
Living in a Van - rohin
http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/32944888191/living-in-a-van
======
patio11
This seems like a romantically bohemian way to approximate a pampered middle
class kid's idea of how poor people live. If you want to save money, you can
try what they actually do, which is move to a less desirable neighborhood and
spend one third what you do on rent for an apartment.

You live in a crazy expensive neck of the woods? Nice to meet you; I live in
Japan, cry me a river. There's old folks on social security and single mothers
in your town. Most of them don't shower with wet wipes.

I can't tell if my revulsion for this idea is class disdain because I'm too
well off to consider it or class disdain because when I wasn't well off we had
too much pride to ever stoop to anything like that.

~~~
tptacek
It is interesting also to note that the ability to lead any kind of normal or
predictable life in this fashion is itself a privilege. People in the software
business can get away with wearing the same clothes, coming in wrinkled,
missing the occasional shower, and, for that matter, getting in a little later
after having to move the van in the middle of the night. Our field is
extremely accommodating.

Put yourself in the shoes of a call-center worker (and if you want to be mean
to the issue, make that call-center worker female). These jobs have dress
codes. They're also aggressively monitored during the day and require
attentiveness and a cordial demeanor. And obviously, a typical call-center
worker cannot depend on the idea of taking off in the van for a month, driving
to some other city, and having the same economic prospects when they arrive.
Most people cannot afford to be playful with the idea of job security.

It's weird to find yourself thinking, "must be nice to be an iOS developer who
can live in a van". Especially when you think of the people who do it because
they're forced to do it.

I found the article to be a little glib about its subject. Glib is the word I
would use, for romanticizing a scenario that many Americans actually
experience as an intractable nightmare. I found myself first thinking about
how nice it would be to pull up to the oceanfront, lay down in my "living
room" van, and doze off reading a book while listening to the waves... then I
thought of the scene in The Pursuit Of Happiness (not a great movie, but a
great scene) where Will Smith has to put his kid to bed in a closet in a train
station.

~~~
tibbon
I agree with you.

The one thing I can never figure out is why managers of some types of
companies run them the way they do. Why couldn't a call center employee work
with a headset from a van and wear whatever they please? There's all sorts of
strange practices that some of these companies do. Never in a million years
would I ask an employee to submit to a drug test before being employed for
example- yet that's what things like call centers do.

I want my employees to be happy, because they are the people that make the
company work. When I talk to a manager of a company like this - they act like
I've never managed anything before and just 'dont get it'.

~~~
sliverstorm
_Why couldn't a call center employee ... wear whatever they please?_

Presumably the managerial types are trying to help cultivate a "professional"
environment.

 _Never in a million years would I ask an employee to submit to a drug test_

I understand the personal freedoms angle, but I can also sympathize with
employers who are tired of discovering that guy they hired last week is
actually a raging meth head.

~~~
doesnt_know
What does it matter if their employees are meth heads, they shouldn't have to
be tested.

If they are unproductive, look like shit, have poor time management, have mood
swings etc then they are a liability to their employer because of those
things, not because they "do drugs".

On the other hand if they are productive, are professional, [any other
positive attribute] and contribute to their employer, does it matter if they
are on drugs at the time?

Granted, I've never meet anyone that are actually functional members of
society once they start abusing something like meth, but my point is that
employees should be judged purely on their performance in the workplace or how
they contribute.

~~~
Natsu
You've never had to deal with someone who came to work while on drugs, have
you?

Someone can go from comparatively normal to crazy enough to freak everyone out
and maybe get someone hurt in no time flat. That's a bit of a problem,
especially given that some people work at places where accidents like slitting
one's wrist wide open, crushing one's hand and being killed by an item dropped
by a forklift happen a little too regularly, even to people who are not thus
impaired.

~~~
jiggy2011
I think the GGP was referring mainly to workplaces that don't involve dealing
with dangerous equipment. Besides there's a big difference between smoking
some pot outside of work hours and coming to work under the influence of meth.

When I worked in low paid (mainly call centre) jobs, people coming to work
high was a pretty common thing. The jobs were easy and repetitive enough that
it didn't affect performance at all. In fact if they had started drug testing
they would probably have lost many of their best employees.

------
markerdmann
This reminds of a good friend. He got a job making six figures at Google
straight out of college, and then lived in his van--in the Google parking lot
--while saving every penny he earned. He took showers on campus and only ate
free Google food. After a few years, he went into a mini-retirement and
devoted his time to traveling around the world and volunteering.

~~~
Osiris
I would have loved to save money right out of school, being as frugal as I am,
but I was married when I graduated and the first thing my wife wanted after I
got my first (low paying) full time job? A house.

So much for the life of a cheapskate.

~~~
Cass
Putting money into a house you'll presumably be able to live in rent-free once
it's paid off may not be a drastically worse choice than putting your money
into savings. Unless it was an impractically huge house, or otherwise somehow
not a keeper, I wouldn't consider that a frivolous/non-frugal purchase.

~~~
whyaduck
Unless he bought in 2006-2007. Still not frivolous...just a mistake.

~~~
sliverstorm
"Mistake" implies the person should have known better. There are plenty of
little guys who got trampled by the crash who did nothing wrong.

------
kurtvarner
I lived from my car for 4 months in Silicon Valley while working on my
startup. I got along just fine in a two door Honda Civic. I posted the details
in an answer on Quora (even included a couple videos).
[http://www.quora.com/Would-becoming-homeless-be-a-good-
strat...](http://www.quora.com/Would-becoming-homeless-be-a-good-strategy-to-
cut-costs-1/answer/Kurt-Varner)

------
sharkweek
If you think you can handle some sweaty palms, Alex Honnold, one of the best
free solo climbers in the world, lives in his van so he can easily get from
park to park and seems to absolutely thrive off the lifestyle --
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1jwwagtaQ>

There is something that appeals to my personality to live out of a van and
just move on a whim but I don't think I would ever have the guts to go for it.

~~~
cgh
Yes, this sort of living is pretty normal in climbing circles. I live in my
truck part of each year while I'm on the road. I know guys who have been
living in their vehicles for years, one guy for nearly two decades.

~~~
bmj
Yep. My family spends ~2 months a year living in our VW van, travelling to
various climbing areas.

Though I do enjoy our time on the road, I also really enjoy coming back to my
home.

------
aandon
I just finished living the van life while running a company for two months. My
goal was to wake up with a new view (and sunrise if I was ambitious) every
morning and there are some fantastic ones in the SF Bay Area. (Little secret:
the parking lot next to Chrissy Field is wide open and gets epic sunrises over
Alcatraz.) It becomes naturally easy to go for a morning swim or hike before
work. At least in San Francisco, there are a lot of people living out of RVs
and vans and you start to follow their lead and find the good places to park.
I bought a cargo van from an electrician and built a full size bed that
converts into a seat and some shelves for my stuff. Coincidentally, I just put
my van up for sale on craigslist yesterday, so if anyone wants to carry the
torch, hit me up!

<http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/3316494260.html>

------
grecy
I spent two years driving from Alaska to Argentina, feelancing website design
and code along the way.

For the entire trip, my monthly expenses were less than they were in the 2
years prior just going to work every day. Yes, that includes gas for 40,000mi.
I lived in my Jeep/tent the entire way.

I plan on doing something similar (but bigger) again, and I'll be building a
more livable vehicle with a sink, stove, fridge, better sleeping, etc. etc.

<http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-adventure>

------
timmaah
Great time to be living. My wife and I sold most of our stuff and have been
living nomadically the last 4 months while continuing to work full time.
Though we are in an Airstream, not a van.

Started in Vermont and currently beach front on the Oregon coast. Truly
awesome

<http://www.watsonswander.com/>

It is turning out to be just slightly cheaper than when we owned a house.
Averaged $27 a night the last two months for campground fees and $20 a day on
gas.

~~~
brc
Hey, I love your Airstream. Been thinking dirty thoughts about one for a long
time, but I've been reluctant to pull the trigger because of a lack of time to
really put the work in. There are so many around to pick from it becomes
bewildering which way to look.

You do know you've lowered the value by taking out all the original kit, right
:)

------
rdl
My favorite "living in a van" story is <http://www.hobostripper.com/>

(I wonder how much worse a van is than a military trailer. Those range from
40x12 with private bathroom and nice furnishings down to 10x8 with a roommate
and no bathroom. It's probably a lot easier due to everyone else around you
doing exactly the same thing, and there being portapotties, shower trailers,
etc. freely available.)

I lived in a car for a month or so around the Bay Area (mostly because it was
easier than finding an apartment); I'd do a hotel once or twice a week (and
stay from 6am one day to 4pm the next day), and a 24h fitness membership
(showers, etc. nationally) is $10-12.50/mo through Costco. I really wouldn't
recommend car living, though.

~~~
GFischer
Would that scale for someone who wanted to do an extended visit to the Bay
Area? (say a month or so)

I'd like to visit San Francisco, but, apart from the US Visa and airfare,
accomodation doesn't seem cheap (I haven't researched much but it comes up all
the time here on HN). Food, oddly enough, sounds cheaper than in my 3rd world
country.

~~~
Cass
Have you researched hostels? They're still not cheap by the standards of
developing countries, but when I stayed in SF a few years ago, a bed at a
hostel could be had for a fifth of what a hotel would have cost me, and
certainly beats sleeping in a car. On the other hand, I found food shockingly
expensive, and I come from Germany.

~~~
GFischer
Interesting. I've stayed in hostels, and they are indeed cheap, and no, I
haven't researched at all, it was just a thought. I haven't seen AirBnB either
:)

------
kqr2
My favorite is this RV built by 3 Japanese students:

[http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/tiny-
tr...](http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/tiny-transformer-
rv-camper-turns-from-truck-to-two-storey-house.html)

More details:

<http://www1.ttcn.ne.jp/~gyo/English/index.htm>

~~~
pirateking
This is so cool. Will be great training for living on a spacecraft someday
soon.

------
brc
I spent 3 months travelling in a 1978 Dodge RV, which I bought in LA for about
$3000, and spent maybe $500 on parts for. It looked much like the one pictured
in the article. I tore out the broken toilet and put in a chemical one,
repaired the plumbing for the shower and got it going, replaced the batteries
and bought a new charger. They key to buying one of these is take your time,
and try out all the stuff. While fixing engines is something any mechanic can
do, you can't turn up to a mechanic with a malfunctioning water heater.

I dumped the 'black' water from the toilet at public dumping stations (many
towns have these) and stayed in state parks, which are not only beautiful in
most cases, but are also usually just $10 or so a night. When I needed to
fully charge, replenish supplies and so on, I would pay for an overnight in a
RV park.

I was on an extremely limited budget on the time, so free camped whenever I
could, particularly so in expensive places like Monterey (bind : the most
expensive places also have the most restrictive overnight parking laws). I
never once got moved on.

My tip is to find a public building that is empty at night to camp in front
of. Pick a school, a local sports club, a library something like that.
Something that won't have a ton of security but is also likely to be deserted.
Don't park in front of peoples houses, you never know when you're going to get
a paranoid who will call the cops. But at the same time, don't drive down
lonely roads and park up, you're asking for trouble.

You can always do the wal-mart thing, but only out of desperation. They aren't
great places to stay, and because they are well-known, it's not a great idea
if you're the only one.

Be prepared to packup and move on early in the day, and most of the time
you'll be OK

Using this method, I saw 38 states & provinces, covered 11,000 miles and spent
less money than most would spend on the average Las Vegas trip. A couple of
buddies pitched in and filled up one of the storage areas with beer for me as
a goodbye present.

When I was done I donated the camper to one of those charity car collection
companies and they drove it away.

I think most young people should do something like this - living a frugal and
simple life while enjoying travel is a great learning experience. Having since
done a lot of travel in the 'modern' way of nice hotels, rental cars and the
like, I still get wistful when I see a couple of scruffy looking youngsters
making their way on a shoestring cash budget but a burgeoning enthusiasm
supply.

~~~
sliverstorm
_stayed in state parks... usually just $10 or so a night._

So, $300/mo?

 _covered 11,000 miles_

I'll be generous and say your 1978 RV got 10mpg. That puts you at around
$4,000 in fuel costs, assuming this trip was in the past couple years.

 _1978 Dodge RV, which I bought in LA for about $3000... When I was done I
donated the camper_

 _spent less money than most would spend on the average Las Vegas trip._

Good lord. Based on my estimates, you racked up $7-8,000; how much do people
spend in Vegas?

~~~
brc
You're a decade out. Fuel cost was $1.10 - $1.80 / gal

I also like big engines, the dodge had a big block and returned about 7 mpg.
Stupid choice in hindsight but that's youth for you.

State parks were an occasional choice - the aim was for at least 50% free
camping.

I forget the total amount now, you're probably not far off. If I had sold the
camper at the end, it would have been better financially. I didn't have the
time, there was no Craigslist then, and I was starting a new job so the cash
wasn't going to be an issue.

The average las Vegas trip covers a lot of ground. It's a rhetorical flourish,
yes.

------
jonstjohn
I lived in my van for about 6 months after I graduated from college in
Portland, OR. I spent part of that time up in Alaska, working in the fisheries
(unloading fish from boats with a great group of guys) and the rest of my time
in Portland trying to find places to park overnight in the city and trying to
get back to a more stable life.

There were good things and bad things. It definitely simplified my possessions
and when I was in Alaska I could basically park my van anywhere overnight. But
when I got back to Portland, it was a lot harder to find places to park where
I wouldn't get harassed.

I used my college (as an alum) gym showers and spent time in parks. This was
1996 so I wasn't too worried about internet connectivity and there definitely
weren't any free wifi hotspots ;)

------
gavanwoolery
Not quite a van or RV, but I have always found the tiny house movement
interesting.

<http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/>

Many of them are small enough that you can legally tow them anywhere.

~~~
vijayr
Wowwwww !! These look absolutely beautiful. But one still needs to own a piece
of land. What would be interesting though, is a bunch of people buying a piece
of land (sharing the land/electricity/water costs), and living in half a dozen
of these on the land. Don't know about the legality of it, but it would be
awesome

~~~
pilom
I think what you're recommending is called a trailer park. A trailer park with
a very strict community guidelines.

~~~
dwiel
kind of. A typical trailer park trailer is easily 800-1000 square feet
compared to these which are 80-120 square feet. Similar relationship to
neighbors though.

Im actually founding a community similar to this right now. We have2.25 acres
of land, and each house can have no bigger than 400 square foot footprint
(though can be 2 stories tall). Land not occupied by houses will be shared.

------
rohin
Author here. In the article I link to a 60 Minutes segment that follows around
families in Florida that turn to living in their cars as a last resort.

Worth checking out as it offers a very different perspective on the
experience:

<http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7389750n>

~~~
timmaah
Your article is a good one, but the tone towards RV's and living in
campgrounds is oddly negative.

>>An RV is basically a house on wheels and isn’t particularly inexpensive or
minimalist.

Our was pretty inexpensive, is more minimalist than most US based folks and
will hold its value just like the camper vans you mention.

>>If you pay to stay at a campsite, it’s most certainly legal, but then this
lifestyle ceases to be inexpensive.

$25-$30 a night is most certainly cheaper than most mortgages or apartments.

~~~
prodigal_erik
I wouldn't say "most". $800/month may not go very far in SF or NY, but it's
about what I was paying for a large two-bedroom apartment in Seattle, and
flyover country is cheaper still.

------
skulegirl
For the frugal traveller who wants to live in a van but move around (perhaps
while developing your web app or similar), we've started a community where
fellow RV'ers (or people who just like RVers) offer their driveways to others
to camp on for a night or two for free - <http://www.boondockerswelcome.com>.
We're going to start charging a small annual fee to cover our costs, but for
$25/year you can travel all over the continent and park your van for free. Of
course, this doesn't solve the bathroom or showering issue, as most people
aren't opening up their bathrooms to their guests. But my mom (who has a small
Roadtrek RV, which is really no bigger than a van and has no shower), has
travelled for 5 months at a time getting by with showers in the occasional
truck stop or an outdoor shower that she uses when they're parked in the
forest. (There's also tons of free parking for RVs in US National forests BTW,
plus lots of other spots. My mom writes e-books all about the free
"boondocking" locations she's discovered complete with GPS co-ordinates and
interesting nearby attractions - find them at <http://www.frugal-rv-
travel.com.>)

I know that this comment reads like a big advert, but if hackers here are
actually interested in living on the cheap while launching their bootstrapped
startup, these are actually viable options.

------
cma
It can go horribly wrong:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/becky_blanton_the_year_i_was_homele...](http://www.ted.com/talks/becky_blanton_the_year_i_was_homeless.html)

------
exabrial
Obligatory Chris Farley: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nhgfjrKi0o>

------
mikegirouard
> Actually, you’d break even much sooner because your camper van is an asset.
> If you bought a used camper van from the 1980s, it’s unlikely to lose much
> more value under your watch. If you fix it up, it may even have appreciated
> in value when you look to sell it. If you resell it for anywhere near what
> you paid for it, you break even in just a couple of months. If you found a
> great deal on a van, you’d break even sooner. If you drove it around a lot
> and had high fuel costs, you might not.

Random, slightly OT thought: I never thought about buying used vehicles from
this perspective. I've always thought of an auto as purely a liability.

~~~
sukuriant
When talking with a lamborghini dealer, I was informed that some exceptionally
rich people will purchase one of those, keep it for 3 years, and then sell it
back at a profit because they depreciate so slowly. I thought this was
interesting.

~~~
salgernon
Unless they just leave it parked, they are unlikely to recoup the cost of
maintaining it over that time:

[http://www.secretentourage.com/lifestyle/autos/cost-of-
owner...](http://www.secretentourage.com/lifestyle/autos/cost-of-ownership-of-
an-exotic-car/)

I was bit by this in my early 20s when I bought a really nice BMW, I hadn't
considered that dealer servicing would end up costing so much.

But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

~~~
MrMember
I'm not much of a car guy, why are oil changes on exotics so much more
expensive than on your average car?

~~~
lgbr
Exotics have large oil pans. Your typical Murcielago requires 11 liters of oil
to change, and that's synthetic, not dinosaur oil. Add to that an oil filter
that is shipped from Italy. You're also changing the transmission oil, which
also must be synthetic. There may be some other maintenance that the dealer
likes to perform (brake fluid? spark plugs?) at the same time as an oil
change. Add dealer markup and insurance to all of this and you're easily over
$500.

~~~
Natsu
I'm guessing that they also get gouged for being rich enough to afford it.

------
danielna
I saved a link to my pinboard a while back about a couple who sold all their
possessions and took a VW van through North/Central/South America and in and
around Africa. Super interesting read: <http://www.vwvagabonds.com/>

------
jat1
I'm currently living in a van! Me and my long term girlfriend have taken some
time from the 9-5 to travel around Europe for a while. Been on the road for
almost three months now and it's done wonders for my mental state.y mind is
clearer, I'm calmer and I feel better. I'm still trying to work on small
projects and I have an osx utility I wrote entirely on the road using my
MacBook Pro and the solar panels on the van to power it.

It's not cheap, we are able to live on basically half of what we were living
on before, but that's not the point of this journey for us.

If your interested in our travels our blog is here
<http://www.wanderingeurope.co.uk>

------
pclark
never thought i'd get a chance to promote foster hunting on hacker news, but
et voila: the polar opposite of this article – something that would inspire
you to _want_ to live in a van – can be found on this fantastic blog:
<http://www.arestlesstransplant.com>

~~~
threejay
I concur. This is one of my absolute favorite blogs.

------
tiramisu
When I worked in Palo Alto and lived in SF, the daily commute felt tolerable
for three days of the week and then became intolerable for the last two days
of the week. After quitting my job and getting a trailer to travel the
country, I figured out that a solution to the commute would have been to buy a
trailer/van while in SV and park it permanently in one of the huge lots at
work and overnight there when I didn't feel like driving back to SF. Like
vans, some trailers, like Airstreams or vintage "canned hams", don't
depreciate if taken care of.

------
ChuckMcM
I met Steve Roberts [1] at a conference when he was riding his bike around the
country (pedal power). And he was living this life by choice. When I moved to
the Bay Area it was in the midst of a huge recession (chip companies were
dying, fabs were closing). I thought a bit about it, and wondered what it
would be like.

I've always wondered if, when flying high, folks might put together a 'bug out
plan' which included mobile accommodations.

[1] <http://nomadness.com/>

------
daveman
Regarding the topic of internet access, I wonder how many van dwellers resort
to piggybacking on nearby homeowners' unsecured wifi networks? Seems like if
you're trying to minimize costs, rolling up alongside an open network is a
great way to get your Hulu and Netflix without going over your data limits.

~~~
timmaah
Granted I've been in campgrounds the last few months and not near many
residential neighborhoods, but my experience is that its more trouble than it
is worth.

We have a wifi extender on the roof of our travel trailer. Finding an open
wifi is fairly rare these days. Even campground offered wifi is hit or miss on
speed. Our 3g data card rocks. 20gig a month gives us a little leeway on
streaming. We make due with local news and a stash of Seinfeld and Sopranos.

------
Rickasaurus
Don't worry honey, that "creepy" guy living in front of our house is actually
just an entrepreneur!

------
United857
This guy goes one step further; living in a Honda Civic:

[http://www.quora.com/Would-becoming-homeless-be-a-good-
strat...](http://www.quora.com/Would-becoming-homeless-be-a-good-strategy-to-
cut-costs-1/answer/Kurt-Varner)

~~~
GFischer
He's on HN and posted his link :)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4617792>

~~~
astine
I have a friend who lived in a Honda Accord for three months. He says his goal
was to save money but his friends (including myself) are convinced that he was
just too lazy to look for an apartment.

------
phil
This is common in the kayaking/climbing community.

Every paddler I know living out of a van gets an old Toyota Previa. Why?
They're cheap, fuel-efficient, readily available, easy to gut the back, and
deal with dirt roads fairly well.

------
socalnate1
A friend of mine did this in LA for a couple years and paid off his school
loans. He worked for a company that had a full kitchen and showers, so he was
able to use the office frequently for those necessities.

------
OldSchool
The van thing should resonate with a lot of entrepreneurs. As a bootstrapped
20-something entrepreneur I couldn't help but secretly think "live in a van"
was my backup no matter how well things were going.

------
mashmac2
Completely doable; even in a smaller vehicle. I spent the second half of grad
school living in a Hyundai Elantra - take out the back seats, sleeping between
the trunk and the back seat. Not the most comfortable living, but completely
doable.

Mostly, the flexibility and minimalism appealed to me, the $ savings were a
secondary benefit (and weren't that beneficial, as food costs go up without a
refrigerator).

------
icebraining
It seems to me that a water reservoir with a tube going near the engine (for
heating) and a small water pump, coupled with an inflatable bathtub could
solve the shower problem.

I've never lived in a van, but my family used to go camping and we used a
similar system (inflatable bathtub inside the tent) so that my younger brother
could take a bath even if it was too cold outside for him.

~~~
krschultz
It's far simpler than that for most of the year, solar powered showers are $20
and work really well (often, too well, I've been burned by one camping).

[http://www.amazon.com/Stearns-SunShower-showers-Capacity-
gal...](http://www.amazon.com/Stearns-SunShower-showers-Capacity-
gallons/dp/B000NVC1JY)

------
mahyarm
Tynan lives in his van RV in SF and works on his startup full time. He's been
living in it for years. If I was going to do this, I would get a roadtrek and
remove the decals. They stand out the least.

<http://tynan.com/community/living-in-a-small-rv-introduction>

------
gadders
I've never tried living like this, but we had a similar VW camper van that was
our main car and also our holiday accommodation.

One thing to remember - when you stop in a layby for the night, you will get
on average 2-3 people think it is HILARIOUS to drive past with hand on their
car horn.

------
twotwotwo
Lore Sjoberg, all-around awesome and hilarious guy (anyone remember the
Brunching Shuttlecocks?), is in a van. A random recent post:
<http://loresjoberg.com/view/monkeyconversation/>

------
protomyth
Plenty of people living in vans and cars in western ND since housing is such
an issue. Heck, I have relatives renting spots on their front lawn and an
electrical cord for $900/mo to people with campers.

Their are plenty of interviews on the web about what that is like.

------
carlsednaoui
Not receiving data on my end - here is the cached page:

[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:blog.pr...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:blog.priceonomics.com/post/32944888191/living-
in-a-van)

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Tichy
We spent our holidays as kids in such a VW and it was fantastic. That article
made me miss those days. The holidays where always just a couple of weeks,
though, so not like living in a van for good.

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systematical
I had this idea a while back to just travel the United States working on
freelance ideas, but geeze...

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gogetter
Didn't Chris Farley have something to say about living in a van, down by the
river?

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mathattack
I thought this type of living went away with the Grateful Dead. I can see it
as some sort of strange counter-culture, but to do it for financial reasons
just seems absurd. Unless you are truly destitute, it ultimately carries so
many other burdens that will add to the costs.

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allbombs
all i can think about is chris farley "living in the van down by the river"

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marshallp
This will get much easier when robocars come out. You won't have to worry
about police and zoning laws, the car can move every once in a while or
continuously be moving. If robocar renting takes off you don't even the cash
up front to pay for one. Showers and toilets can be separately moving robocars
so this can all be done in small vehicles rather than large RV's. The fuel
would electric (robocars recharge themselves from electric gas stations) so
the costs of all this would be minimal as well. If this all plays out well,
apartments, and even houses should see a drop in value (a good thing because
too much of wealth is being plowed into the unproductive economy of land
owning - it can instead shift to purchasing engineered products).

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pyoung
That would be an interesting future. Go to a bar at night (dropped off by your
robocar/house). Get really drunk. Get picked up by your robocar/house. Wake up
really hungover, shower, change and then walk out of your robocar/house that
is parked right in front of your office. Go to work. Not sure why this was the
first thing that came to my mind, but it would be pretty damn cool.

