To me living in a van is freedom. Living in a van makes life simpler. Living in a van is awesome!!! When I began my van life journey it was simply to get out of the vicious cycle of giving half my money away just for a few simple comforts. It was actually pretty scary at first. To give up everything you have ever known about living and restart. To live a simpler life in a world of complexity. Although it was a hard decision to make it was one of the best decisions I have made in my entire life!
Turns out the day I moved into my van was the day I really began to live. When you buy a van to live in from 1978 for $1,500 every day suddenly became a new adventure. Whether it was learning how to install insulation, dealing with a breakdown or simply going on an adventure and waking up somewhere new every day.
I realized that going through the same routine more or less daily and weekly was holding me back from actually living!
What do I want in life? What do I desire? These are questions I was not asking myself before deciding to live in a van. I was at a point in my life where I was happy but I was more or less just going through the motions trying to survive in this world of inequality and social classes. That's why I asked what can I do differently to live the life of my dreams?
Don't get me wrong, I skated and had a fun job but I still was not living up to my potential and not experiencing life the way I wanted to be experiencing it. That's why I bought a van as an experiment to live in an see if it was a viable option to the high rent prices. Well the experiment became the solution for me and all of a sudden I was able to travel more, work less and quit my jobs when I wasn't happy or bored...or if my boss was a dick! I wasn't forced to work to come up with next month rent. I was working for adventure!
Well when you are not stuck in the same routine day after day, week after week, month after month you are able to do more of the things you want.
You can travel, explore, meet new people, experience new experiences and gain more hobbies. I was able to let my creativity come out from where it was hiding for 27 years. I was able to get out and explore.
When I look back on the last 3 years of living in a van, where I began and who I was before living in a van. It's not that I'm a different person. I was always this person but changing my lifestyle really let the real me soar and conquer whatever I desire. Moving into a van let me leave behind the society that held me back from experiencing life. The society that told me that things had to be a certain way. Well I found out you can make this life whatever you want to make it.
For me. Life in a van. It's not ending anytime soon. There's no stop in sight. For me life in a van is the plan....man!
See what I've been up to over the last few years... https://www.vanningaintnojoke.com/blog/my-van-life-history-lee-eel-eisler
