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This would have appealed to me about two years ago, but not that much anymore, and I'm still close to a decade away from paying off my student debt. I'm more i

This would have appealed to me about two years ago, but not that much anymore, and I'm still close to a decade away from paying off my student debt. I'm more interested in 'settling down' and 'getting to work' these days, realizing that my sense of personal success is mostly dependent on quality relationships, productivity, and a sense of community belonging. Now, I've done my fair share of living life on the road, and I always enjoyed the experience, but just like the comedown from a psychedelic drug high I was always grateful at the end to be back home squared away in my "real world." My issue is not with the self-determinism or the low-impact tiny house living, just with the transience of it. Is he certain that he'll be able to be productive working out of the back of a van or in random cafes around the country? What about stimulating interactions with colleagues? Girlfriend??

icantdrive55 10y ago
Girlfriend? I don't know--maybe it gives off the right advertising. Meaning, if you don't want all the trappings of a conventional lifestyle; I'm that guy. A great opening line, "Do you want to avoid hiring a lawyer in the future to fight over assets? Do you want to avoid sitting in a cubicle the rest of your life? Do you want to never have this thought, "Would I be with him if we didn't have that house, and kids?" If you don't want to have a gaggle of kids because you were kinda pressed into having them by family, friends, coworker, societal pressures, etc., I'm your guy. (Yes, I know having kids is a wonderful experience. If I was this guy in this article, I would get a vasectomy, and freeze sperm. I don't know if you could live like this with a child, especially in an overprotective, fear for the worse, jump to the wrong conclusions, country like the USA.) My parents fought over the house seemingly continually. The only time they didn't fight was when they left it on weekends. My father wanted to do what this guy is doing now, but died before completing his van. I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively. That is my main concern. Towns, and cities have much made it illegial to park pretty much anywhere overnight, unless you pay a fee.
- sliverstorm 10y ago
  I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively. It gets to be a mess when too many people try it. Sometimes it's totally unrelated to vandwellers- in college, the town was only twice the population of the school, so there was a massive shortage of parking.
- microcolonel 10y ago
  Yeah; I'm hearing this as a reason more and more often. People's paranoia is overwhelming and CPS/CAS is often duty-bound to investigate. I was abused as a child, and no CAS tip could have saved me. Meanwhile, they are surely making it very difficult for normal people to raise children. It's basically illegal to let children play in the back yard. I still want to have kids though; I don't get how even these tangible concerns can turn anyone off the idea. The chemical and emotional wonder of the idea is overwhelming to me.
tdobson 10y ago
I live in a van.[1] I started out in the van with a girlfriend, then our relationship came to an end (the van probably helped it last a bit longer) and so I got back into dating. I'd say dating with the van was easier than before I had it. You must lead with it. You have to make sure it's upfront with everyone - you don't bring it up last - it said it all over my OKC profile - and you know - nothing starts conversations like something unusual. It's not for everyone - but the people who opt out - it would't have worked with anyway. The ones that opt in, it's good. Probably the most dangerous people who fetishise your vanlifestyle above the reality. Reality is that there are ups and downs, good things and tradeoffs. Anyway, I'm now happily in an awesome relationship - and yeah - the van isn't a big deal. It kind of helps - cos she lives a good distance away from many of my friends. :) [1] https://www.instagram.com/tdobsonnet/ https://www.instagram.com/tdobsonnet/
- elliotec 10y ago
  I'd disagree with your statement that "the van isn't a big deal" in your last sentence. If you feel that you have to be upfront with everyone about living in a van, it sort of becomes an enormous part of your identity, which I would call a big deal.
  - geocar 10y ago
    I think he means that it isn't interfering with his romantic life. Some people (especially programmers) use the expression "it's not a big deal" to indicate something is straightforward (when you're thinking about it correctly), not to quantify its importance.
    - tdobson 10y ago
      Yeah. It rules out some people. It's attractive to some people. Clearly rules oneself out from others. It doesn't really matter because with dating - you only need to win once.
    - VLM 10y ago
      The analogy I've seen used on other sites is its like a food allergy, which is extremely important when selecting a restaurant or buying picnic food, but it doesn't significantly impair or impact social activity, or it only impacts it as much as you permit it to make you feel bad.

icantdrive55 10y ago

Girlfriend? I don't know--maybe it gives off the right advertising. Meaning, if you don't want all the trappings of a conventional lifestyle; I'm that guy. A great opening line, "Do you want to avoid hiring a lawyer in the future to fight over assets? Do you want to avoid sitting in a cubicle the rest of your life? Do you want to never have this thought, "Would I be with him if we didn't have that house, and kids?" If you don't want to have a gaggle of kids because you were kinda pressed into having them by family, friends, coworker, societal pressures, etc., I'm your guy. (Yes, I know having kids is a wonderful experience. If I was this guy in this article, I would get a vasectomy, and freeze sperm. I don't know if you could live like this with a child, especially in an overprotective, fear for the worse, jump to the wrong conclusions, country like the USA.) My parents fought over the house seemingly continually. The only time they didn't fight was when they left it on weekends. My father wanted to do what this guy is doing now, but died before completing his van. I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively. That is my main concern. Towns, and cities have much made it illegial to park pretty much anywhere overnight, unless you pay a fee.

sliverstorm 10y ago
I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively. It gets to be a mess when too many people try it. Sometimes it's totally unrelated to vandwellers- in college, the town was only twice the population of the school, so there was a massive shortage of parking.
microcolonel 10y ago
Yeah; I'm hearing this as a reason more and more often. People's paranoia is overwhelming and CPS/CAS is often duty-bound to investigate. I was abused as a child, and no CAS tip could have saved me. Meanwhile, they are surely making it very difficult for normal people to raise children. It's basically illegal to let children play in the back yard. I still want to have kids though; I don't get how even these tangible concerns can turn anyone off the idea. The chemical and emotional wonder of the idea is overwhelming to me.

tdobson 10y ago

I live in a van.[1] I started out in the van with a girlfriend, then our relationship came to an end (the van probably helped it last a bit longer) and so I got back into dating. I'd say dating with the van was easier than before I had it. You must lead with it. You have to make sure it's upfront with everyone - you don't bring it up last - it said it all over my OKC profile - and you know - nothing starts conversations like something unusual. It's not for everyone - but the people who opt out - it would't have worked with anyway. The ones that opt in, it's good. Probably the most dangerous people who fetishise your vanlifestyle above the reality. Reality is that there are ups and downs, good things and tradeoffs. Anyway, I'm now happily in an awesome relationship - and yeah - the van isn't a big deal. It kind of helps - cos she lives a good distance away from many of my friends. :) [1] https://www.instagram.com/tdobsonnet/ https://www.instagram.com/tdobsonnet/

elliotec 10y ago
I'd disagree with your statement that "the van isn't a big deal" in your last sentence. If you feel that you have to be upfront with everyone about living in a van, it sort of becomes an enormous part of your identity, which I would call a big deal.
- geocar 10y ago
  I think he means that it isn't interfering with his romantic life. Some people (especially programmers) use the expression "it's not a big deal" to indicate something is straightforward (when you're thinking about it correctly), not to quantify its importance.
  - tdobson 10y ago
    Yeah. It rules out some people. It's attractive to some people. Clearly rules oneself out from others. It doesn't really matter because with dating - you only need to win once.
  - VLM 10y ago
    The analogy I've seen used on other sites is its like a food allergy, which is extremely important when selecting a restaurant or buying picnic food, but it doesn't significantly impair or impact social activity, or it only impacts it as much as you permit it to make you feel bad.