
Vanlife, the Bohemian Social Media Movement - Dowwie
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bohemian-social-media-movement
======
shanemhansen
Kind of depressing. These people cash in on our desire to escape from the
grind. The irony is that they now live a life of product placement and "brand
alliances". The post ends with a casual admission that they make sure all
pictures include the girl in a bikini. For maximum likes. The glamerous world
of repping products and "creating authentic brand experiences" doesn't seem so
glamerous to me.

~~~
panglott
Why? There's nothing wrong with cashing in on our desire to escape from the
grind. The winter here in the upper South is an especially difficult season
for me, since it's unpleasant to spend much time outside, and I absolutely
want to watch videos of people cruising around the Caribbean or bicycle
touring the Mediterranean or hiking trails. I'm glad people are able to go out
and spend their lives making those kind of videos at all, and I'm not
surprised that there's a lot of work to it.

Although I do try to avoid the channels that heavily exploit the women-in-
bikinis thing, and prefer ones that are honest about the gritty and unpleasant
details, like toilet repair.

~~~
shanemhansen
I think I must not have been very clear. I'm not surprised that living in a
van can be tough. I'm not surprised that documenting things or creating videos
is hard work too.

My dissonance is that if you watch these videos most of them are full of
rhetoric like "my generation doesn't like to settle" "I did what I was told
went to college, found myself at a soulless marketing company and realized
that I needed more" "I dare to think different" "I've never been a
conformist". But if you read the article they are right in the middle of the
world they hate. There life's work is product placement, brand repping, and
promoting the superficial. Their youtube and instagram channels aren't
documentaries of their lifestyle, they are just outlets for corporate attempts
at growth hacking via sponsored photoshoots.

------
cko
I lived in my Toyota 4Runner for about 6 months. It was definitely not
glamorous - my coworkers thought I was crazy. I parked outside of work. At
night I would pee in a bottle. Sometimes the bottle would spill. I had to
drive everywhere - to the library for WiFi, to the gym for showers, to the
basketball court for exercise.

I think it takes a certain personality to be able to do this (without the
benefit of being beautiful and Instagram sensations). Me, I've always wanted
to try. I was saving an additional 400 a month - for a total of 10k per month
in savings. So the reason was definitely not financial. After a while it got
old, especially heat waves where I woke up in a sweat and had to turn on the
AC for ten minutes to air out the car.

The faint smell of piss and 90 percent humidity. Bet there's no hash tag for
that.

Oh yeah, I hate driving and think travel is overrated.

~~~
fbonetti
Did you work remotely while living in a van? Or did you still work in an
office? It sounds like you did the latter, which sounds miserable. I think you
would've had a different experience if you had used your van to travel.

~~~
nether
I've been living in my pickup truck for about a year while rock climbing,
skiing, hiking, and not working. A pickup is not a van, and definitely makes
things like cooking or just hanging out less enjoyable. Regardless of the
space constraints, the biggest thing is the loneliness of the vagabond
lifestyle. I actually kind of miss my coworkers. Most connections are
ephemeral, like climbing with someone for a day before they take off to LA or
Oregon. There's also some stress with finding places to park at night. You're
almost always staying somewhere where you shouldn't quite be. I've spent some
entire days just surfing around on the internet, not motivated to really go
out and adventure. I'd agree with this blogpost
[https://theinspiredclimber.com/2014/05/14/romancing-the-
dirt...](https://theinspiredclimber.com/2014/05/14/romancing-the-dirtbag/),
"don’t expect going on the road alone to fill the void in your life."

Like the parent commenter, I too have spilled my pee bottle in my living
compartment.

------
partisan
There are elements of race and class that underlie this phenomenon. The "van
life" theme is a foil for "pretty people in pretty places" where pretty people
look a certain way. And those people can afford to live that way. They are so
transcendent that they don't have to think about the trappings of the common
life. That requires quite a bit of confidence about your ability to have a
soft landing when you fail. In a different station in life, you have no
ability to conceive of following your dreams of surfing and biking because you
have to worry about making rent and helping pay for your parents meals.

~~~
pilom
While I agree with your assessment of "pretty people in pretty places" as it
applies to the giant Instagram accounts, it really doesn't apply to most
people who live this lifestyle. Living in a van allows you to not need to
worry about making rent or anything like that. Most people living the life
have some form of normal work income. They work as campground hosts, or as ski
instructors, or raft guides, or park rangers etc. I'm just saying recognize
that there is a huge bias of, the people you know of doing this life are the
ones who advertise it on social media, but there are an order of magnitude
more people who live in the same accommodations without the same source of
income.

~~~
narrowrail
I agree, as I did this in the 90's while in college working as a raft guide on
the Arkansas river. We were allowed to camp on our employer's land for free.
There was no social media to pimp our activities on, and I imagine it would've
been looked down on at that time.

~~~
aphextron
>I agree, as I did this in the 90's while in college working as a raft guide
on the Arkansas river.

Such a small world. I guided Brown's canyon for a couple summers as well. Best
few years of my life, and we were living in tents. What company?

~~~
narrowrail
Apparently, pretty small. Sorry I missed this. I'm not exactly a public
person, so let's say 'buffalo' was in the name. WA was the only other company
I know of at the time with a similar set-up.

------
pilom
There are also tons of people who do this without the sponsors. I've been
living in an RV for a while while at the same time working remotely
([http://therecklesschoice.com](http://therecklesschoice.com) if you're
interested). Lots of people work as campground hosts or seasonal workers. If
the mobile lifestyle speaks to you, spend the next 6 months finding a remote
job and just go do it. Don't wait to find a "sponsor".

~~~
shanemhansen
This is more inline with my dream. I have a van, I work remote. My wife
doesn't ; ). So for now we're weekend warriors.

We've done road trips through New Zealand and Iceland and it's a great way to
experience a country inbetween hikes.

I see you're in Colorado. If you make it into Utah we should meet up!

~~~
pilom
We're aiming to do all of the national parks and monuments in Utah this year,
starting at the Grand Canyon and working our way towards Moab. Where abouts
are you? Email in profile or on our website.

------
danlash
I am in progress of creating my own RV-van. This won't be a full time thing,
but for sure a week or maybe a month at a time. I already work remotely as a
software developer and my SO is a professor who gets summers off. For us it's
just a vacation vehicle with a neat twist that we designed and built it. I do
plan to take videos of construction and maybe post some pictures here and
there, but I see it more as sharing ideas with other humans than a business
venture. If I can make a couple bucks to subsidize travel expenses, I don't
see anything wrong with that; if no one watches but my grandkids, I'm OK with
that too.

------
oldmancoyote
I live in an 11 foot truck camper during the summer. I'm a camp host at a
Forest Service campground. The rest of the year I live in my home in Mexico.
It can be a lonely life, and I miss road-tripping across Mexico and all the
interesting people I used to meet. At 71, though, I guess I'm too old. Damn!
Still, I can fish, pan for gold, write, etc. as the impulse strikes me. A
small pension with health insurance and social security makes it possible. I
_do_ miss the people on the road though.

------
roywiggins
Vansploitation is back?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vansploitation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vansploitation)

~~~
throwanem
Everything old is new again.

------
kpennell
If you're curious about the reality of vanlife, this Canadian couple documents
it pretty well:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGud34X3j5M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGud34X3j5M)

Short story, it can be awesome but there's a ton of unforeseen hassles/stress
involved. Basically, it aint all like the Instagram highlight reel.

------
micro_cam
The sort of sponsorship and advertising has always been a major factor in the
outdoor sports. And I mean climbers, surfers and mountain bikers have been
living in vehicles doing cool things and publishing pictures of it for
years...often with sponsors logos prominently placed or adds on the next page.

It's just that the decline in magazine readership etc has lead sponsors to
look for "ambassadors" who engage directly on social media.

------
pyromine
I want to live in a van, and I want to be sponsored to do it. I see other
people saying the lifestyle is vapid, but to be honest everyone I know that
has done it has embraced it.

There's unique challenges for sure, and making sure that sponsor obligations
and the like don't take over your life can be a real concern. But the idea
behind it comes down to living a lifestyle that works for you.

I want to do it because I want to spend the next few years of my life chasing
dreams of being a professional skier, I'll probably not get there but I'd like
to try it for a while. I'll sacrifice money, security, and a lot of normal
comforts, but there's reasons certain lifestyles exist.

Granted, I don't know how the transition after this period of my life will go,
I think it's important to chase dreams for a while and not have regrets.

I guess my whole thing is money doesn't buy happiness, but even then money is
needed to support yourself and if it takes selling yourself out a little bit
for sponsors and the like, so be it.

~~~
stevenwoo
It's only two sentences in the article but it's pretty important - they had to
move back in with their parents for four months when one of them got sick. So
make sure you have that or someone you can really depend on if things go
wrong. Assuming you are in the USA - the main couple in the story are so young
that it seems like they would also be covered under their parents health
insurance under the ACA as well.

~~~
timmaah
> King and Smith, who are thirty-two and thirty-one, respectively

My wife and I have lived in an RV for the last 5 years. We have met some
amazingly strong single full-timers out on the road. It has got to be tough
when something happens and you don't know another soul for hundreds of miles.

------
diebir
With all the truth in this article, it is worth to realize that there are
large number of people that dedicate part of their life to being nomads and
adventurers and do it authentically. There's a huge spectrum of adventurers
from weekend warriors to full time. There's a spectrum or vehicle nomads from
full time van life to traveling by car with your family. Having read this,
please do not look down at our or your own adventuring. It is fun. When you
get bored, you do something else.

------
Mendenhall
Interesting, I am very mobile but have never done van/rv lifestyle "yet". I
have no issue with people doing this but for me its more about escaping the
grind. I would not want to be encumbered with posting etc, defeats the purpose
for me. Although I do see how it makes it affordable for some to be able to
live that life so kudos to them.

------
pnathan
RVs are a major slow-burn issue in Seattle, as clusters of them are becoming
essentially one step up from homeless camps.

Something to perhaps look into and consider thoughtfully if this sort of thing
attracts you.

~~~
dwaltrip
What issues do they cause? Is it just an eye-sore thing?

~~~
pnathan
Notably, meth labs, bike crime rings, fires. I _think_ I recall something
about a prostitution ring? It's a significant public health and safety issue
_here_. A lot of crime and grief is localized around the RV encampments
_here_.

Broadly, you also have to consider trash, sewage, water, electricity, and
heating.

Plus some of the RVs are kinda dumps, but that's less relevant.

------
astaroth360
Am I the only person that thinks this is a terrible idea? I couldn't stand
living in a van for a month, let alone any extended period of time. The only
way I'd do it is to save money; that's not the kind of adventure I consider
fun. I'm also not the sort of person who sits around drooling over other
peoples' adventures, so I guess I'm not the target audience here.

------
yachtintransit
It's interesting that Americans go for van's and RV's where as Europeans trend
toward sailing. Very similar play.

~~~
crimsonalucard
Sailing is a much more dangerous game then driving.

~~~
emmelaich
Sure is.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evi_Nemeth#Later_life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evi_Nemeth#Later_life)

------
astaroth360
This feels like some kind of hippy-tainted ultra-hispterism to me.

------
Neliquat
I can't put my finger on it, but this phenomenon makes me profoundly sad for
reasons I cannot fully elucidate. Maybe the notion of documenting the
experince in place of actually having the experince. Maybe the feeling of all
these lost people, posing with all their money and might, for the acceptance
of others, all based on a snapshot. Sure, it becomes a self-sustaining
lifestyle if you do it "good enough", but where is the fun in that? I want to
live a life I enjoy, not just project that image.

~~~
noelwelsh
I see it differently. Everyone needs money to live. If you can get that money
doing something you find fun, having control over your life, and hanging out
with people you like... as long as you don't buy into the image you're
presenting it sounds like a great life to me. I feel sorry for the people who
buy into the fake reality presented to them via Instagram, but that's a
different issue.

~~~
worldsayshi
Are you as an individual not responsible for your cultural impact at all?

~~~
pjc50
Yes, but the idea that someone posting pictures of themselves in a van is a
negative cultural impact is kind of ludicrous.

~~~
nickpsecurity
Yeah, I'm with coldtea here. This is very similar to the phenomenon where the
"attractive" women in media were a specific type for a long time. Implication
was others weren't or should look like them. All the fake experiences those
media outlets pushed vs lower number many women experienced that were contrary
made a lot of them think less of themselves or try to fake themselves into
what "worked" (but was lies). I had similar trouble trying to get modeling
agencies to take in women outside the fold who were utterly beautiful with
long list of people that would want to date them. Not skinny enough, not tall
enough, blah blah blah.

The BS the vanlife people are promoting might do something similar. Even
worse, them faking the difficulty and reward ratio on many people who might
have never heard of such scams on social media might lead them to waste money
on a van or loose real opportunities. This can actually damage people like
other forms of fraud. So, I certainly discourage doing it or aiding those
people in any way.

~~~
jimmywanger
> utterly beautiful with long list of people that would want to date them.

You're arguing out of both sides of your mouth. You're saying that media
constructs what "attractive" means for women, and now you're saying that
"attractive" is something that is inherent to a woman irrespective of media
pressure.

Also, having a long list of people who want to date you does NOT means you'd
be a good model. Models exist to make the product look good, not to look good
themselves. A lot of fashion models are very skinny and tall because it makes
the clothes they wear look good.

> Even worse, them faking the difficulty and reward ratio on many people who
> might have never heard of such scams on social media might lead them to
> waste money on a van or loose real opportunities.

You've basically just described all of advertising and marketing. It's not
fraud or a scam - it just takes much more hard work than they show. They're
not deliberately lying, they're just leaving out parts of it. Just like
programming is a good job with high pay except you have to spend a lot of time
learning it and working hard to get the good job with high pay.

~~~
nickpsecurity
"You're arguing out of both sides of your mouth. You're saying that media
constructs what "attractive" means for women, and now you're saying that
"attractive" is something that is inherent to a woman irrespective of media
pressure."

You're pretending all people act the same to accuse me of some false argument.
Some people will follow what the media says a lot, some a bit, and some not at
all. The fact that local + some remote people thought those women were
beautiful doesn't change the fact that media were trying to say otherwise and
shove a specific profile in people's faces.

" It's not fraud or a scam"

It really is if it's dishonest to get people's money. There's legal and
illegal scams, though. ;)

------
dinglebert1234
Imagine vanlife in a self-driving house-on-wheels. That is my plan for the
next phase of my life. I’ve been saving every penny I can for when the first
self-driving RV hits the market.

~~~
yardie
You can do that now. Get a sailboat. Autopilot does most of the work and you
only need to pop your head up to watch for boats and trim for the wind.

We read a lot of books, watched movies, and cooked across the globe at a slow,
steady 6kts/hour

~~~
dragonwriter
> a slow, steady 6kts/hour

Pedantic, perhaps, but that's just 6kt. 6kt/hr is constant acceleration; 1 kt
= 1 nmi/hr.

~~~
yardie
I need to get back on the water. I'm starting to mix up my units and
forgetting what the different lines are called.

------
douche
Hmm. The high school dropouts I knew always said that they'd go down and live
next to the river in a van. Now it's the new hipster cool thing. Reminds me of
people glorifying living in "tiny houses" that are upscale versions of the
wickiup tow-behind logging camps my father lived in. Minus the mice and
weasels skittering across your sleeping bag in the night, or the bear that
smashes your kitchen to pieces while you're out chopping.

~~~
shanemhansen
There's some interesting theories that the popularity of vans and tiny houses
aren't just a hipster trend, but an actual reaction to diminishing
opportunities. I don't know if they are true.

When life gives you lemons and you can't afford a home, you make lemonade out
of the fact that you're living in your car or in an illegal shed.

~~~
elif
just an anecdote from the people i know doing this.. there isn't a necessity
component for them. It is reactionary though, i think it's a reaction to the
"Ok, i just finished 20 years of this school system of control.. and now I get
to.. sign up for a 30 year system of control? (mortgage)"

~~~
nickthemagicman
Exactly. Combined with utilities, insurance, property taxes, zoning,
maintenance, etc...

A house is literally a systemic bureaucratic yoke around your neck.

