Imagine this: You wake up and make a strong pour-over coffee. You open your sliding door and see the vast ocean beyond your open doors as the steam of the bitter coffee reaches your nose. You set your coffee mug down to open your laptop to begin your work for the day so you can enjoy expolring your surroundings in a few hours.
You’re in a van on the Oregon Coast, remote and alone with nature.
You want that lifestyle – but how? Where do you even start?
You have a job, maybe even a career. You have loved ones you aren’t sure you want to physically leave. You’re wondering how you would even start to make money while on the road. And where do you even get the money to just build the thing in the first place?
What things do you need for the van? How much is it all going to cost?
With so many questions fogging your mind, you may find yourself pushing away the dream you’ve always wanted to live. But that’s not going to get you there. These 6 steps will! Keep reading the steps I’ve put together for you after experiencing all of these thoughts, hopes, and dreams myself.
Check Your Mindset
You’ve probably heard it before, but your mindset is everything.
The first thing you need to do is check your thoughts. Why do you really want to do vanlife?
Is it because you’ve seen the aesthetic on social media and you think it’s cute? Or is it because you want to live a lifestyle of freedom and adventure?
If it’s the first option, you should probably exit out of this page and keep scrolling Instagram. If it’s the second, read on.
For you dreamers out there, IT IS POSSIBLE.
I always thought I would stay stuck in the dreaming phase becasue it seemed out of my reach, but I changed my mindset to do the damn thing, and here I am in the midst of a van build. And you can, too. Just check your mindset, put your energy into the next five steps, and we’ll be waving to each other on the road in no time.
Apply For Remote Jobs
Before you take any other steps, you should get your life sorted out to make sure you are making an income to support yourself during vanlife. Since you’ll be in a van traveling around, you’ll need to think about applying for remote jobs.
Seems daunting at first, right? But there are so many options out there! To name a few:
- Virtual assistant
- Social media manager
- Writer
- Copyeditor
- Blogger
- Photographer
- Content creator
Look at LinkedIn and put “Remote” as your location. You’ll be surprised at how many show up. And start applying from there!
As someone who started from being a teacher with no idea how to apply to a remote job, I now work in several sectors of the remote world, so again, IT IS POSSIBLE.
Sell Your Stuff
You checked your mindset and found a remote job. Now for the fun part.
You have to sell all (or at least most) of your stuff to start living in a van!
To sell your clothes, look on Poshmark and ThredUp to make money on clothes you won’t need in the van. Odds are the fashion will be a bit different when you find yourself coming home anyway, so you’ll just get a new wardrobe then.
Furniture? You don’t need it for vanlife. Sell it on Facebook Marketplace.
You should aim to sell more than you think since the van is probably a bit smaller than you’re imagining it to be.
Find a Van
This step is a lot easier said than done. You need to think about what you want out of your van.
Do you want a cheaper van with more miiles? An older van with more miles? Do you want a newer van but with more miles to make it cheaper? Do you have the money to spend on a new van?
What about the type of van? Which is the best?
I personally settled on the 2020 Ram Promaster 1500 Cargo Van with 55,000 miles on it. I had originally wanted a 2500 Cargo Van, but realized that there was no huge difference, and they were much harder to come by.
There are definitely pros and cons to the different styles of vans, but I read reviews and decided that I loved the square shape of the Promaster to make the build a bit easier. I also loved how it was a bit more stealthy since it can look like a delivery van (this makes it easier for parking and sleeping). The parts on this vehicle are also cheaper than some other brands. Lastly, I loved how the 136 inch wheel base could fit in a normal parking spot. I couldn’t really imagine myself driving one much larger than this.
To find a van, try cars.com, truecar.com, or look at your local dealership websites. Odds are you’ll have to drive or fly to get your new van since they are such hot comodities right now.
Quit Your Job
Your heart may be beating really fast after reading those three words. Did you ever think you would make it this far?
Whether you did or didn’t, it’s time to take that final leap that will push you toward your dream of vanlife.
You need to quit your job.
Not your new remote one, but the old one that you have been dreaming about leaving for quite some time now. Say goodbye to the fern in your cubicle and hello to the millions of trees you’ll be passing each and every day on the open road.
Start the Build
I could spend hours writing about how to start the build for vanlife, but that’s not the point of this blog. If that’s why you’re here, the building process blogs will be out soon!
In the meantime, you should be gathering some of the most important parts for the van build like solar panels, batteries, insulation, and windows if you want them.
Be sure to check on all of these things right away since many of them may be on back order. The longer you wait, the longer your dream will have to wait, too.
Don’t let go of your dream of a life of freedom because it is daunting or because people make you feel as though it is an impossible task. I’ll say it again – it’s not impossible.
If you want it to happen, you can will it to happen.
Questions about getting started with vanlife? Leave me a comment or message me on Instagram!
