3 Things Instagram Doesn’t Show You About Solo Van-Life.
1. It Gets Lonely.
One of the things I love about living in a traditional home is inviting friends over and hanging out over a home-cooked meal. But by consolidating my life into the back of my car, I was no longer able to invite people into my space. Unless I made dinner plans with a friend or I was invited over to a friend’s home, I ended up eating dinner on my own - either at a restaurant or in the front seat of my car.
Many people eat dinner alone in their homes in the evenings, but it’s a little different when you’re in a public space eating alone. I opened myself up to the judgement and scrutiny of the people around me, and sure, I can learn to “ignore the haters” or “not worry about what others think”, but being alone in a crowded room somehow makes me feel more lonely than actually being alone.
Also when living in my car, I became more and more cautious about who I let into my life. Not everyone is accepting of alternative living styles, so I had to be more careful about who I share my secret with. During my vanlife journey, only three of my coworkers knew that I lived in my car, because I worried that my living situation would tarnish the facade of professionalism, and I wasn’t ready for my career growth to be hindered because of it. Even though I wanted to befriend my coworkers and be the bubbly, lively self that I usually am, my need to maintain professionalism hindered me from pursuing friendships in the workplace.
2. You Become More Environmentally Conscious.
Moving into my car in itself was a large reduction of my carbon footprint. Cutting down on the amount of energy used on heating and air conditioning, lighting, and minimizing my water usage are just a few ways that I reduced my negative environmental impact. With a limited amount of space, I had no choice but to reduce my possessions to a bare minimum, and before I knew it, I was be a proud minimalist. I was quickly finding ways to eliminate my material consumption of wasteful products and finding creative ways to find eco-friendlier ways of performing daily tasks, because in addition to being environmentally friendly, it was also most cost-effective in the long run.
My favorite examples of this was my food consumption and clothing choices. Since I couldn’t conveniently store food in my car, daily grocery store trips to purchase just enough food for the day helped me save money and eliminate food waste. I didn’t have a lot of space to store clothes either so fast-fashion was out and I committed to a small selection of versatile basics instead.
3. Cancelled Plans are a Much Bigger Deal.
First, having plans was important. Whether my plan was to do chores or to spend time with friends, I always had to have an idea of how I was going to spend my day because I didn’t have the option of just lounging around at home.
Car-dwelling requires a great deal of planning and discipline. When I had to plan on doing my laundry within business hours, and how and when to prepare meals, it can be hard to be spontaneous with evening plans. In order to make this lifestyle manageable, I had to sacrifice some of my flexibility when it came to making plans during the week.
Sure, plans getting cancelled can be slightly frustrating for anyone, but it became more than just a frustration as a car-dweller. It became a bit of a burden when I had nowhere to retreat to. In the summer, it was much easier to find something to do or a place to go because the weather was in my favor, but in the winter, it became much harder to find a place to go.
Car-dwelling is as adventurous and fun as Instagram and Pinterest make it out to be, but there are surely challenges that come with this unique lifestyle. I hope more honest reflections of the this lifestyle will help you understand that not everything about the digital nomad life is exotic and adventurous. With the decision to try out a life of adventure comes with some sacrifices, and as long as you are willing to make those sacrifices, you will surely be rewarded with a life of endless adventure.
