If you’ve read my blog for a while, you might have noticed that I love exploring the outdoors and living an off-the-grid lifestyle. Van life is another one of my favorite things to do. That being said, there are certain aspects of van life that scare me a little bit. However, those fears aren’t enough to stop me from taking the plunge.
What is life?
When I first started researching van life, I was sold on the idea immediately. I found myself daydreaming about the ways I’d use my van for travel, work, and fun. I thought about all the places I’d visit and all the adventures I’d have. It’s safe to say that I fell in love with the idea of van life. But the more research I did, the more reasons I found to not get into it. This list is meant to be a helpful guide to those who are curious about van life.
If you’re interested in learning more, keep reading! The biggest reason I’m not ready for van life is simply that I’m not ready. I don’t know when I’ll be ready or if I’ll ever be ready. I also don’t know if I’ll ever want to commit to the lifestyle full-time.
The reasons I’m not ready for van life are that I don’t trust myself not to crash, I don’t trust the vehicles we have for the long term and I have no idea what it’ll be like if/when we have kids. Van life is a little bit like skydiving. It’s an exciting idea, but also a little bit scary. Because of that, it’s important to take it slow, be careful, and make sure that you’re ready before jumping in.
Fear of the unknown
No matter how much research you do, there will always be aspects of van life that you don’t know yet. It’s hard to plan when you don’t know anything. You might be scared of the unknown because you aren’t sure about what will happen if you get into an accident. You might be scared of getting stuck somewhere because you don’t know the area well enough.
You might be scared of the unknown because you don’t know if you’re ready for it yet. If you’re hesitant to jump into van life because you’re afraid of the unknown, then it’s important to take it slow and be careful. While you don’t need to know everything about van life right away, you should at least have a general idea of what to expect by the time you’re ready to go full-time.
Safety concerns
Another reason I’m not ready for van life is that I’m worried about safety. You always hear stories about people getting into accidents while off-roading, while hiking, and while exploring remote areas. Accidents can happen at any time, and you can’t know what dangers you’ll face until you’re out there living it. It’s easy to get scared about what might happen if/when you get into an accident.
You might be scared of the cost of repairing your vehicle, you might be scared of what the consequences might be if you hit someone, and you might be scared of having to pay off the damage to your vehicle for a long time. The best thing you can do to stay safe is to be aware of your surroundings and be cautious when driving at all times.
Make sure your vehicle is in good condition, that you have enough fuel in your vehicle, that you know where you’re going, and that you have a communication plan with someone if you get into an accident. If you feel safe while you’re driving, you can also use your vehicle to explore off-road.
No space for storage
If you decide to get into van life, you’ll be tempted to start traveling and see the world. Once you start traveling, though, you might start thinking about how you’ll be able to pack up all your stuff (and all your dogs’ stuff) for that trip. But what about when you want to travel from home?
You might think that you have enough space for all your adventures, but what happens when you want to store some of your stuff? Storage is one of the biggest costs of van life. It’s easy to forget about it when you’re excited about the idea of van life, but you need to be careful about not over-extending yourself.
If you want to travel, you can always hire a storage unit for a few months or rent a storage unit at your workplace. If you want to store some of your stuff at home, you can always rent a storage unit or find a friend or family member who’s willing to let you store some stuff.
Not enough money right now
If you’re just getting into the idea of van life and want to try it out, it’s understandable that you don’t have much money right now. That’s normal. You don’t need a lot of money to get started with van life. You can get by with a cheap vehicle, a cheap storage unit, and a few clothes. If you want to travel, you can always save up for a trip or borrow money from friends and family.
If you need to live somewhere for a while, you can always move in with a friend or family member. If you don’t have a lot of money right now, that’s fine. Start saving as soon as you can. Start thinking about how you can make money while you’re waiting for your next paycheck.
There are lots of ways to make money while you wait for a full-time job. You can do freelance work, you can do side hustles, you can search for job listings, you can do research and you can do plenty of other things to earn some extra money while you wait for your next paycheck.
Don’t want to miss out on a better lifestyle
Another reason I’m not ready for van life is that I don’t want to miss out on a better lifestyle. One of the things that scared me about getting into van life is that I’d miss out on a better lifestyle. That’s normal, right? People get scared of missing out and think that they’ll be unhappy if they don’t get into this new lifestyle right away. That might be true, but it’s important to remember that you don’t have to be in van life full-time to get a better lifestyle.
You don’t have to get into van life if you really don’t like it. You don’t have to get into van life if it doesn’t work for you. You don’t have to get into van life if you don’t think that it’s right for you. You don’t have to get into van life if you’re not ready. You don’t have to do it if you don’t think that it’s for you.
You don’t have to do it if you’re not ready. You don’t have to do it if you have the finances and space to live somewhere else. You don’t have to do it if you have the money for a better lifestyle elsewhere. You don’t have to do it if you have the support of your family and friends to help you move. You don’t have to do it if you have time to wait for the right opportunity to come along. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.
Final words
This post is meant to help you figure out if van life is the right lifestyle for you. If you’re interested in getting into van life, it’s important to remember that it isn’t a one-way ticket to a better lifestyle. You don’t have to get into van life full-time to be happier. You don’t have to get into a van life to travel. You don’t have to get into van life to make more money.
