Before I go too deep into this, I'll just admit that I've only been living in a van for 15 days. But when trying anything new for the first time with the hope of doing it long term, I think it helps to look book on the first few weeks and see if there's anything that I would change in order for the foreseeable future to be as enjoyable as possible.
Right now, there's absolutely nothing which could make me want to live in a house. Everything I own (plus some of Frida's stuff) is stored away in our little van and we've still got spare room. Why would I ever need a house with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom when I've got it all at a literal arms-reach? Granted the bathroom design involves folding the bed away and squatting on a small plastic box that's essentially an adult potty but everything else is as functional as a it would be in a normal house.
(Note. Just in case you were wondering, we haven't used the adult potty and don't plan on it. We've found that the public toilets in New Zealand have been clean and frequent enough that we don't need to squat on the plastic box)
For meals we cook on a single gas hob which means that we've already become quite adept at whipping up a storm in just one pan. It's also made us less wasteful with our water usage, for example: rather than boiling a pan of water just to cook some pasta then pour the water away, we've cooked our pasta in the sauce and nothing gets thrown away. Each dinner might normally end up with 2 litres of water being wasted but we've saved almost 10 by being limited to a single hob. It's little things like this that make living in a van feel much more involved and thoughtful rather than in a house where it's easier to be lazy and wasteful.
So far nothing has made me regret getting this van. There hasn’t been a single moment when I’ve wanted to pack it all in and give up this way of living. Everyday we see something new, drive somewhere now and experience something that we’ve never done before. We might still be in the ‘honeymoon phase’ of owning and living in a van but it’s bloody brilliant and I want to do my best to make everyday at least as good as the one before.
In the coming days, weeks or months there might be moments that aren’t so enjoyable and that induce feelings of wanting something else but the way I see it, it’s all going to be part of the experience. Everyone we’ve met has said that it’s an amazing way to travel and live and see the world, which fills me with hope and reassurance that the good days will definitely outnumber the bad.
Who knows where the van will take us. For now, we’re heading south towards Queenstown in the search of some glaciers and good hikes...
Written By Leo
April 17, 2018
Wonderful!!
April 20, 2018
Thank you so much!