How We Chose Van Life Told By My Husband Andrew

GUEST SPOTLIGHT: The events that lead us to this lifestyle of ultimate freedom as told by the hubs, Andrew

The Beginning

Growing up my family was fortunate enough to travel and take trips every year. Weather these trips were to Disneyland, Arizona for Spring Training, Mexico or Hawaii, it was the bigger, longer trips that we went on; one to Ireland and Germany (as well as a few other European countries) and the second one to Fiji and Australia, that really got me interested to travel and being able to see new places and people. Those two longer trips, each about 2-3 weeks long gave me a chance to really see how different the culture is that we live in the US compared to the other countries we visited. Fast forward a few years from those trips and in walks Michelle – someone who was always ready to go on a road trip or trips to Mexico, doing more than just hanging at the resorts. From our first few trips together we knew that traveling and adventure in new places was something very important to us both. I’ve always wanted to live in another country, I’m not sure why but the appeal has always been there – to be able to live in the tropics being in/on the ocean everyday, experience new places and things excited me. After slowing convincing Michelle that Hopkins, Belize was the place to move (fixed currency with the USD, English is the official language, cost of living 1/3 of home and more), we booked a trip to the beautiful country.

Thoughts of a Big Move: Belize

We spent 4 days driving around in our rented Jeep, hiking to amazing waterfalls, floating the river and doing a few drive-bys of a couple properties I had found online while at home. We loved Belize and everything about it, but the more we thought about living in this town of Hopkins we were visiting, we started seeing that we’d likely fall back into the same lifestyle we had at home (eat, sleep, work), only difference is we would be in Belize. That idea didn’t sit well with us. If we were going to make a huge change, like moving to Belize, we also wanted a life change in how we lived on a day-to-day basis. We went home loving Belize and the idea of traveling even more, we just needed to figure out a way to change our day-to-day life once traveling.

As dumb as this is to say, I don’t think we chose Vanlife. I think Vanlife chose us.

Belize Is Out, RVing Is In

By this time we already had our 2 duplexes. We had done a full remodel on the unit we were living in and managing the other 3 units, both working full time and trying to figure out how we wanted to get out and see the country and world. I knew the duplexes were our answer, but they weren’t ready yet. The amount of cash flow created wouldn’t be enough to sustain a life of travel. One day while searching for something on YouTube I stumbled on a couple living and traveling North and Central America full time in a school bus that they converted into an RV. They’re freedom and cost effectiveness blew me away. I had never thought about living in an RV, I had never even traveled in an RV, but I loved the idea of being able to go anywhere at anytime and while always having your home with you. It almost forces you out of the ability to build a comfortable “normal life” that we saw us falling into if we were to move to Belize, which was the last thing we wanted. I knew, instantly, after seeing that first YouTube video that life on the road in a converted school bus is what ‘We’ or at least ‘I’ needed and wanted. The appeal of being able to see new places, stay in an area/city for as long or as short of time as we wanted, seemed too good to pass up.

Convincing Michelle

Trying to get Michelle on board was a tougher sale than trying to convince her Belize was our next home. Not knowing where we would be parking the huge bus every night was something that I thought as one of the biggest attraction to the lifestyle change, but was something she didn’t really see as attractive. It took some time but I finally won her over. There is A TON of amazing free campsite all over the Western US, some in remote areas 2-3 hours from the closet town and other only 10 minutes or less from the places we want to be. She was sold on buying an old school bus and converting it into a livable space, the only thing she asked is that the build out was comparable to our home.

Trying to get Michelle on board was a tougher sale than trying to convince her Belize was our next home. Not knowing where we would be parking the huge bus every night was something that I thought as one of the biggest attraction to the lifestyle change, but was something she didn’t really see as attractive. It took some time but I finally won her over. There is A TON of amazing free campsite all over the Western US, some in remote areas 2-3 hours from the closet town and other only 10 minutes or less from the places we want to be. She was sold on buying an old school bus and converting it into a livable space, the only thing she asked is that the build out was comparable to our home.

Our Tipping Point

As she started to see the positives of living on the road in a huge school bus – I began to see the draw backs. However, we had no time to think about that life style anymore as our wedding and honeymoon was right around the corner, as well as me being elbows deep in a complete remodel of another one of our units that was fully underway. Our wedding went off without a hitch. Best and most fun day we could have ever planned for – and then the honeymoon! Our honeymoon was amazing, we were fortunate enough to be able to go to Italy and Mykonos, Greece for 2 weeks – a week in each location. During that time we saw things we had only seen online and on the TV (Leaning Tower, Cinque Terra, the Colosseum and Florence) and ate the most delicious food. Following all the sightseeing in Italy, we had the most relaxing time on the beaches in Mykonos. The travel bug bit us both, hard. When we came home after that amazing 2 weeks of seeing new places and doing new things, we knew we had to get back out and travel, fast. After getting home in October we put our heads together to figure out how we could buy a a vehicle and convert it to a livable space as soon as possible and begin the travel lifestyle. It almost hurt being home, not taking in anything new, back at the grind of finishing the remodel that I failed to finish before the wedding and Michelle back at her demanding 9-5 (less than 10-11 hours after landing back in the country and on a 10 hour jet lag) – not ideal.

Vanlife Enters the Picture

So it was back to the bus idea. The main draw back to the bus that we couldn’t get around is that they are HUGE. To be able to get the bus to places that I wanted go to and see would probably have been a bigger feat then the conversion build out. That’s when I started thinking small. Just like with the original bus couple I found on Youtube, I found more couples doing the same thing, but in Sprinter vans. Once I found a couple living with their dog in a Sprinter van, I knew that this was the best option. Something small enough to be able to take on winding, unpaved back country roads, but large enough for a full size bed, a kitchen and sitting space seemed like the perfect fit. Breaking the news to Michelle that I thought shrinking our life from a 3 bedroom 1,000 sqft home to a 40 foot bus was an up hill battle, so I knew telling her that I thought going to a 21 foot van with roughly 80 sqft of livable space would be an even bigger challenge. I was wrong. While she did take it as a bit of a surprise and that I thought 80 sqft was a good idea for the 2 of us plus Ziggy, she surprisingly jumped on the idea pretty quick. When I told her of the other perks like 3x the mpg the van offered (compared to the bus), the ability to get to remote places we both wanted to see, the cost of buying a van and converting it or updating it and most importantly the timeline in which it could be done so that we’d be ready to move in and be living on the road sooner rather than later, it was hard for her not to see all the upsides to going small. From this point on it was Game On!

Finding the Van

I spent every possible free moment on Craigslist, eBay and other sites trying to find the perfect van. I knew we wanted the longest van available and I also preferred something that was partially built out already, mainly electrical and plumbing. This was harder than I expected, at least in the price range we were trying to stay within. From Seattle to Phoenix, up and down the West Coast and the into the Utah/Colorado area, I wasn’t finding anything that fit our wishes. I was starting to become desperate for the lifestyle Vanlife offered after watching all the Youtube channels out there with others doing what we wanted, so I expanded my search area. We ended up finding THE van. It had full electrical, plumbing and custom kitchen cabinets. It was everything we wanted and for a great price. The only downside to this van was that is was about as far as way as possible from Portland – it was in Orlando, Florida. This van was too good to pass up, so I knew I had to see it for myself. Luckily through my bother, Travis, I was able to get a free flight down to Orlando the following week. Meeting the owners and seeing it for the first time, I knew that we had to have this van. I flew home 24 hours after getting to Orlando to tell Michelle we needed this van. After some small negations with the owners once I was home, Michelle and I were back on the plane 7 days later flying over to pick up the van and drive it back.

I spent every possible free moment on Craigslist, eBay and other sites trying to find the perfect van. I knew we wanted the longest van available and I also preferred something that was partially built out already, mainly electrical and plumbing. This was harder than I expected, at least in the price range we were trying to stay within. From Seattle to Phoenix, up and down the West Coast and the into the Utah/Colorado area, I wasn’t finding anything that fit our wishes. I was starting to become desperate for the lifestyle Vanlife offered after watching all the Youtube channels out there with others doing what we wanted, so I expanded my search area. We ended up finding THE van. It had full electrical, plumbing and custom kitchen cabinets. It was everything we wanted and for a great price. The only downside to this van was that is was about as far as way as possible from Portland – it was in Orlando, Florida. This van was too good to pass up, so I knew I had to see it for myself. Luckily through my bother, Travis, I was able to get a free flight down to Orlando the following week. Meeting the owners and seeing it for the first time, I knew that we had to have this van. I flew home 24 hours after getting to Orlando to tell Michelle we needed this van. After some small negations with the owners once I was home, Michelle and I were back on the plane 7 days later flying over to pick up the van and drive it back.

It’s All Worth It

That was Jan 1, 2018 and now its Oct 6, 2018 and even after a 3 month interior storage upgrades, a couple $1,000 dollar mechanical repairs, upgrades and equipment changes, I can honestly say this is one of the best life changes and decisions I have ever made. The life we live is unlike many others out there (though the community is growing) and I currently wouldn’t have it any other way.

-Andrew, Michelle’s Husband