I have now had my van out on the road and have been living the vanlife for the first 24 hours. Already there have been ups and downs. There has been stress. Part of me just wants to pack my bags and go home, but I’m also learning a lot. Is this something I could do long-term? Probably, yes.
If you’ve read my previous posts then you know that just getting the van to the point of being out on the road was a mission.
So far, I’ve found myself a free shower at the beach, (very cold, very, very cold) and found that not all Walmarts allow overnight parking. In fact, trying to find overnight parking in a city is pretty challenging. I eventually just pulled over and put sheets up over the windows by the bed. There weren’t enough sheets to cover all the windows, and the street lights were rather bright. But once I closed my eyes to sleep I couldn’t see them anyway.
I had bought a blanket and a cooler from Walmart, so this night was spent in comfort.
I called a few RV parks, but the overnight rates are pretty steep, $50CAD a night being on the cheaper end. And plenty refused to take me after they found that I don’t have a water hook up, as they didn’t have any washroom facilities.
There are also still a couple of issues with the van. The cigarette lighter socket isn’t getting power for some reason. This means that I can’t charge my phone, so I spent a good while this morning hanging around outside the washroom in Walmart with my phone plugged into the wall. Not ideal.
Also, the brakes need attention. They are making a thudding noise and feeling under braking. So I think that the rotors are on their very last legs and really needed to be changed a while ago. Compared to the UK, vehicle repair costs in Canada seem to be ridiculously high. “I could buy a 2nd hand car for the same budget” type of costs.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel; I can get the brakes fixed, I can sort the socket out. I can apply for a part-time job. Maybe.
If I owned a house and a car, I’d still have to worry about maintenance costs. There wouldn’t be any less stress in that situation. The only thing that would be easier would be having an address to be able to have things posted to me. And not having to worry about where I’m going to sleep each night. Or where I can go to the toilet. But I’d have a mortgage to pay for, and I’d be tied to one location.
In the end, each lifestyle has advantages and disadvantages. Will I live vanlife forever? Probably not, but I do intend to live in a van for a good long time to come. The first 24 hours of vanlife certainly haven’t put me off. Just maybe not during winter. Not in Canada at least.
