
150 days of living and coding in a van - hwartig
https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-150-days-of-van-life/
======
driverdan
Nice writeup.

I also live in a vehicle. I have a 25ft (7.6m) former airport shuttle bus I've
converted to my home. It took me over six months of full time work and it's
still not complete.

I've lived in it for a bit over four months. Overall it has been good but not
without challenges. I'm currently busy working which has led to neglecting
stuff I need to finish on the bus. I can't travel far until I finish these
things.

Here are some recommendations and tips if you're considering this life:

* If you haven't spent time camping in a vehicle rent one for at least a week and try that first. It's not exactly the same but similar.

* Don't jump in blindly. Do significant research into what others have done, what works and what doesn't, etc.

* If you decide to build something yourself expect it to take at least twice as long and cost 50% more than you plan.

* Evaluate if it makes sense to do the build yourself. I wanted to build something physical instead of just writing code. Financially it would have made more sense for me to continue working full time and have a place like Sportsmobile do the build. I wouldn't have learned the skills and had the experience though.

I have a lot of build photos on Instagram:
[https://www.instagram.com/driverdan/](https://www.instagram.com/driverdan/)

I'm happy to answer questions.

~~~
rbritton
What do you do for internet? I don't have any intention to live full time in a
vehicle, but I want to be able to take off for an arbitrary amount of time and
work while away.

I've done a few test outings but generally end up reinforcing my conclusion
that cellular is not overly reliable when you're more than an hour or so
outside a moderate-sized town. I currently have to carry equipment for two
separate carriers (AT&T and Verizon) and a signal booster to have a reasonable
success rate at getting a strong enough signal to work.

The next avenue I'm exploring is satellite internet, but it is significantly
more expensive.

~~~
clort
You have to let go - I got 4G mobile wifi earlier this year, its fast as heck
and sometimes when I don't get a signal.. I don't connect to the internet! Can
always read a book, or go for a walk.

I'm kind of extreme though; I've been using cellular data almost exclusively
since 2001 so its nothing new. I've spent plenty of time out of range. I think
that if you are out of range and you _need_ to connect; its time to move on.

~~~
thatcat
How do you handle sms and voice over data or do you forego it all together?

~~~
clort
No I have a mobile phone for voice calls. In the beginning I used dialup, then
GPRS or EDGE directly through the phone (cable and later Bluetooth
connection). Then I got a separate device for data, first an ICOM 3G USB
dongle which I used for many years but as of this year I'm on 4G, with a
Huawei 4G mobile wifi thing.

------
grecy
I am doing something somewhat related.

I built a Jeep Wrangler into a house on wheels [1], and am driving around
Africa for two years.

I am freelancing for Magazines, and earning money through my website and
social presence. I have not done any coding on this trip, mostly becuase I
find it hard to get remote work that meets my flexibility needs - i.e. weeks
off-grid and only occasional checkins/calls.

Last time I drove Alaska to Argentina, doing more-or-less the same thing.

[1] [http://theroadchoseme.com/the-jeep](http://theroadchoseme.com/the-jeep)

~~~
bshimmin
I think work is the big issue with this sort of lifestyle (leaving aside
children, as others have mentioned). Many remote gigs still want a daily
standup, a weekly sprint retrospective and planning session, etc, and none of
that really works if you're truly nomadic and can't really guarantee where you
are or how good your Internet connexion is at any given time.

The article talks about the flexibility of his lifestyle: "instead of
following a fixed plan, I get inspired by random ideas: When the waves are
great, I go surfing. When it’s chill and fresh, I work. When it’s hot, I go
for a swim." ... which sounds lovely, but I can't see how that works with a
full-time job, to be honest.

There are, of course, freelance jobs you can do where you have a task to do
and a deadline and (hopefully) not too much real-time conversation required...
but it may be hard to get enough of that work to support yourself.

~~~
lucaspiller
I work in a remote team, and even my co-workers who work from home sometimes
have bad internet days. It's just something you learn to deal with.

In my team there are two others (there are a handful of teams in our company -
all remote), sometimes we need to work together (e.g. to solve a bug) but most
of the time we are all just working on our own tickets. If we were in an
office we'd be the same - eyes down, headphones on.

You just need to trust people enough, to know that they are going to do, what
they say they are going to do. Admittedly that's hard for some people (the
trust and being trustworthy), which I'd say is why remote work often gets a
bad rep.

------
majewsky
> The amount of water that I used in Berlin to brush my teeth is probably
> enough for a whole day in my van. Maybe 80% of the water just flowed from
> the tap right into the drain without even touching my body.

I hear things like that time and time again, and I can literally not
understand it. Why would any sane person leave the water running while
brushing their teeth? When I brush my teeth, the water runs for one second to
wet the brush, then for another second to draw water into a glass for rising
my mouth with, then for another five seconds (on a low setting) to clean the
brush. That's maybe 100 ml. I literally drink 15-20 times as much per day.

~~~
intoverflow2
Wonder what the harmful emissions from my flat and walk to work were vs the
van. /s

Smug statements about how wasteful people not living in these fringe
conditions are always remind me of the Soylent founder lecturing about how
doing laundry wastes water while also reordering all his clothes from china
when they get dirty. [1]

[1] [https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/op-ed-how-i-gave-
up-...](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/op-ed-how-i-gave-up-
alternating-current/)

~~~
classisch
Agreed! The same goes for my solar panels: Yes, I use a renewable source of
energy. But how many resources were required to built these panels and once
they break, where do they go?

I'm not quite sure the ecological footprint of my life style is smaller than
of someone who lives in an apartment in Berlin. However since I live in the
van, I pay way more attention to where I and others waste resources. Maybe a
first step to make a change?

~~~
wellboy
Solar panels make their ecological footprint after 3 years of use and last for
30 years. 80% of the material in solar panels is recycled from old solar
panels.

So no matter how you turn it, solar panels are a lot alot more environmentally
friendly than convential energy sources.

~~~
FooHentai
>80% of the material in solar panels is recycled from old solar panels.

That doesn't pass the sniff test. Solar cell production is on a strong upwards
curve, if 80% is recycled from other panels then supply would be bounded by
old solar stock recovery, which is not the case.

I can't see how 80% of solar panel material, even if we're talking exclusively
about the PV cells and not the surrounds, could be from old solar panels,
especially not 30 year old solar panels.

~~~
wellboy
In fact it is 90% [http://earth911.com/eco-tech/recycle-solar-
panels/](http://earth911.com/eco-tech/recycle-solar-panels/) and there are nee
processes that reach 96%.

~~~
FooHentai
That's 90% of the material being recovered from old solar panels, not 90% of
new panels being made up of recycled material.

That's still great news, but nothing like:

>80% of the material in solar panels is recycled from old solar panels.

Which implies new panels rolling off the production line consisted of 80%
recycled material from old panels. That's not possible. If you have 10 old
panels coming in to be recycled, and you recover 90% of the materials from
them, and you're producing 100 new panels (since production is increasing), at
best you're gonna get 9% recycled material into your new panels.

------
mmahemoff
I'm curious - don't people miss big monitors when coding on a laptop? I've
done a fair amount of coding on laptops while travelling and it's okay, but I
feel like a big monitor is optimal for most work and wouldn't want a permanent
situation with just laptop.

I like to have logs, command line, and editor all visible, and ideally a
browser too. The editor alone is much more useful in a big window where you
can see a file tree and multiple files.

~~~
coldtea
> _I 'm curious - don't people miss big monitors when coding on a laptop?_

No. Some of us work even more focused on a single smaller screen even than
having 10 BS windows asking for our attention (and I include debuggers in
those, the ultimate hop-around time sink for some developers).

Besides, people managed to write software for several decades before larger
than 14" screens became the norm. Heck, until the late seventies many people
didn't even use a visual editor -- they only edited their files line by line
in ed. And until the 90s even color was not that common -- there goes syntax
highlighting (and many other uses of color).

So I don't think big monitors are any sort of necessity in the days of 15"
laptops with excellent retina screens.

~~~
aidos
This seems to have attracted a lot of downvotes, I guess because it's overtly
antagonistic.

But I too prefer to work on a smaller screen (and I have tried much larger
monitors). I switch context and then just work in that context. I don't feel
the need to be able to see a load of different things at the same time.

Really though, it's subjective and everyone should just do what works best for
them. It's the same discussion that comes up with some people having 200 tabs
open in their browser whereas others of us keep it really minimal.

I'm over a decade into working pretty much on a 13" macbook full time and
that's my happy place.

~~~
coldtea
> _This seems to have attracted a lot of downvotes, I guess because it 's
> overtly antagonistic_

Not exactly antagonistic -- meant to give some historical context to answer
the parent's question which made it seem like big monitors are some physical
necessity that people just can't do without. It's not like big monitors where
any kind of norm before at least 2000.

I know tons of people happily coding away on a laptop with no external
monitors attached.

~~~
aidos
Well, the only part of your comment I was referring to was the "having 10 BS
windows asking for our attention", because really I agree with you (and I
upvoted you to try to help normalise the discussion).

It's a very strange thread to read. Judging by the downvotes, it seems as
though there's a really negative reaction to people who code on small screens.
Whatever people want to do is fine, but it's pretty weird to almost shout down
anyone who does it a different way.

~~~
coldtea
> _Well, the only part of your comment I was referring to was the "having 10
> BS windows asking for our attention"_

A, yes, thanks. I think where big/dual monitors make more sense are for admin
style work -- when you need to, non pun intended, monitor, several things at
once.

------
d--b
Good for him... I would totally hate the lack of space and comfort. I'd sleep
really poorly at night when it's super hot in summer and cold in winter. I'd
hate it to have to look for a good internet to work. I'd miss my friends all
the time. I'd dislike having to socialize with random van neighbors every time
I want to not dine alone. I wouldn't last a month of this...

~~~
classisch
Hey! I'm the author of that article. I respect your opinion and I totally
agree that van life is not for everyone. However it's seems funny that I've
never experienced one of your concerns:

> I would totally hate the lack of space and comfort.

I have 12 square meters and my bed is super comfortable. Most of the time I'm
outside. Works perfect for me.

> I'd sleep really poorly at night when it's super hot in summer and cold in
> winter.

That's the whole thing about a van: If it's too hot in the mainland, you drive
to the beach where you always have a chill breeze. In the winter you drive
down south where it's warm. I actually feel bad for the people who have to
stay in cities when it's hot and humid in the summer or freezing cold in the
winter.

> I'd hate it to have to look for a good internet to work.

In Europe the 4G network coverage is amazing. Within the last five months I
had less issues with my connectivity than some of my co-workers using a cable
internet.

> I'd miss my friends all the time.

Yes, I do miss my friends. I guess this is a valid concern. But sometimes I
meet my friends when they are on vacation nearby and for Christmas I will fly
back to my hometown to see family and friends.

> I'd dislike having to socialize with random van neighbors every time I want
> to not dine alone.

I guess that's personal taste. It's very easy to socialize with travelers:
they invite your for dinner right away. Sometimes you even don't have to
approach them actively. I've also spent a couple of weeks with the same people
and we had dinner together every evening. Once you life in a van you often
meet people who do the same. So basically you have friends near by.

~~~
dx034
> In Europe the 4G network coverage is amazing. Within the last five months I
> had less issues with my connectivity than some of my co-workers using a
> cable internet.

Do you get enough data volume? Most sim cards for use with computer are quite
restricted. Or can you live off 10GB/month?

~~~
phaemon
In the UK you can get 40G for £30 a month. I imagine you can do at least as
well in most EU countries.

~~~
dx034
Which network? Three has an offer like that but I found connectivity quite
weak once you leave larger cities. Although that appears to be the issue with
most/all networks here. I currently use vodafone and can't remember when I
last had 4G outside of major cities.

~~~
Nexxxeh
I think all the networks can be hit and miss depending on the specific
location.

Apparently it can also vary at any given moment, depending on equipment
failures and access to equipment issues.

I'd recommend getting a couple of cheap-ish pre-loaded data SIMs from EE and
Three, and have your main data SIM with someone else.

I carry a 500MB/month EE 4G SIM that was cheap in Argos, in an unlocked 4G EE
wifi router dongle. I have an O2 (MVNO) SIM in my phone.

Plus an assortment of pre-loaded (but not activated) SIMs in the event I need
Three, or need more data.

I've not had any luck at all with Voda, but should I give them another shot?

------
robotmay
I've met a few people living in vans/converted trucks when I've been in
France. There's quite a few countries around with great regulations that let
you park up in lots of places, e.g. in France there are regular places you can
stay along the major roads for free, usually with decent facilities. I met a
girl there this year who had converted a truck into a mobile home. It even had
window boxes for her plants!

Unfortunately it's much more awkward in the UK. So much of this country is
private land and everyone's so afraid of gypsies that you're basically
prevented from setting up a van nearly anywhere.

I work remotely and I've started experiencing leg problems from sitting too
much. So I'm now trying to set the trend of "wood-working"; where I go for a
walk to the woods nearby, sit on a rock by the river, and do some coding. It
might catch on ;)

~~~
codesnik
how's it going? I love to move around with my laptop, but nature is too damn
distractive. Sun is too bright, stone under my ass is too cold, that view is
too beautiful, oh, I'm already hungry, oh, it's sunset. That was a nice day,
but I barely worked.

~~~
DennisP
I'm just the opposite. If I really want to concentrate on a hard problem, I
take my laptop to the park, and sit at a picnic table surrounded by trees,
overlooking a lake.

For routine stuff I just need to crank out, it's headphones and coffee, but
real thinking I do better in nature. All the mental distractions and trivia
fade away.

------
mikestew
It would appear that “van” has a different definition in Europe. In the U. S.
I think most would consider that a Class C RV. I’m not just being pedantic, as
there is loads more room in the authors rig than our VW Westfalia, or even a
Chevy conversion. I’d live full-time in what’s pictured (and plenty of U. S.
retirees do just that), no problem, but I’d have to have a genuine need before
I’d consider more than a month or two in the VW.

EDIT: now I’m genuinely curious, so please help me out Europeans. Scroll to
the bottom and relieve my ignorance: is this considered to be a “van” in
Europe? [https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/](https://ruby-
on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/) Because I think you’d be hard-
pressed to find someone in the U. S. that would call that a camper van.

~~~
classisch
Ha! I'm not a native speaker. I used the word "van" because I didn't want to
write "campervan" all the time. But maybe "camper" would have been better?

> A campervan (or camper van), sometimes referred to as a camper, or a
> caravanette, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and
> sleeping accommodation. The term mainly describes vans that have been fitted
> out, often with a coachbuilt body for use as accommodation.

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

I connect "RV" with something like this:
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Rv_class...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Rv_classa.jpg).

My mobile home is built on top of Mercedes 209D and is 6 meters long and 2
meters wide. It almost fits into a regular parking lot. I leave it up to the
experts whether this is a van, campervan or whatever?

~~~
SigmundA
In the US your linked RV is a Class A.

Yours would be a Class C

Campervan in the US is associated more with Class B's

The difference is Class A is a complete custom body, Class C is a cutaway
where the cab is built by the chassis maker but the house body is not like
yours. Class B is basically a van body on the outside.

There are variations, Super C's, B plus and so on.

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

~~~
classisch
I should rewrite all URLs or move into an actual van! Otherwise people can
call me a liar!

------
classisch
Hey everyone! I'm the author of that article. I just started the blog and
still have a ton of things to write about. I like all the (critical) feedback.
That inspires me for further blog posts. Thanks for reading!

~~~
pdimitar
Thanks for writing this. It made me very sad because the traveler life appeals
a lot to me but I still quite like the things I have in the city, so I have
always been extremely conflicted about a nomadic life (or a period).

How do you deal with the toilet troubles though?

Also, can you give some details on how do you avoid cold weather? My
girlfriend tells me there are areas in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece where
summer is much longer and the winter basically means 13-17 degrees without
snow -- in the worst case scenario.

I was profoundly touched by your article. I am at a point of my life when I
feel a desperate and very strong need for a change. Reasons are a lot and I
don't want to derail this thread by making my comment a public confession --
suffice to say, I realize I dislike a part of my life and I want to do
something about it.

Truth be told however, I like my mega-strong internet (Bulgaria). I like being
able to go buy cooked food when I feel lazy or sick or tired and don't want to
cook -- telling yourself "get a grip and cook!" sounds like stress and forcing
myself and not like something that relaxes you. I like being able to go to a
cinema on a whim.

The city gives me the sense of being able to spontaneously do various things.

I really want to try some nomadism -- or at least travel to 10+ places during
a period -- and as a 37 y/o with a burnout, nature's appeal grows in me with
each passing week.

Overall, I am happy your format worked for you -- it made me consider some
traveling very seriously and I started to weigh pros and cons.

Thank you.

~~~
peteretep

        > I really want to try some nomadism
    

So do. The van part is totally optional. Go to Chiang Mai and find a coworking
space and an AirBNB. If you don't like it, go home! We have a fixed base we
spend 50% of the year at, but also like to go and spend 6 weeks working
elsewhere.

------
yoavm
I'm doing the same in Israel for almost two years now! The photos-haiku-blog
is in Hebrew, but well photos are universal.
[http://bus.house/](http://bus.house/)

~~~
submeta
Holy cow. What happened to your social life, if I may ask? Friends, family.
How do you maintain your relationships?

~~~
yoavm
Israel is a tiny country. You can spend a week on the top of some mountain not
seeing any human being, and then drive 30mins and be with your friends. I
enjoy being able to choose when to be completely alone and when to be
surrounded with friends and family. Besides, I can definitely stay in the
middle of Tel-Aviv with my bus (without paying the crazy rent!). That's where
I am currently, actually.

~~~
severine
Mouth-watering... thanks and congrats!

------
beebmam
This is cool, but honestly I think there's a bigger problem that people don't
seem to want to address: Housing affordability.

Why do we allow home prices to be so expensive? Simply no one from my
(millenial) generation can afford to buy a house. Home prices are so beyond
insane, and it's crippling my generation.

I make $200k a year and I'm unable to buy a house where I live. That's how
fucked it is.

~~~
ThrustVectoring
Housing prices follow pretty straightforwardly from incentives. Savers have
counter-parties who owe debt. After the federal government ($19T), the next
biggest is mortgages, with $14T, of which $10T is one-to-four family
residences.

Whether it's direct ownership of debt or intermediated through pensions,
insurance companies, or banks, saving for retirement is largely done through
putting others in debt. More people savings more aggressively means money gets
cheaper until the market clears. Cheaper money means you can finance higher
bids on assets prices such as homes and university educations.

I have no idea how to fix it. I don't even know if it's possible. Making
housing cheaper on a national scale means nuking pensions as people walk away
from underwater mortgages. Probably the best bet is to inflate away these
nominal obligations, but that has its own host of issues with screwing over
retirees. Between lowering birth rates and improving health care, we as a
society have been steadily ratcheting up the percentage of our economic output
going towards supporting retirement. That's not sustainable when combined with
how we've been also ratcheting up our standards of living. These trade off
against each other, and it feels to me like the Boomers chose "both, but our
kids pay for it".

------
leoedin
This is written in October. He's been living in the van since the middle of
May. Basically late spring, summer and early autumn.

How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun,
but it's not warm. At all. Trying to work in a van when it's below freezing
outside will be pretty hard work. I can't even type when the room drops below
15 degrees. Vans like the one he has are basically uninsulated steel boxes -
they get cold pretty fast.

~~~
classisch
I'll probably spend the winter down in southern Portugal/Spain where
temperatures are around 15 degrees in average during the winter. I've also
installed an old heating that works with Diesel and electricity. But yes,
summer life is easy and I'm looking forward to experience my first winter in
the van.

BTW: I bought the van in February and already worked and slept in the van
while it was freezing cold: [https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-
ride/](https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/) it was ok.

~~~
cfn
Inland Portugal can be freezing cold in the Winter, we got -2 C several days
in a row last year (I know, -2 C is balmy elsewhere but try it without central
heating). You should be okay if you stick to the coast as the sea breezes keep
the temperatures in the 10-15 C most of the time.

~~~
toomanybeersies
If you've got a good sleeping bag, -2 C isn't that bad. I've spent the night
with those temperatures in the high country of New Zealand. I know people that
have spent the night in -15 C temperatures.

~~~
cfn
That may be OK for sleeping but it is very hard to work. I spent a couple of
Winters coding without heating with indoor temperatures around 12 Celsius and
it was very hard. I wore mittens, bubble hat, a blanket and even an electric
foot warmer and still had to stop working and walk a bit every now and then to
warm up.

~~~
jvzr
What's a bubble hat, if I may ask?

~~~
cfn
Sorry, bobble hat. It is a wool hat with a wool "ball" at the top. Search
google images for wool bobble hat.

------
twobyfour
Are there any women here who have done something like this and would be
willing to comment on it? Theoretically it sounds cool, but I'd be a bit
anxious about personal safety.

~~~
et-al
You can try reaching out to Caroline of Little Package: [https://www.little-
package.com/about-little-package](https://www.little-package.com/about-little-
package)

She used to make awesome cycling caps, did the PCT, and is now traveling
around America in a Vanagon.

------
k4ch0w
Nice man that looks awesome, pretty jelly. I can work remote and have been
thinking about leaving for a while. How much was the initial cost of the van?
How did you maintain your internet connection? What would you say is the
biggest struggle?

~~~
classisch
Hey!

> How much was the initial cost of the van?

I bought the van for 7.000 Euro.

> How did you maintain your internet connection?

I'm working with 4G. Works perfect all most everywhere in Europe! I use a pre-
paid Italian SIM-Card that I can use all over Europe. It costs me 9 Euros for
20 GB. I usually need around 30 to 50 GB a month. So it's roughly 20 Euros per
month.

You can read more about the technical setup here: [https://ruby-on-
wheels.github.io/blog/turning-my-van-into-a-...](https://ruby-on-
wheels.github.io/blog/turning-my-van-into-a-mobile-office/)

> What would you say is the biggest struggle?

I'm currently in Madrid. Living the van life in big cities is more
challenging. Especially if you don't want to stay in the suburbs. I plan to
write a article about my city experiences in Madrid soon.

~~~
icebraining
9€ for 20GB and it works everywhere in Europe? That sounds like an amazing
deal. Can you tell me which provider you're using?

~~~
desdiv
I Googled around and found this:

>Giga International: 9 € - including 20 GB data valid for 28 days. The
activation fee is 5 € and the SIM card is 9 €, making the total cost 25 € for
the first month and 9 € for subsequent months. This offer is only for
customers with foreign citizenship.

[0] [http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Italy](http://prepaid-data-
sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Italy)

~~~
icebraining
Thanks!

------
mvanbaak
This is exactly what I'm planning to do, but instead of a van, use a sailing
'yacht' big enough to live on.

As soon as I have enough funding to get the gear, I'm off!

~~~
danielbarla
Interesting idea. Does sailing a boat typically allow for one to be immersed
in coding for longer periods at a time (a few hours)? Or would you just park
it while you work?

~~~
Freeboots
I suspect you would get the most done while in port. Like, this guy isn't
working while he drives. Would pretty amazing way to see the caribean or med!

~~~
danielbarla
That makes sense - though with a boat, it might be reasonable to work while
sailing, making it even more attractive. But I doubt that would be
particularly realistic, w.r.t. internet connectivity, being able to pay
attention to hazards, etc.

------
yokisan
This is awesome. So much so, I'm going to borrow his idea and kick this off
next Spring.

If the author is reading this, some questions:

\- How do you deal with solitude? Most can handle it but seeing as everyday is
a new day in a new place there must be an urge to share that with somebody.

\- This mode of living must have an impact on the ol' love life. What do the
ladies say - if you meet many at all - when you suggest going back to your
van/office/home?

\- What are your plans for the Winter? I imagine just go as south-west as
possible to chase the sun.

~~~
classisch
> How do you deal with solitude? Most can handle it but seeing as everyday is
> a new day in a new place there must be an urge to share that with somebody.

I haven't experienced solitude so far. Sometimes I even leave crowded spots
because I want some time for myself. I travel in Europe, not in Alaska. I meet
people everyday and on top of that I have a regular job and interact with my
co-workers every weekday. Mostly asynchronous and sometimes synchronous.

> This mode of living must have an impact on the ol' love life. What do the
> ladies say - if you meet many at all - when you suggest going back to your
> van/office/home?

Yes, this is can be a problem. Sometimes you meet people who don't love the
"simple" life like I do. I respect their opinions and either spend time with
them in their world or make a compromise, e.g. stay on a campsite that offers
all the facilities you have in a regular apartment.

But at the end you usually hangout with people that get a long with you and
your life style?

> What are your plans for the Winter? I imagine just go as south-west as
> possible to chase the sun.

Yes, I'll follow the warm weather once my naked feet get cold here.

~~~
yokisan
Thanks for the reply. Very neat adventure you're on.

> Sometimes you meet people who don't love the "simple" life like I do.

Hey, if the ladies don't dig the man with the van, their loss!

------
cdnsteve
This reminds me of those tiny houses you've seen where people can live very
well on a low budget but with the benefit of being mobile. I've thought about
it but it becomes impractical quickly with a family.

When I'd go on week long + backcountry hiking or canoe trips I always felt
like all the other stuff you have just don't matter. Time away from stuff
doesn't make you miss it, it makes you realize you don't need any of it.

------
lowglow
I tried this around SF Bay Area. Unfortunately SF isn't as van-friendly as I
would have liked, and the high crime rate and high rate of break-ins left me
less than desiring to stay in SF. Had a friend successfully camp out in East
Bay, but got sick of it.

I moved down to Redwood City but the cops basically harassed me, and treated
me like a criminal. I finally would park in my van outside of Social Capital
in Palo Alto.

Palo Alto remains a legal place to live the van life. You'll also meet a bunch
of other van dwellers from tech companies around there. There is even a couple
of secret facebook groups for nerds working/living out of their van in and
around SF/BA.

~~~
cvsh
That's the first big strike against vanlife for me. In the US there's no cheap
and reliable way to park and sleep without being harassed by police.

The second is illness: I ate some bad chicken earlier this year and was
violently ill, projectile liquid from both ends ill, for three whole days. It
was miserable but bearable because I had an apartment with a bed and a
bathroom. I can't imagine what it would have been like in a van.

~~~
tomcooks
Should that happen to me I'd just check in at a cheap airbnb for a week until
feeling better, possibly with a friend taking care of me while i complain
about being sick

~~~
cvsh
I went from feeling fine to could-not-walk-three-steps-without-vomiting in the
course of an hour. Could probably not have seen it coming and booked an airbnb
in time.

~~~
lowglow
Here is a serious pro-tip, take two shots of apple cider vinegar and 30-40
minutes later you'll be right as rain.

------
poushkar
Oh, I think I attended one of your talks last year (about Mikado method). Nice
to learn that you live this van life now, keep updating the blog, it's very
interesting!

------
blondie9x
I like the ideas behind the writer of this post. However I have worked remote
for over a year and I have to comment.

First of all working in a van for a long haul will probably be painful for
your back. No standing desk no office chair and desk set up will not be
comfortable to code for more then a few hours.

Most of time working remote you need power and wifi. There is an expectation
that you will be online during similar hours as your co-workers as peers.
Maybe not exactly but similarly. So you gotta have a pocket wifi if doing
this.

Working in a van most days alone can be isolating. Trust me you will feel it.
Even when you go to an office and don't speak much to people it still helps
with social aspect. Being online and talking to co workers does too. If you
have a pocket WiFi and are not totally off grid able to engage with famile or
friends and colleagues online then it will be helpful.

With climate change worsening sometimes it's hot really hot. It will be
difficult to be outside for long stretches of time in a wide variety of places
due to worsening climate change. When you are in the office you will not
notice how bad it's getting less. Reading the news daily and seeing all the
issues connecting to climate changes helps but working outside you really feel
it directly. Historically a town might have had temperatures of 23 C now it's
28 C to 30 C on the bad days. However during working at an office you are
usually in an AC building from 9 to 18 missing the hottest parts of day. When
you work remotely to you will know how bad things are and it will trouble you
more if you try to work in a van connected to nature. It's gonna be hot.

Working remote is great but there are some drawbacks like everything in life.
Those you need to be mindful of before onsetting on that path.

~~~
classisch
> Working remote is great but there are some drawbacks like everything in
> life. Those you need to be mindful of before onsetting on that path.

I totally agree. Working remotely is not just awesome. But I prefer it over a
regular office job which has more downsides for me.

> First of all working in a van for a long haul will probably be painful for
> your back. No standing desk no office chair and desk set up will not be
> comfortable to code for more then a few hours.

I do a lot of sport (surfing, cycling, swimming pull-ups and other exercises
for my back). I usually take regular breaks to avoid sitting in the same
position for too long. My back feels great!

> Most of time working remote you need power and wifi. There is an expectation
> that you will be online during similar hours as your co-workers as peers.
> Maybe not exactly but similarly. So you gotta have a pocket wifi if doing
> this.

Check out my mobile office setup: [https://ruby-on-
wheels.github.io/blog/turning-my-van-into-a-...](https://ruby-on-
wheels.github.io/blog/turning-my-van-into-a-mobile-office/) and [https://ruby-
on-wheels.github.io/blog/turning-my-van-into-a-...](https://ruby-on-
wheels.github.io/blog/turning-my-van-into-a-mobile-office/). I have power and
internet 24h 7 days a week. My connection is more reliable than some of my co-
workers who work from home.

> When you work remotely to you will know how bad things are and it will
> trouble you more if you try to work in a van connected to nature. It's gonna
> be hot.

Yes, sometimes it just to hot. I've experienced this in the inland. My
solution: I drive to the mountains or the beaches where the climate is milder.
Or I take a siesta and wait until the sun sets to work. I can work whenever I
want. Another advantage of a remote job!

------
mjbrownie
I drove around Australia whilst still maintaining several django projects for
a web hosting company back in 2011. Started with an old 15 inch Dell and a
Samsung Galaxy tab but got a 11 inch Mac Air later.

Great fun! You really learn to optimise your setup around current draw and
avoiding overheat :) My biggest lessons were combining mosh and tmux It'd be
more of a struggle as a front end developer.

~~~
kzisme
Did you blog or write about your experience at all?

Are these projects you were working on before the trip - or were they a full
time gig already?

I'm always curious how people are able to do these sorts of things!

~~~
mjbrownie
No public blog unfortunately...

It was a lucky mix of timing and life circumstance. Single, late twenties had
just finished most heavy development work in 2010 and the sytems were running
smoothely, a good bossfriend who knew I was hard to replace and I had a sister
to catch up with on the other side of the country.

------
codecamper
We've been doing the same for a few years now. Funny.. these days I just want
to go to Berlin and stay for a while! That's because I have wound up missing
the buzz of a tech scene.

I lived 5 years in SF & then the Hacker Dojo was born just as I was leaving.
Since then, while sitting in my van, I just dream of sitting at the hacker
dojo!

Some of it is a great lifestyle. Tips on cheap data: Morocco, Portugal, Italy,
Slovenia, Croatia, Spain (not as cheap). ($1/GB) Somehow almost everyone else
is ridiculously expensive. More like $10-20 / GB.

The US now has Verizon unlimited. Something like 80 a month for unlimited
data!? It's tempting to put the camper on a boat & go back.

Also, if you are going to work out of a van, you are going to need consistent
power. Please do not use a generator! Stick about 4 flexible solar panels on
the roof. They can be attached with good 3m zip tie mounts & zip ties. One
hole drilled through the roof. Get a lithium (lifepo4) battery & a controller
from electrodacus.

~~~
tomcooks
Thanks for the informations, what kind of panels would you suggest (watts or
better model and maker, if it doesn't go against hn rules)?

I succesfully used a small foldable panel during my bicycle nomadism

------
FuNe
Living in a van might also be part of the answer to the skyrocketing rents
wherever there are jobs worth their salt. Which -housing- is one of the real
big markets that desperately needs to be disrupted as it siphons money out of
the productive sector into the rentiers' black holes.

Disclaimer: Living/renting in Dublin/Ireland.

------
adamzerner
The fact that this post mentions all benefits and no downsides makes it not
very credible to me.

------
retube
Nice. Tricky with family though.

~~~
grecy
I have met plenty of people driving around the world with 1-4 kids.

------
justonepost
I think it's really sad and pathetic that someone can enjoy such a simple, non
consumerist based life. How are you supporting the global economy? How are you
proving that you are worthy? This sounds like homelessness to me. Without a
home, are you really a worthwhile human being deserving of a mate? I don't
think so. Unless you shop and own, man, you don't really exist.

~~~
sealjam
I think (hope) the downvoters have missed the sarcasm in this comment

~~~
we_re_new
I think that removing the downvote button altogether is a good idea on this
site.

~~~
davidsong
There's a downvote button? I've not seen it yet.

~~~
staticelf
It is unlocked when you get more points.

------
peterwwillis
#Vanlife, the Bohemian Social-Media Movement

[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-
bo...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bohemian-
social-media-movement)

Five Harsh Truths You Need To Consider Before You Start Living The #Vanlife

[http://uproxx.com/life/harsh-truths-vanlife/3/](http://uproxx.com/life/harsh-
truths-vanlife/3/)

------
bamboozled
I live and work to travel and go on adventures and what I don't live for is
work. Why would someone want to mix the two?

I work full time remote out of a home office, but I couldn't think of much
worse of an idea going on a "working holiday". I've done it and it just
distracts me from enjoying my time.

I mean, is the author really productive or just having fun and doing much less
work?

I'm not judging anyone for working less, I'm all for it, but this taking your
work with you everywhere sounds horrible.

~~~
lettergram
In school, and now out of school - I keep the same routine. I work 50 to 80+
hours a week programming, emailing, etc.

Primary, Ive worked a full-time job as (senior) software engineer and on the
side (as much as a possibly can get away with it) building businesses for the
last year of college + the last three years. During that time I never once
took more than a single day break from coding. That is four years with no
vacation / adventure.

I coded after everyone went to sleep, on planes, trains, ships, etc. Believe
it or not I'm also married and have a fairly active social life.

I found that traveling, and working makes it possible for me to see things I
otherwise wouldn't. I also noticed that changing up my scenery made it
possible for me to be more productive. Might not be like this for everyone,
but I'm more invigorated when new stuff is going on. It keeps my brain on
point.

I should note, that since then I took my first real vacation in four years. It
was two weeks doing w.e., traveling with my wife. Honestly, it was awesome to
be away. That doesn't mean I don't bring my work with me now (as perhaps I'm
overly ambitious), but I do intend to unplug now for at least two weeks every
year.

However, I can see how this guy would be able to travel and might even be more
productive if they do it right.

------
simonbarker87
I'm in the process of converting a van to a camper to make weekly commuting
cheaper. Lifestyle will be slightly different to this as I will still be
running a factory and in the UK winter, however, I am hoping that one day I
can do some extended periods somewhere warm and outdoorsy using.

------
ge96
Sounds cool, main concerns are bathroom and internet connection. What about
security and parking?

The photo of laptop side of caravan in front of the beach looks nice though
unsure in practice (smell) can you focus sort of thing, regardless cool, like
the mobility idea it's what I strive for some day.

------
imsd
I'm going on 2+ years in a van myself and I even started a side project
showcasing others doing the same: [https://vanvaya.com](https://vanvaya.com)

Being young and looking to save on expenses, living in a van is one of the
best decisions I've made.

------
hellohellojello
How did you find the remote work?

Is it with an existing client who is flexible or do you take short term
contracts instead?

~~~
sampl
I think he works for github: [https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/leaving-
berlin/](https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/leaving-berlin/)

------
peteretep
My friend Tynan wrote a very indepth guide on working from a van, some years
before it was cool:
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006XLK2LW/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006XLK2LW/)

------
j7ake
Not all spouses would agree to the van life how do you deal with this ?

~~~
King-Aaron
Trade them in for a newer model.

~~~
mariushn
Where can you find newer spouse models?

~~~
King-Aaron
Aaah that's a trade secret sorry

------
koevet
Very inspiring, I wish I could try something like that for a while. Question:
do you still declare your income in your home country (Germany, I assume) or
have you found a different solution?

~~~
mrnzc
I know the OP. He is declaring his income in Germany.

~~~
koevet
That is interesting. I wish one could acquire a "nomadic" status and pay only
a fraction of the income tax in the country he lives in for a given period.
But that open a bigger sets of problem, like health insurance, etc.

~~~
richardknop
It's gray area legally. If you have income in multiple countries you should
pay income tax in each country (how much you earned while working there) but
if you are just traveling in a van and don't have any residence and are on the
move all the time, not sure how you can do that without it getting too messy.
Probably easiest to just declare all income in home base country.

~~~
literallycancer
>It's gray area legally. If you have income in multiple countries you should
pay income tax in each country (how much you earned while working there) but
if you are just traveling in a van and don't have any residence and are on the
move all the time, not sure how you can do that without it getting too messy.
Probably easiest to just declare all income in home base country.

Most countries have agreements to avoid double taxation, meaning you just
declare the income in the home country, as long as you spend less then half a
year in the other country. The agreements usually have some rules regarding
which country counts as the home country if you e.g. own property in both of
them.

~~~
richardknop
Yeah but most nomads don't spend much time in home country. They might spend
1-2 months in home country and rest of the year travel around. Or even less,
could be home just for Christmas. Then it gets quite tricky because
technically you haven't even spent enough time in your home country to count
as resident there.

------
yingxie3
This is nice. However I need two monitors - I'm not in my 20s anymore, my
brain can cache less and I need the second monitor as the look-aside buffer,
quite literally :P

------
valas
Is it really more environmentally 'sustainable' to live in a van than in an
apartment in a dense city? Don't we get economies of scale in cities?

------
exception_e
All I can think about is how I wouldn't be able to do this because I love my
cats and rabbit too much. Wouldn't be possible.

Very cool though!

------
idlewords
That van sounds like it could use a CO detector.

------
yulapshun
Wish I could live like him one day. So sad I'm living in Hong Kong which is
just a big city with nowhere to go.

~~~
sammoorhouse
Hey - I lived in HK for four years until 2015 - at least go backpacking, it’s
easy! You’re a 2.5 hour flight from Da Nang.

~~~
rerx
Keep in mind that more severe visa restrictions might apply to the OP than to
you.

------
dasanman
Very cool. Have to be quite lucky with your job I guess, or with finding
contractor work

------
agumonkey
a solar powered one
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGZ1zbqAGA0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGZ1zbqAGA0)
?

------
applecorruption
I lived, coded in van. No money.. Apple laptop eat battery in 2 hours. Cannot
recharge, no money for gasoline. Parking next to library to have internet.....
never again. I hated it everyday. I do not recommend this to anybody.

------
atomical
How do you keep your laptop charged? A separate generator?

------
RickJWagner
Cool story. I'm glad the author shared.

------
peter303
You guys must have great dating lives

~~~
daxorid
This mode of lifestyle would actually be a fantastic dating pool filter
against vapid consumerists and the status-obsessed.

------
restlessdesign
“…down by the RIV-ER!”

------
smegel
How the heck do you concentrate with all the scenery around you though? I
would not be able to sit still.

------
madshiva
I wish I can do the same, but remote works is hard to find.

------
lafar6502
No I can’t imagine all the nice places full of parked vans with programmers
working/living there all the time. Go hermit somewhere else

~~~
icebraining
Relax, there are more nice places than programmers.

------
imaassman
cool

------
applecorruption
Why minus ? hacker news community is like googles fanboys.. hn starts to be
like g more and more..

------
staticelf
Nice, I am not going to do exactly this but I am planning to live more freely
in the coming years.

MGTOW life seems like a much better way to live.

------
earlybike
Slightly OT: Living in a capital/big city is tough:

\- High rents, even in Berlin nowadays

\- There are more options but also much more competition for finding the right
accommodation, job and spouse

\- In particular, finding your long-term partner can be a huge struggle in a
big city in times of Tinder where nobody is committed anymore

For some the solution is just to escape, avoid the challenge and call it nomad
life (this is my feeling when I read such stories, maybe I am wrong).

However, once they have kids, they have to settle and are back to square one.

~~~
phillc73
> However, once they have kids, they have to settle and are back to square
> one.

I don't necessarily think it's back to square one. One doesn't have to settle
in a big city.

I moved out of London when my first child was due. We moved to a mid-sized
(250k population) European city. I was able to find work, in an unrelated
field to my previous experience but still using similar technical and
management skills. The remuneration is less than I was earning in London, but
the cost of living is significantly lower too.

This was a lifestyle choice and the environment is much better, in my view,
for raising children. Only my view of course, but in this case "better" means
things like more green space, less pollution, less crime etc.

It's not been 100% plain sailing. I have had to overcome a language barrier
(not fully achieved that). I do feel culturally adrift sometimes. And Brexit
seems to be trying to screw everything up.

However, I still don't feel like I'm back to square one.

~~~
hycaria
Don't you worry about the objectively lower education for your children there
? As much as I dislike cities, I can't imagine raising children somewhere
else. Education, culture and network potential (through friends) is just not
the same.

~~~
phillc73
No, it's not something I worry about at all. I'd be interested to know why you
think the education would be objectively lower.

I'm still living in a city, just a small one. Having checked Wikipedia, it
tells me the population is officially 320k. There are six Universities and the
city is UNESCO listed as a Cultural Heritage site. I just don't see this
location disadvantaging my child. In fact, I think it's a location with a
pretty good mix of culture and nature.

Nothing is perfect of course, but I think we're in a better position than if
we'd stayed in London.

If we were to move back to the UK, I'd be looking at somewhere like Cambridge
or Edinburgh perhaps.

~~~
lostboys67
both of those are also very expensive areas to live in in the UK

