6 ms·

This is written in October. He's been living in the van since the middle of May. Basically late spring, summer and early autumn. How is he going to feel after

This is written in October. He's been living in the van since the middle of May. Basically late spring, summer and early autumn. How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun, but it's not warm. At all. Trying to work in a van when it's below freezing outside will be pretty hard work. I can't even type when the room drops below 15 degrees. Vans like the one he has are basically uninsulated steel boxes - they get cold pretty fast.

weavie 9y ago
He is in a van. I guess he can just drive south.
classisch 9y ago
I'll probably spend the winter down in southern Portugal/Spain where temperatures are around 15 degrees in average during the winter. I've also installed an old heating that works with Diesel and electricity. But yes, summer life is easy and I'm looking forward to experience my first winter in the van. BTW: I bought the van in February and already worked and slept in the van while it was freezing cold: https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/ https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/ it was ok.
- cfn 9y ago
  Inland Portugal can be freezing cold in the Winter, we got -2 C several days in a row last year (I know, -2 C is balmy elsewhere but try it without central heating). You should be okay if you stick to the coast as the sea breezes keep the temperatures in the 10-15 C most of the time.
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    If you've got a good sleeping bag, -2 C isn't that bad. I've spent the night with those temperatures in the high country of New Zealand. I know people that have spent the night in -15 C temperatures.
    - cfn 9y ago
      That may be OK for sleeping but it is very hard to work. I spent a couple of Winters coding without heating with indoor temperatures around 12 Celsius and it was very hard. I wore mittens, bubble hat, a blanket and even an electric foot warmer and still had to stop working and walk a bit every now and then to warm up.
      - jvzr 9y ago
        What's a bubble hat, if I may ask?
        cfn 9y ago
        Sorry, bobble hat. It is a wool hat with a wool "ball" at the top. Search google images for wool bobble hat.
      - toomanybeersies 9y ago
        Yeah, I had to live through that as well when I was at university. Fingerless gloves were essential. Below 15 C, it actually gets hard to type.
coldtea 9y ago
>How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun, but it's not warm. At all. Depends on the country. There are places where winter is like 30 degrees. And you can always have a portable heater -- in a small van it will heat it up completely.
- dx034 9y ago
  Driving from Berlin? Most of southern Europe can be very cold (even Portugal and Spain) in winter. Maybe some parts of Turkey will stay warmer but not sure about that. Or maybe southern Greece. And the problem is that weather is not independent. If it's very cold in Portugal for a few weeks it's usually also cold in much of the rest of Southern Europe.
  - Veen 9y ago
    This is true, but if you can drive to southern Spain you can get an inexpensive ferry to Morocco. From there you can go as far south as you could want.
  - coldtea 9y ago
    It's trivial to get with the van to Morocco, Turkey. And with a rather inexpensive ferry ride, you can go anywhere in Africa / Middle East. In places like Malaga, Crete, Cyprus, etc it's the average low temperature is like 10-13 degrees (52-55 f). Hardly very cold if you've ever experienced NY, Chicago, Canada, Norther Europe levels of cold. And of course it's very easy to heat a small van.
    - dx034 9y ago
      Yes but I'm not sure if that's where the author would like to go. 4G coverage will likely be weaker (making it harder to code on the go) and with fewer camper vans you'll not meet as many people. Security can also be a concern, as can be political influences (esp in Turkey at the moment).
      - coldtea 9y ago
virtualwhys 9y ago
He'll go down to the Algarve like all the other young surfers and retirees do in the winter. Loads of sun, dry, and air temps 16 to 20 degrees. It's generally gorgeous, like an extended autumn.
- sdfjkl 9y ago
  From what I've seen, winter is surfing season and they're on the Portuguese west coast, especially in Nazare. This is why: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=nazare+surfing&tbm=isch https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=nazare+surfing&tbm=isch
  - virtualwhys 9y ago
    > Nazare You must be joking ;-) I've spent 4 winters in the Algarve. While they don't get the classic beach breaks of SW France (Hossegor, Seignosse, Capbreton), there are some excellent spots down there (the point breaks at Arifana and Zavial in particular). Also, when massive winter swells come on the west coast (i.e. too big to surf), drive 30 minutes to the south coast and enjoy glassy perfection. Locals have no problem dropping in on you, however; not as civil as the French are in that respect, but can't blame them, spots can get crowded.

weavie 9y ago

He is in a van. I guess he can just drive south.

classisch 9y ago

I'll probably spend the winter down in southern Portugal/Spain where temperatures are around 15 degrees in average during the winter. I've also installed an old heating that works with Diesel and electricity. But yes, summer life is easy and I'm looking forward to experience my first winter in the van. BTW: I bought the van in February and already worked and slept in the van while it was freezing cold: https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/ https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/ it was ok.

cfn 9y ago
Inland Portugal can be freezing cold in the Winter, we got -2 C several days in a row last year (I know, -2 C is balmy elsewhere but try it without central heating). You should be okay if you stick to the coast as the sea breezes keep the temperatures in the 10-15 C most of the time.
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  If you've got a good sleeping bag, -2 C isn't that bad. I've spent the night with those temperatures in the high country of New Zealand. I know people that have spent the night in -15 C temperatures.
  - cfn 9y ago
    That may be OK for sleeping but it is very hard to work. I spent a couple of Winters coding without heating with indoor temperatures around 12 Celsius and it was very hard. I wore mittens, bubble hat, a blanket and even an electric foot warmer and still had to stop working and walk a bit every now and then to warm up.
    - jvzr 9y ago
      What's a bubble hat, if I may ask?
      - cfn 9y ago
        Sorry, bobble hat. It is a wool hat with a wool "ball" at the top. Search google images for wool bobble hat.
    - toomanybeersies 9y ago
      Yeah, I had to live through that as well when I was at university. Fingerless gloves were essential. Below 15 C, it actually gets hard to type.

coldtea 9y ago

>How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun, but it's not warm. At all. Depends on the country. There are places where winter is like 30 degrees. And you can always have a portable heater -- in a small van it will heat it up completely.

dx034 9y ago
Driving from Berlin? Most of southern Europe can be very cold (even Portugal and Spain) in winter. Maybe some parts of Turkey will stay warmer but not sure about that. Or maybe southern Greece. And the problem is that weather is not independent. If it's very cold in Portugal for a few weeks it's usually also cold in much of the rest of Southern Europe.
- Veen 9y ago
  This is true, but if you can drive to southern Spain you can get an inexpensive ferry to Morocco. From there you can go as far south as you could want.
- coldtea 9y ago
  It's trivial to get with the van to Morocco, Turkey. And with a rather inexpensive ferry ride, you can go anywhere in Africa / Middle East. In places like Malaga, Crete, Cyprus, etc it's the average low temperature is like 10-13 degrees (52-55 f). Hardly very cold if you've ever experienced NY, Chicago, Canada, Norther Europe levels of cold. And of course it's very easy to heat a small van.
  - dx034 9y ago
    Yes but I'm not sure if that's where the author would like to go. 4G coverage will likely be weaker (making it harder to code on the go) and with fewer camper vans you'll not meet as many people. Security can also be a concern, as can be political influences (esp in Turkey at the moment).
    - coldtea 9y ago

virtualwhys 9y ago

He'll go down to the Algarve like all the other young surfers and retirees do in the winter. Loads of sun, dry, and air temps 16 to 20 degrees. It's generally gorgeous, like an extended autumn.

sdfjkl 9y ago
From what I've seen, winter is surfing season and they're on the Portuguese west coast, especially in Nazare. This is why: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=nazare+surfing&tbm=isch https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=nazare+surfing&tbm=isch
- virtualwhys 9y ago
  > Nazare You must be joking ;-) I've spent 4 winters in the Algarve. While they don't get the classic beach breaks of SW France (Hossegor, Seignosse, Capbreton), there are some excellent spots down there (the point breaks at Arifana and Zavial in particular). Also, when massive winter swells come on the west coast (i.e. too big to surf), drive 30 minutes to the south coast and enjoy glassy perfection. Locals have no problem dropping in on you, however; not as civil as the French are in that respect, but can't blame them, spots can get crowded.