Nomadic Introvert

What an exciting way to live.

First off, I love her van. It's quite nice inside.

Second, I can't believe she can survive in her van at such low temperatures.

Third, it must be such a pain to have to look for a place to park every night.

I have so many questions for people who live this life.

Do they work? What do they do all day?

It seems like their entire existence centers around survival.

Still, it would be quite an adventure!

(PS, I love her Christmas lights)

A lot of lesbians seem to be commenting at the bottom of her videos.

The Christmas lights are the bomb 💣

OP, for some reason, I have become obsessed with You Tube videos of people who decide to stay in their vans during blizzards. They actually live in vans all alone and drive around and then park somewhere for the evening. I even saw a rest stop where truckers usually go, but this one van guy he goes there and they have these private showers and bathrooms. You pay for the stall and you get everything, and the showers are spotlessly clean and well maintained. I did watch one with a couple who decided to stop in a Walmart lot overnight. One guy was in a real blizzard up in the mountains and he was sitting in his van all bundles up talking about how the wind was "really shaking" his van. Most of these are not elaborate RUVs. A lot of them are homemade. Their food supplies and water and fuel seem meagre so I doubt anyone of them could last more than 3 days out there. It's nuts.

[quote] One guy was in a real blizzard up in the mountains and he was sitting in his van all bundles up talking about how the wind was "really shaking" his van

Do you have a link to his video, R3?

I'd love to watch it.

I also find it funny that she calls herself an introvert, because she sure loves to talk!

And she's not awkward at all.

I watch a lot of these videos and have always been fascinated by this idea of living in a b-class (mobile RV). For a long while I watched a series by a fellow called Forresty Forrest.

This gal’s van looks to be way more modern and expensive than most “Nomad”-type vehicles. It looks brand new.

That film, Nomadland, sobered me up on the idea of living in an RV as some escapist fantasy. The idea of having to find space to sleep undisturbed sounds really stressful and rootless. I’d feel so vulnerable. I think some cities are seeing more of these vans, and some of the nomads get awaken by people banging on the van and telling them to move along.

I think only a few of the nomads make enough to monetize the experience by releasing content like that shared above. Many share how to retrofit systems into older vans, and how to navigate life on the road (cook, heat, manage resources and waste, stay clean and healthy). It’s interesting, but the reality of this life might feel dystopian after a while.

“ Their food supplies and water and fuel seem meagre so I doubt anyone of them could last more than 3 days out there.”

R3 Exactly. Cooking, sleeping, bathing in a tiny enclosed space is so hard and complex. In OP’s clip, I wonder how you wash that pan and get rid of the cooking smell in a tiny space like that. You can’t air out the space in frigid weather, and the galley sinks in these campers are tiny with a thin stream of warm water.

That van looks brand new, but must be in rough shape after even a few days of hard use like this. They cost over $100,000, many twice that amount. I can’t figure out the economics of this situation.

This cute guy lives in a small van. In this one he visits one of the most popular dogging spots in the UK. He is of course completely disinterested in the proceedings on camera, but one has to wonder if there weren’t some curiosity or more once the tape stopped rolling.

This woman I used to work with, she retired and she and her husband were planning to spend a whole year on the road in their RV. They wanted to travel the USA, and had spent vacations in their RV for several years. They loved it. She said they usually stopped at camp grounds where places were reserved for RVs and they met interesting people. I thought she was nuts.

I agree, R7. IMO, if you become a real RV nomad it would seem your entire existence centers around survival every single day. I also have to admit, I would be worried. There are way too many predatory, crazy people out here, and getting robbed or worse is a very real possibility.

I was fascinated with van life for a while and followed several YouTube channels and blogs about it. The romanticism lost its allure for me after reading too many things about security and safety. There’s an increasing legal and regulatory hostility toward this in many communities that necessitates the need to make it look like you’re not occupying the van while parked on city streets. There are clever ways to camouflage for seepage of light, sound and ventilation. For bathing, many people have memberships to national gym chains. 24 hour ones also allow you some time at odd hours in a parking lot as a member. There are all kinds of interesting codes and etiquette rules people talk about. Most people need to hold down some kind of income, so it’s a more of an urban or suburban lifestyle than ‘camping’ surrounded by beautiful scenery. That more of a modified RV lifestyle.

I think Foresty Forest spends most of his time in the wild.

I'd be afraid of potential crime...

When you see vans rocking near the Space Needle, it’s usually sex work. The vans are dented and vandalized within a season.

I love her channel and she gets a ton of views. The real gag is she probably can afford to buy luxury real estate with those Youtube checks she gets.

R11 Those codes are like a new sociology. The commentator Forrest Forest addresses the culture of boundary nomads (I made this term up to address people who live at the boundary on community and isolation, cobble together systems of sanitation, food, enrichment). Forresty says that restrictions come from Nomads not being aware of others’ experiences have the potential to take options away from others. They stop allowing overnight parking in places after they find refuse or fires not properly extinguished, etc.

OP check out Eva Zu Beck and Hannah Lee Duggan for van life. I love this shit too. Cannot fathom even riding in a camper van for more than a few hours (MARY!!!!) but so interesting watching these people traipse around.

The technology isn’t quite as advanced for this to work well enough for most people. You need a lot of practical skills and technological fluency to live on the move in an RV, even an expensive one like that in OP’s video. The gal in the video looks to be living in an upfitted Ram Promaster RV, one that sells for about $120-150k. That’s a decent home in some parts of the Country.

I would need a bunk over the cab, to sleep higher from the ground, and I would definitively need an incinerator toilet with a catalytic converter. I couldn’t mess with a cassette toilet or a black tank of waste, or a bucket. By the time I kitted out an RV suitable to live in hygienically, I would have spent the value of a small home with an address to receive things ordered online, etc.

I think they can always park in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Company policy.

Mav Joos is my favorite charismatic (presumably straight) van twink. He travels quite a bit, his cooking is pretty good, he’s pretty, and has a nice skinny/avg body.

I’d like to understand the value curve on that van. These expensive vehicles lose their value during intermittent traditional use, but I imagine that depreciation speeds up when the vehicle has been lived in.

I have a feeling that these vans don’t hold up to this type of use, especially in cold climates.

NOPE.

This would be really fun for an adventurous summer with your S.O., in a well stocked RV, not a van.

Otherwise, nope, nope, nope.

This gal sold her house and purchased a 2023 RV essentially new, to live in and work overtime as a means to travel freely in 2-5 years. She is on a “ journey of contentment”. I’m not sure I would watch 72 episodes of this, but it is different from other content focused on practical things like retrofitting RV’s, designing systems to survive different conditions. But there may well be an audience looking to join her. She has over 100k followers.

I think, as an asset, a van will depreciate faster than even a modest home. But this is more about lifestyle than economics, but they overlap.

[quote]I’d like to understand the value curve on that van. These expensive vehicles lose their value during intermittent traditional use

I don't know about these vans, but some vehicles hold their value.

Why doesn't she go down to Florida or one of the warmer southern/south western states?

R25 I think she still works full time. She says she makes good money and has a full time job, and she is working a lot of overtime to save up to financially be freer to travel and see the mountains and canyons she admires in content created by others.

This brand new van is a luxury recreational vehicle, but she is living in it as a means to economize, save funds, and transition to a freer life on the road. She sold her home and says she spent part of the proceeds on this van, which is a 2023 model and had only 100 miles on it when she took possession of it. I wonder if the salespeople knew that she planned to live in it full time. I also wonder if warranty coverage anticipates this type of use for these vehicles. If the heating system fails or there are any issues with the van, it will technically still be under some form of warranty.

This makes me think of “Into the Wild” guy Chris McCandless. Only he didn’t have a van or social media. Maybe he would have found a community or support system with people like this and not have wandered off to the Alaskan wilderness.

Ugh the poor bitch ends up sleeping in her car after her brand new van breaks down in 2k miles. She learns that dealers who can service her van under warranty can’t look at the vehicle for a few months, so she ends up taking the vehicle for work out of warranty. In the first episodes, we see her navigating homelessness but under different conditions than we see with most unbiased people. She has a job, money, good health, a car and a really expensive RV. It’s really different, but technically she is homeless. I like her very much, but I feel so bad for her sleeping in her car, having only 2 hours rest, spending out of pocket to get her vehicles into conditions that she needs. It’s fascinating but also sad. She’s a neat gal, but Jesus the conditions of her life are degrading in these first episodes. It’s a whole world of complexity and it’s very sad at parts.

^^^That should spell “unhoused”, not “unbiased”, d’oh.

McCandless did find communities of support on his travels. He wasn’t interested in staying.

R5 “Introvert” doesn’t mean shy or awkward. It just means that you need some alone time to recharge. Extroverts recharge/refresh with socialization but excessive socialization without downtime drains the energy of introverts.

I’m an introverted teacher and deal with 200+ people’s needs a day. I need time by myself each night to have patience to tackle it again in the morning.

[quote] When you see vans rocking near the Space Needle, it’s usually sex work.

If the van is-a-rockin', don't come-a-knockin'

[quote] Mav Joos is my favorite charismatic (presumably straight) van twink

Thanks for introducing me to Mav, R20.

He's gorgeous and funny.

I felt so sorry for him in this video. He looked so cold, and snow was getting into his truck!

Does he have any family? He was all alone for Christmas, as was the lady in the original video.

Speaking of, R26/R28 thanks for shedding more light on her situation.

That's so interesting! I always love hearing the back story of these people.

Although she seems much better off than Mav. But still, how did he get such a nice truck???

These people must be bringing in some big bucks.

Mav could actually afford to buy his dad a new (used) snowmobile!!

I used to watch Foresty Forest's YouTube.

Some of the places he visits are spectacular. It was really interesting watching him convert a van into his mobile home. How he heated it, what electrics he fitted and how he cooked.

[quote] Ugh the poor bitch ends up sleeping in her car ... I like her very much, but I feel so bad for her sleeping in her car, ... It’s fascinating but also sad. She’s a neat gal,

If you like her so much and think she's a "neat gal," why are you calling her a "poor bitch"?

[quote] He is of course completely disinterested in the proceedings on camera, but one has to wonder if there weren’t some curiosity or more once the tape stopped rolling.

What?

Mental illness isn't entertaining. Living in a van isn't cool and edgy, out there on the vanguard of "nomad" life. It's mental illness and these people need serious therapy.

People are fucking toxic in general. Some of our souls are from the mysterious purple bubble dimension. Doing drugs and living away from you money-worshiping meatbags is the most comfortable we can get.

R37 you just don't get it.

People enjoy the freedom and the accomplishment of being self-sustaining.

Not everyone enjoys the trappings of modern life.

Not everyone needs the McMansion in the suburbs or the loft in Manhattan, the daily latte from Starbucks, being attached to their smartphones, and sitting in traffic in your Tesla for hours.

I know for a FACT that I certainly don't want or need that.

Some people want to disconnect and unplug from the daily grind, and live a life of adventure.

As I said, you'll NEVER understand it or "get it."

I "get" it, and I see it for what it actually is, not some fucked up romanticized version of "freedumb" you're bullshitting your way through life on. Get a cabin in the woods then, r39. Living in a van is not cool, it's not a brave declaration of anti-materialism, it's a mental illness.

R35 oh! That read badly. I really meant it in the sense that “she can’t catch a break”. I should have just said that. My sisters use the expression “that poor bitch” speaking about each other, but I see in this context it’s pejorative.

R20, R32 Mav is great, have followed him for awhile. He's done really well. Last year bought himself a house (around the Duluth area I think, could be wrong). He's just really personable and sadly fellas he's straight.

Check yourself, R37/R40.

Your entitlement and privilege are showing, and it's not a pretty sight.

Fuck off and die in a grease fire, r43.

Entitlement and privilege, are you a complete lunatic? I'm not entitled and privileged - I'M SANE. I have common sense, ever heard of it? The mentally ill need help, they need treatment, they need medicine, they need healthcare and all kinds of other things, not the least of which is HOUSING. What they don't need is to live in vans on the streets, you totally heartless, brainless moron.

She comments in her camping segment that it was restful being in a dedicated camping space because she didn’t need to reposition each day and seek out places to park for each night. Than vehicle is a premium RV. You can tell by the surfaces and cabinetry and the finishes. She is wise to keep only essentials in that space.

I’m pretty curious watching segments in random order. She is comfortable in quiet spaces. Her videos are not performative. She is merely narrating her activities of daily living. It’s strangely engrossing.

If nothing else, there’s the co2 residue - ventilate all you want; there’s lung juice spume everywhere and it stinks. I lived that insanity for five months (it is a good way to stop drinking cold turkey) and I can smell that ozone odor a mile off.

This reminds me of tiny homes - most are workable with a ton of social support, but residents are at the mercy of the community and land owner. You can tow a tiny house, but where do you put it?

If these van lifers are really happy, good for them, but I couldn't do it. I am nomadic but I prefer to see different countries and stay in a decent apartment. I don't want to shit in the woods or be stuck in a vehicle in frigid weather.

I like Wonderhussy's YouTube channel. She will go on long trips where she camps and sleeps in her vehicle, but she still has a home to come back to. I think roughing it would be fun for like, a week max. Then I would be over it.

Some of the real-life people who were followed by the author of the book "Nomadland" (which inspired the film) used terms like "self-sustaining" as a coping mechanism. Many were in constant states of financial emergency, shaking friends and relatives down for wire transfers and asking for PayPal donations from readers.

It wasn't unusual for them to purchase items from Walmart (while living in Walmart's parking lot) that were quickly returned when they had to scrape together fast cash for an urgent, unexpected bill. There's a big gulf between those who take to the lifestyle out of necessity (sometimes after clashing with more functional relatives who once helped with room and board) and those with six figure remote tech jobs who've turned glamorization of the lifestyle into a highly profitable side business.

This seems as far from an exciting or desirable life of free will that I can imagine.

Good for the people who think of this as adventure, but it's the wrong sort for me.

I hate being in a car for any length of time. Something a couple hours and or more and I need a break and a stretch, anything to break up the monotony. The road trip gene completely skipped me.

But even if I had a wanderlust for highways and back roads, the means to do it is not some sardine can on wheels. Regardless of how "luxurious" some people find expensively fitted vans, campers, RVs, whatever, that would be nothinh but uncomfortable and unpleasant for me. Exploring the world one Walmart parking lot or campsite of shitty people at a time? Fuck no. I don't want to know states not worth knowing and determine my exploration according to where I can park my home on wheels at night.

Gas stations, grocery stores, highways, parking lots, and always looking for a new place to call home for the night and pump out the toilet, always meeting transient people on their way to and from places that don't seem interesting at all...it seems the height of misery, not excitement.

Another one to check out is Ryan Twomey. His channel is kind of blowing up recently.

Oh he was interested R8. Very interested. We just didn't see him jacking off.

The woman in OP's video seems nice however she has no table manners and eats like pig.

[bold]THAT[/bold] was your takeaway from watching video R52?

[quote]The real gag is she probably can afford to buy luxury real estate with those Youtube checks she gets.

R15 I can understand if that's the way she lives: Nomadic for a little while but living well in a stable home for the rest of the year.

This guy, Anthony, upgraded from an SUV to a van. He likes to cook. I don't think he's in great health and he's in his 50s, maybe. He recently got his teeth worked on (he was missing one of his front teeth).

He also seems super happy when he takes a break and stays in a motel / hotel. At some point, he quit his job.

I suspect a lot of "van life" YouTubers spend quite a bit of time in fixed locations, like hotels.

I love a road trip -- even in my truck -- but I've mentioned here before that I am a hard-core motorcyclist. If you want me to define that, for example, I belong to the Iron Butt Association (yes, gentlemen, that's a real thing -- but not the way you think), and the easiest motorcycle ride they do is 1000 miles in 24 hours or less. I've done that twice, both organized rides, and there are very strict verification rules so no, I didn't cheat. I have been riding for over 40 years and I have four more states to ride in until I will have ridden in all the lower 48 states. I plan to do that "bucket list" trip this summer; I will be riding from central FL to North Dakota, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, and then back to FL. But I, unlike the true nomads, will be staying in (probably cheap) hotels the whole way. Still, in a way, it's much more difficult, because motorcycle riding (especially my 860+ lb. Harley) requires physical strength and stamina that driving a van doesn't.

Frankly, I would love to pull a tiny travel trailer behind my bike. Some people do, but I'm at the age now where I can barely hold up my bike with all my clothes, toiletries, and road food/drink on it. If I want to pull a trailer, I'll have to buy a trike, and I have vowed not to get a trike as long as I can still ride a motorcycle, so it'll still be hotels for me for my "bucket list" trip.

But I must add, as an old woman on a big Harley, I have met the nicest people on the road! I have never felt unsafe or threatened in any way, and people are genuinely curious about my travels. I experience the country in a way only a motorcyclist can, and it's so gratifying to be riding alone on my own schedule and at my own pace.

Yup, I could do the nomad thing. Maybe someday, I will.

Mav is my hero.

What he did at this Mexican resort was both hilarious and amazing.

I especially love how he just cooks a quesadilla in the parking lot!

Of course, I think he can only get away with it because he has blond hair and blue eyes.

But it's still fun to watch.

he has a cute natural body.

I was always interested in vintage campers, yet discovered that some early “Tiny Home “ YouTube Content was set in vintage campers and mobile homes, but the stories of these lives were set in the backdrop of financial ruin, often protracted uninsured illness, and other forms of misfortune (some ended their episodes with prayer) or a coded language around Patreon support, and almost always a gentle reminder to “like and subscribe”, which feels a little like passing a virtual collection basket.

I know that many of these individuals aspire to be or feel “free” from leases or mortgages. But in reality I would feel so trapped if I were unable to find a secure place to park and sleep. Also, some financial terms for buying RV’s enable you to make payments over 48, 60 even 120 months, because they’re considered different than an automobile. So it’s possible that some nomads make payments on their RV, and also pay out of pocket to operate and repair it on the road.

These warranty terms seem sketchy and it’s often hard to find a dealer to honor a vehicle’s warranty, and there may be exclusions in the warranty because most Camper Vans are “upfitted” with aftermarket hardware that draws power and interfaces with the vehicle’s own systems. I’d be concerned for leaks and electrical issues that could leave you stranded. That gal in OP’s video experiences these issues, and it’s hard to watch that happen to her.

In a perfect world, I'd LOVE to live in an RV! I could see the world in my own terms, go or stay as I pleased, and have room for a small pet or two. And since this would be a perfect world, I wouldn't have to worry about armed methheads at the RV campgrounds, like the ones you get in reality.

There's another aspect to #VANLIFE that nobody else has addressed, and whether transient relationships are a plus or minus depends on your POV. I saw one young female "influencer" who was always staying with a "new boyfriend" or a "new BFF" for a few weeks and moving on, and while she glamorized the hell out of her lifestyle it sounded like borderline prostitution. Maybe she actually liked these guys, but to cynical old eyes it sure looked like she spent a lot of time putting out in exchange for the use of a real shower.

I'm sorry. Maybe if I was in my 20's I might enjoy it, but I'm not. And the idea of sleeping, cooking eating and shitting in such enclosed quarters is repugnant to me. Ugh.

A lot of the van life people buy gym memberships so that they have a place to take a shower / take a dump.

Living in that van at that highway rest stop in the middle of a cold winter night, and talking to the world through a YouTube channel, seems incredibly depressing and isolating. The images of the rest stop are psychologically chilling. Almost sinister.

I'm the one who loves the idea of living in an RV, but damn. You wouldn't find me in the upper midwest during winter in my imaginary RV home, or in any place likely to snow me in or freeze me to death! The "snowbird" thing has been going on for at least 50 years, if not 100, retirees buying RVs so they can get the hell away from the blizzards, and spend their winters in Florida or Arizona.

What the hell is the point of mobile living, if you can't blithely drive away from bad weather?

Mav used to date Hannah Lee Duggan who also lives in a van most of the time but also bought some cabin in rural Minnesota.

The bathroom issue grosses me out plus the vans must smell pretty awful. It also seems so dangerous for the female solo travelers. Sleeping alone in some van? Doesn’t seem very secure.

Not all Wal-Mart's r19. Many do not allow it.

This didn't work out so well for me..

Is it inappropriate to decide to live in a van and park outside your ex’s house?

It’s a public street!

[quote]r60 …to cynical old eyes it sure looked like she spent a lot of time putting out in exchange for the use of a real shower.

Tale as old as time.

YouTube Homeless Firefighter

This is the only camper I'd live in.

Mav ponders the question is "road tripping even worth it any more?" due to high prices.

I was watching the Mav video last night where he goes to Alaska for 47 days. Pretty crazy when he finds a dead bird on the side of the road and proceeds to cook it and then eats the meat with his instant ramen. Lord. A bit nauseating.

I'm unclear how he even washes his hands in that truck. It looks filthy.

He is VERY cute though. Beautiful eyes. And seems nice.

There are ways Mav could supplement his income.

R73 the problem with that huge monstrosity is that it would require constant maintenance. Almost daily making sure all the bells and whistles are operating properly, the fuel costs, storing water, etc. And it would require an expert driver. A trained expert. If the water filtration system or the electrical or anything else fucks up you're immobilized with no where to go. YOu can't very well park in a Walmart lot with that thing. YOu ay be able to get to a truck stop. IMO it's way too elaborate. Defeats the whole notion of the RV life.

The Mercedes 1 million + camper / trailer is not for driving around a country and shopping and sleeping at walmart. Its a toy for very rich performing artists (their trailer) as well as for .1% middle eastern elites. When I worked with the Saudi billionaires they all had a fleet of private jets, several pleasure "palaces" with 20-50 luxury car collections at each, usually a superyacht, and a couple of these enormous busses and trailers that are outfitted, like the Mercedes in the clip, by yacht designers. They are the private Pullman car of today's Middle Eastern gotha.

Good for her. If the best you can do in life is live in a van so you can be "free", go for it. However, I suspect there's a better way. Maybe share the van and take turns on month or two excursions. The same people, say three people, could also share a small apartment. Just brainstorming here. This just seems like a hip trend to me. But by all means, enjoy the road people.

In fact it's SO trendy, that there ought to be a lot of used vans on the market, that have been fitted up for living spaces...

OK. So you get a storage locker. They aren't cheap and they raise their rates every few months. Then you pay for a gym membership at some national chain so you can shower. You pay for a post office box.

You don't have a lot of storage space in your van, so you have to stop often for groceries and sundries. YOu have to have enough water and fuel and make sure everything is working so you don't get stranded.

I don't know how cost effective it is. I wonder if anyone has doped out a budget for this lifestyle.

Storage places have cameras and security all over the place.

They make sure people aren't living in those lockers, partly because it's not an apartment, but also because it's a liability to have people living on the premises.

Plus, lots of druggies use the storage lockers to live and do drugs, and storage places are aware of this.

R83 up thread the Van nomad was talking about her storage locker. I would imagine if you're an itinerant you have to have someplace to store your "stuff." She may have small appliances, seasonal gear, even a mattress linens other kinds of furnishings. So a storage locker...to store stuff would be expected.

OK. So these van nomads like to park at rest stops or in empty parking lots, or in a mall near a store. But IMO they seem vulnerable to criminals. I wonder if there a re any crime stats specifically on that lifestyle, or if there are any forums where they talk about safety and cautions to one another.

They also park overnight in empty national/state parks and extremely rural areas, which makes me even more nervous than the Walmart lots. What if some psycho is wandering through the woods where these solo female van fools are parked for the night? All they have to do is bust a window. Seems very risky, but I’m also a nervous nelly (MARY!).

Very true risks r86. I would think some of them are packing, though likely just as many are not.

I choose not to live in fear. That doesn’t mean something won’t ever happen to me, but I take some precautions when I feel them necessary, but that’s it.

I think one of the porn studios should host a sex RV adventure and send it cross country with three strapping young men at the helm.

I’d pay good money to watch that!

Foresty Forest is my fave. His mountain climbing and drone skills are amazing.

I'm sure many of them have a gun or some measure of self defense. But then what? Because in most of these videos they seem to not be somewhere where the police or even fire department can send help in an emergency.

I’m a fan of Forresty Forest’s videos and watch a set every few months. Nomad’s are very different, but I can see how she has a following. In the comments we see a lot of people feeling close to her by tracking her story, and they love her authenticity and “realness”. I can see that.

Forresty is a pretty technical presence, retrofitting heating and cooking mechanisms into an older 4x4 vehicle that is rigged for adventure settings. Nomad’s vehicle is a premium luxury B-class rV that she is using for full time housing. Their diets and lifestyles are totally distinct. They both cobble together simple meals, but I see Nomad buys and reviews more prepared foods and fast food like biscuits. She’s a big girl but works out, too, pretty vigorously at her gym.

Nomad’s content is most fascinating when she shares the cost of fuel, showers ($15 to take a shower ), emptying “gray water”, towing, off-warranty repairs, etc. She is ambiguous about her true financial picture, but shares that she has assets in retirement accounts and such. But it is still heartbreaking to see her sleep in her car at times. It’s impressive when she explains her self-determination. She is pretty transparent, honest with her viewers. Many comment that that feel close to her, and feel like they are actually with her on the road. But the economics and longer term outcome of this lifestyle will be interesting to observe. I wonder about the amount of sodium in her diet, and the ancillary costs of fuels and workarounds for safety and hygiene. I do like her very much.

It would be a pain in the ass having to constantly find a toliet and somewhere to shower.

R94 Definitely. I think Nomad’s shower unit had a crack and leak. She never uses the toilet in her RV because she doesn’t want to deal with “black water” waste and odor. Over time, we might see better options for these two aspects of full time life on the road. They may eventually offer larger gray water tanks and more incinerator toilets. If that fuel cost is manageable, they might make a system that could incinerate solid wastes and maybe evaporate gray water. That would be so much easier than pumping tanks for a fee at campgrounds, which can be closed off season.

The “king of kings” rv appears to be called an Earth Roamer. These are super expensive.

Wow this series is getting very sad and depressing. This gal drove several hours across state lines to try some chicken strips at a fast food restaurant. That food looks so terrible and unhealthy, and the fuel and time spent finding it look like such a waste. On the face of things, this gal gave up her home and job to wander around eating really shitty food. Her media is really uneven in quality. She has a great deal to say, yet most of it is about nothing.

One episode she spent a huge amount of time looking at screws and seams in an rv while her own was being repaired. She makes the same point over and over again, so you don’t really learn much of anything. Separately, the food she eats and prepares looks so unhealthy and so unappetizing, with way too much powdered garlic and seasoning. That van would really smell, but she does seem to clean it really carefully (she should wear gloves when wiping down the surfaces with pop-up wipes and all the cleaning solvents).

I know she has a following of over 100k viewers, so people enjoy her material. But the economics, health, environmental aspects of this channel are nonsensical (so many plastic bags, plastic bottles, styrofoam cups full of soda and coffee).

That really expensive van isn’t designed for this use, and she is going to discover that, likely before it has even been paid for. It’s sad that she has invested so much time and money in a really poor quality of life. I hope she’s ok over the longer term. I can’t watch much more of it. Maybe it’s just meant for a different audience. But seriously, the whole concept is so sad and impractical. If she were my friend, I’d be so concerned.

R97 you're reading my mind.

There are a million subtle variations on this sort of YouTube channel but they all show more or less the same thing. I find their choices grim. I think if they were hermits and NOT broadcasting 24/7 it would be far less grim.

Well, I get it. If you're comparatively young. Let's say you have a curiosity about what it would be like to do it for a few months or a year. But those who adopt this quasi permanent commitment, and invest all their very limited resources in such a solitary and and narrow existence, I just can't get my head around how they can live like that and not have it affect them psychologically long tertm.

You guys have no sense of adventure! Un-clench!

R101, I have a sense of adventure, but honestly, maybe it's because I'm in my 50's, but the notion of spending the day driving endlessly then worrying about where to park, getting food and fuel and water, and functioning in close quarters so I cook, eat, shit, sleep all in one tiny space is not attractive to me.

Exactly that, R102.

Not to mention that it wouldn't be too many days at all before the existential questions set in: Why am I doing this? Living like a rat in a box? Going someplace all the time, always moving, but why? For what point or purpose? So the romance of the road is parking lot lodgings? freaks and who knows who knocking on my tin box? shitty food? washing dishes in a teacup of sink? looking for places to shower and shit? Going fucking where? Another park? Another campsite filled with dodgy, beaten down looking people and over sharing okally-dokally 'Good Neighbor Sam' types?

That wouldn't be a vacation for me, and certainly not a day to day lifestyle

The only time a live in van might be a great option is if you want to take a vacation/road trip. So maybe you want to go to Las Vegas, or Washington D.C. but the costs of hotels and meals is daunting. you walk around all day sightseeing, and you have your van so you don't have to pay for a hotel. It might make sense to do it for a week or two. Maybe even a month or two. But that's it, IMO.

R104 Exactly. I’d like one to transport my elderly parents over long distances. I’d like a compact premium one with a dinette that has seatbelts. For elderly guys that need to be near a restroom, that could be handy on road.

This woman seems quite sweet, but I don't think her lifestyle is sustainable in the long term. I hope she'll be alright.

I’d be alright in a brand new Newmar. Any TastefulFriend would agree. It’s only $430,000.

On the very other end of the spectrum…..

Did they ever find out who killed the van lesbians that crossed paths with Brian Laundrie?

What’s wrong with powdered garlic?

I just watched an episode where she was using a butane camping stove in her van. I always thought camping stoves were for outdoor use only.

This kind of life sounds interesting. I could potentially do this. Just give up my belongings and stay in Airbnb's or short term studios vs. staying in a camper van.

For someone who claims to be a minimalist, her carbon footprint is massive. She spends much of her time driving around aimlessly, everything is disposable, she eats a lot of junk...she is very independent and I found her videos were interesting at first.

I appreciate the hygge of it all but am I misinterpreting her tattoos as prison tattoos? One's a heart-shaped tear. If that's her background, this lifestyle and her recipes make much more sense.

My wild guess is the she's a former gang member who did prison time years ago. She found order in the simplicity of prison life and years later after cleaning up her life and making some money, sacrificed much of it for this luxurious traveling prison cell.

Her apparent lack of fear of the obvious dangers posed by her living alone on the road is evidence of a hardened fearlessness. There's also a self-punishing aspect to her choices, such as traveling north for the winter. She sacrifices long-term stability and avoids long-term commitments so that she can instead spend stressful hours every day haggling with parking lot owners for a place to park so she can fry strange foods in her van and crap in a bag.

This woman knows suffering, is most comfortable with suffering, and has created a sufferer's paradise.

She was in the military, R114.

I've watched a few more episodes and have to say I've never seen anyone who enjoys food so much. She does have terrible ta ke manners and eats rather loudly - as someone upthread pointed out.

She's back to living in her car.

The segment where she dumps cans of corn, beans, and chicken into a paper bowl and enthusiastically nods and makes audible "mmm, mmmm, mmm," while eating indicates that this poor gal really does suffer from some type of mental illness.

This series was intriguing at first but it is becoming more and more depressing.

I can’t imagine imagine getting all giggly on DL in the van.

Famous Climber Alex Honnold (star of "Free Solo") lived in a van for years, one fitted out with a stove and a bed, but he spent half his life in Yosemite National Park, and when he wasn't there he was at some other campground or at the base of some rock formation. He has a house and a girlfriend now, but apparently still spends long stretches of time out in the van, where the climbing is.

It makes sense to have a vehicle you can live in, if your profession or lifestyle calls for you to spend lots of time in campgrounds. Safer and more comfortable than a tent, and no fiddling with tent stakes!

There was a tragedy in a local Walmart parking lot a few years ago, caused by a couple who were van lifers and had spent the night in the Walmart's parking lot.

A local woman had left her two children sleeping in her vehicle while she ran inside the Walmart to pick up some things. She had parked next to a van, whose owners had spent the night in the parking lot. The husband used a butane stove to fix themselves breakfast, but packed it back into their van before it had fully cooled off. He and his wife headed into the store.

The van started to burn, and the car next to them (with the two children in it) caught on fire, too. One little girl burned to death, the other is permanently injured.

Their mother is suing Walmart, saying their policy of permitting what amounts to their parking lots being unregulated, unsupervised campgrounds creates a hazard for the store's customers.

The guy whose stove started the fire was charged with two counts of manslaughter, plea-bargained down to having a negligent fire, and served 120 days in jail.

If you live in a van, why would you stay in Michigan in the winter?

Back in the early 2000s there was the most entertaining blog by Tara, the Hobo Stripper. Yes, she traveled from strip joint to strip joint across the US and Canada, living in her minivan. She went into great detail about the stripping life, and how she lived in her minivan. She carefully split her earnings into thirds: one third for expenses, one third for savings, one third to support an elderly friend.

Her goal was to eventually save up enough money to buy a piece of land in the Alaska wilderness to live on, and she achieved that. However, she eventually got a bit bored with the life, and needed to earn more money, so she got (back) into escorting. And she loves it.

You can find most of her Hobo Stripper blog entries still online. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to find the list of old blog entries.

Is anyone still watching this channel?

She details what it's like during a winter storm.

It looks really cozy to me.

R1 How do you know they are lesbians?

I could get warm, but how could I stay cool?

Do the seasons dictate her ramblings? Canada in summer, etc.?

She's interesting and seems very nice, but the more you watch the more her mental health issues become apparent. She gives off the vibe that she's a bit paranoid - she's never relaxed, always looking around - she walks like her head is on a swivel, always looking over her shoulders, out the windows of her van and so on. Even when she brings her chair to the beach to, it's like she's not enjoying anything but is instead just filming for content.

She's been more open about her religion lately (praising God for creating a beach, asking her audience if she should bring a bible to read on the beach etc....) which is a bit of a turn off, but she's not too preachy.....yet.

I think Florida is a strange place for a lesbian to move to, but she says the state treats veterans really well, so I suppose there's perks for her there.

I do like her and wish her well.

A lot of YouTubers call themselves "introverts." I call BS on that. Maybe it's a generational thing, but putting your face and life out for public consumption & comment doesn't seem "introverted."

I think it’s good she has this channel with a decent amount of followers. Some can probably help her out here and there. I saw one comment where a fellow traveler gave her some excellent advice about various things van livers have to deal with. If she does have mental health issues her followers will notice if she starts to deteriorate.

I saw a video of a young couple who had parked their RV for the night when they got woken up at like 2 in the morning. A woman was attacking the RV and screaming at them to get the fuck out etc etc. They were like, okay, hang on, we’re leaving, but she kept going on and on. Scared the shit out of them and caused 10,000 worth of damage to the body of the vehicle. They were parked legally. They had planned ahead to make sure they’d have a legal place to park for the night. The police never got back to them regarding the incident and they have no idea what set the woman off.

Foresty Forrest's van is in the shop with electrical issues. Apparently a rat or mouse got in and was chewing on wiring. It sounds like he will be in motels for a while.

But Rocko looks happy.

I recently came across this video of a paraplegic living in a van. I have to give her some major credit for taking on the van lifestyle.

I would be afraid people would bang on the side of the van just to disturb and menace you. I saw a video of an English guy sleeping in his van near the sea. He hears a loud knock, then waits in a state of quiet tension for another, wondering if someone is going to try to break in, attempt to steal things, find him inside and panic. It must be really scary. It’s way too much exposure and vulnerability, and way too little comfort and security.

I like the vehicles and the way they are engineered, and it would be fun to try for a few days. But as a way of life? fuck no! I would rather buy or rent a tiny studio, and engineer it to be functional but compact, with a small portable washer/dryer that could be ventless, maybe even a tiny dishwasher and a few place settings of simple porcelain dishes, some Pyrex and Stainless bowls, a butane powered commercial hot plate like they have at omelet stations, things like these. You can buy appliances by specific dimensions now in marine supply catalogues and places like that. But making it work and feel like a “home” would be easier in a fixed location than driving it all around. I’d really want a quiet clean place to take a shower, and all that personal private stuff.

My homes are pretty small (a small co-op in nyc and a cabin in New England), but they’re kitted out with simple, quality things, and they offer comfort and contentment. I’m lucky that way. They also hold their values as assets.

I can see the appeal of live on the move, but I'd much rather live in a small camper than a van.

The most important difference being the possibility of a flush toilet. As long as a person can cook food, lie down, pee, and poo, life would be tolerable... and I haven't yet heard of a good way to pee and poo in a van.

I just can't stand the thought of pooing and showering and cooking and eating a space so confined. It must smell bad. And then your clothes and the bedding all smells of stir fry and piss.

Her grammar is terrible - "Miami Beach is not impressed" when explaining that she didn't like it. "I'm donating items to a women's battered shelter," on what she was doing with old items.

I mentioned before that she was getting churchy. She's now making "faith based clothing" and talks a lot more about how important her religion is to her.

In an earlier video she mentioned that Florida, Texas, and South Dakota were states she is interested in living in - I'm not sure what she finds interesting and/or desirable about those places, but for now she's in Florida.

Her diet is still pretty awful. I feel bad for her.

Also, she's been having lots of issues with her van, just as someone upthread predicted.

Anyone watch the Homeless Firefighter on YouTube?

I had no idea some of these truck stops have showers that looked so clean and nice as some I have seen in these van videos. Not the Nomadic Introvert, but I saw a couple from some guy I don't remember his name, but he would go to a truck stop and eat a nice meal and do his business.

Dean Nicholson is a Scottish fellow who decided four years ago to ride his bike around the world, from Europe to Asia. He spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe, and when he was riding in the mountains of Bosnia he encountered a kitten, which he adopted and named Nala. They traveled around Europe for a couple of years, and he was planning on biking through Ukraine right when the war started. So they went back to Scotland for awhile, and he reassessed his goals.

He decided to try van life, and bought an old VW van and fixed it up, named it 'Nessie', and now he's driving around Europe again. He's currently in Serbia, having encountered an injured dog on the side of the road and taking it in for surgery and rehab. Nala the cat is not too happy, as she's jealous of the attention she's currently getting less of.

He makes $ from his YouTube videos and from selling a calendar of Nala pictures (she was riding in a basket in the front of the bike). Here's a video of him showing the gear he was using on the bike. I adore this him, Nala, Nessie (the van), the channel, and the daily subscription comic on his website.

R133 I think the best option would be an incinerator toilet with a catalytic converter to control the scent of sulfur compounds. They use these in Norther European mountain refuges and places like that. Each human’s waste, incinerated, produces 1 Tsp of sterile, odorless ash. I would totally prefer that to “black water” tanks and sewage hoses.

R145, love his YouTube channel .Big burly Scotsman with great empathy for animals. I just have that feeling Dean might smell bad most of the time.

r147 He's big on swimming and taking a dip in almost any body of water that he passes by. So that probably helps, but Yes I'm sure he's smelled foul at times.

I have a feeling he's going to keep Yasuki, seems to be in love with her and trying to get Nala and Yasuki to tolerate each other.

This couple is interesting to watch.

^the guy is hot but he should get his teeth fixed ^

The Into the Wild man was nuts, he burnt his social security card and mailed over 20,000 smackeroos to some charity.

During Covid I got tired of staying home so I bought a small cargo van and hit the road. I traveled all over the West and enjoyed it. It was actually more comfortable than i thought it would be. I bought a power station so was able to charge my electronics. I mostly stayed on BLM land or national forests which is free. I can't say i loved it and if fact prefer the overseas life. When international travel started up again I sold the van and traveled in SE Asia for a few months. I actually prefer that.

Who was paying your living expenses while you lived in a van or southeast Asia, R152?

I was. Why do you ask? Do I type poor?

I posted about that European couple at R149. I find their videos more pleasant and engaging than Nomadic Introvert from the OP. They're very entertaining and their camping spots are more interesting than a Home Depot or Cracker Barrel parking lot. You can tell they're having fun with what they're doing and don't give off the vibe of loneliness and mental illness, nor do they display poor eating habits and awful table manners.

Can you even imagine the effects, long term, on someone's emotional well being from living such a solitary existence? The Nomadic Introvert makes me feel sad.

I can't imagine driving around all day for every single thing I need to do - eat, sleep, take a shower, or use the restroom. Maybe it would be different if you were doing it for a short, set period of time or if you were young and on an adventure, but to be 40+ years old and having to wake up before dawn to move your van and constantly look for places to park so you can perform basic functions can't possibly be "freeing."

R152 You get more "dates" in Southeast Asia, but America's national forests make body disposal sooo easy!

Is she still driving around?

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3TmqOorZ6csm%2BvzqZmraCimq6le5JramtuYmmDbrrOppidoZNitq%2FA0aitnqqk