I drove my mom’s old minivan for a long time before purchasing a Ram Promaster. I was still in my career at the time and wanted it for weekend and vacation trips as a way to bring my outdoor gear along and avoid hotel fees. When my mental health was at an all-time low and the Covid pandemic hitting the country, I finished building it out as a full camper van to move to Oregon. It didn’t have many amenities but it was simple and cost-effective.
After a few months of travel and social distancing, I arrived in Bend, Oregon around Labor Day of 2020. I had gotten used to the different kind of routine and rhythm required to live this simple lifestyle and it felt like home. With the costs of home ownership out of reach and increasing rent costs I decided it still worked for me. I soon realized it didn’t require a lot of income to cover my low cost of living and have some left over for recreation or other needs. As the weeks and months turned to years, I adjusted, found my rhythm and learned to love it.
Having lived this lifestyle for so long now has given me perspective. That perspective is much more eloquently stated by Glen Van Peski’s book ‘Take Less, Do More” and by Joshua Becker in his work “Things That Matter”. They question the social norm of wealth accrual to purchase more material possessions and the lack of time and energy that pursuit inevitably creates. The heart of minimalism is that it provides much more freedom in our lives to pursue our passions and lead a life of meaningful purpose. I never thought about it in those words but I can say I felt it within myself. Thanks to those authors for giving clarity, I know hold “minimalism” as a top-tier value in my life.
In sum, living “vanlife” has its drawbacks but allows me to pursue my passions in life as my vision fades. Simply put, there is no way I could do the three big trips paying rent.
