many walks of life have tried travel in a van. From families like Caz and Craig who run the blog Ytravel taking their kids in on the road with them to the insanely glamorous insta couple Hayley Anderson (of Haylsa) and her partner Kyle Hunter tripping it through Europe for 6 months in a small camper. I found that these people were not vegan or dirty but people just like me (except substantially more beautiful).
It is not for everyone
Friends of ours headed off to Europe for the northern summer with grand plans to be gone indefinitely (sound familiar?). Alas, it was not to be - 4 smelly boys their wet wetsuits and 1 cold shower in a 4 berth 1990’s Talbot Express did not last. I know - shocking. Sleeping in tight quarters, hearing EVERYTHING inside and outside of the van, and cramming all of your possessions into a 5m by 2m by 2m space can be for some, too much. But if you are willing to make it work you need to be realistic about what you can live with and without. For us, a shower is a must - we travel in winter so less smelly and sweaty which is good - but we also free camp so nice warm sun showers in a barely there bikini out the back of the van for all to see is just not happening. When back in Australia, Pat is a twice a day shower kinda guy so we knew that this was going to be a comfort we would need. But the only way you will know what your have and have not’s will be is to give it go first.
TEst it out!
Hire a van similar to what you are considering and try it out! For us this was an excuse to head over to New Zealand for 2 weeks in a VW LT35 to see the sights and also test the figurative van waters. For us this gave us a LOT of insight to what van life would be like. We experienced the desperate need for storage - learnt how to fill water tank and LPG bottles - how to dispose of grey-water and effluent waste - discovered things that bothered us (too many windows, insulating, noisy heating) and things we knew we appreciated (hanging storage - locks on the cupboards - foot mat - bed that Pat actually fits). After that trip we had a strong grounding for what life on the road would look like and what we needed to look for when we buy. We were used to camping and roughing it so for us a van is an absolute luxury. How will you know if it’s for you unless you get out, even for a weekend and try it?
In Summary
Initial skepticism about the van life movement was quelled after trying it. We are proud owners of a Van to take a 6 month adventure across Europe. And finally, if you look at the pictures above, there is an adorable one of Mum and Dad on their 8 month Van Life adventure in the 80’s when they were our age!
Are you living in a van already or thinking about joining the van life movement and have questions? Comment here!
A 'how to' for catching the car ferry across the Adriatic including advice on deck passage and other helpful tips and tricks we learnt on our journey. Taking a campervan, RV or motorhome by ferry saves a lot of kilometres but read here first to be best prepared for the reality of the overnight Croatian ferry!