Van-dwelling, van life, or vanlife is an unconventional lifestyle of living in a car, van or other

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

. A person who lives in such a manner, either on a full or part-time basis, is known as a vanlifer, van dweller, car dweller or vehicle dweller. People who live this way by choice are typically seeking a more self-sufficient lifestyle characterized by freedom and mobility. They may perceive it as being a less regulated form of housing, or one that offers a lower cost advantage over standard housing, especially in regions susceptible to housing shortages. Other vehicle dwellers may be one step away from living on the street or in a shelter. In the late 2010s, an idealized version was popularized through social media with the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

#vanlife which gained significant momentum during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

Etymology

Van-dwelling is a compound word that denotes the fact that

living takes place typically, but not exclusively, in a van. Many different types of motor vehicles have been used for vandwelling, either permanently or only on a temporary basis. A person who engages in van dwelling is known as a van dweller,Kotecki, Peter and Bendix, Aria (October 27, 2018
"50 Disappointing Photos Show What Converted Van Living is Really Like"
''Business Insider''. Retrieved November 23, 2023. car dweller or vehicle dweller. Sometimes, a car dweller is known as a car sleeper. If the residence is temporary, it may be referred to as car camping. Cars (including SUVs and cargo vans but typically not pickup trucks) with the seats folded flat/down and a

mattress A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a person Lying (position), lying down, especially for sleeping. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a Quilting, quilted o ...

placed inside are referred to as "床车" in China, which literally translates to "bed car".

History

The history of vandwelling goes back to horse-drawn vehicles, such as Roma vardo wagons in Europe and covered Conestoga wagons in the United States. One of the first uses of the term "vandwellers" was in the United Kingdom Showman and Van Dwellers' Protection Association, a guild for travelling show performers formed in 1889. Shortly afterwards in 1901, Albert Bigalow Paine wrote ''The Van Dwellers'', about people living on the verge of poverty having to live a nomadic life in horse-drawn moving vans. After the introduction of motorised vehicles, the modern form of vandwelling began. Mobile wheeled homes became popular in the US following the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the mid-1930s as house trailers first entered mass production. This expanded availability beyond the domain of hobbyists and small-batch builders. A ''New York Times'' article in 1936 described "hundreds of thousands of families hohave packed their possessions into traveling houses, said goodbye to their friends, and taken to the open road." Through 1960, approximately 1.5–2 million Americans acquired house trailers. In the 1960s this trend ended with the development of mobile homes, less expensive but less mobile alternatives to the earlier traveling houses. The

Hippie trail The hippie trail (also the overland) was an overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s travelling from Europe and Western Asia, West Asia through South Asia via countries such a ...

was an overland journey popular among hippies and adventurers from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, spanning from Western Europe to West and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, with travelers seeking to explore these regions cheaply while interacting with locals. It largely ended due to the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970s.

Legality

United States

In the US, individuals who lack a permanent address and stable living situation, including vandwellers, are technically considered "homeless". In 2022, of the 60,000 homeless people in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, approximately 25% were living in a vehicle.Simon, Dan (December 23, 2019
"Living In Her Car, She Was Afraid and Harassed. Then She Found an Unexpected Refuge"
''CNN''. Retrieved February 7, 2022. Many municipalities have laws prohibiting overnight parking and/or sleeping in vehicles. In Los Angeles, living in a vehicle is prohibited on most streets. The city has municipal codes regarding times and places where someone is authorized to live in a vehicle. Non-profit organizations in a number of California cities sponsor "safe parking" intitiatives, which offer limited facilities and some security in designated Safe Parking lots. Some vandwellers have parked in

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

and Cracker Barrel parking lots. In the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

allows vandwellers and other campers to remain in many areas of their vast administration for up to 14 days at a time.

Asia

Lifestyle

The vandwelling lifestyle can allow for significant autonomy and a lower

cost of living The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Changes in the cost of living over time can be measured in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare t ...

than having a mortgage or lease as in a more traditional living arrangement. Assuming they have the means, vandwellers are free to travel as much or little as they would like. Some vandwellers choose to remain in one general area, and work full-time or attend school while living in their vehicles. Others travel full-time while working remotely via the Internet or finding seasonal or short-term employment opportunities in various locations. Since vandwelling consists of living in a vehicle with a footprint no larger than a parking space, there is usually little to no space for bathing or doing laundry. Some vandwellers in the US use

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

memberships to access showers.

#vanlife on social media

Various depictions of the van dwelling lifestyle are presented on YouTube and Instagram, using the hashtag #vanlife — ranging from starkly realistic appraisals to heavily idealistic depictions. The hashtag #vanlife was first used and popularized by a photoblogger named Foster Huntington in 2011. Many depictions illustrate idyllic natural scenery, sometimes framed by the open back doors of the van, or with the van prominently visible in the landscape. Others depictions feature spotless, stylized interior views of the living space. The people pictured in the images might be young, attractive and outdoorsy

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

. The depictions are often set in natural areas, particularly in the Western US as well as coastal or mountainous regions of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, or

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Other notable contributors to the #vanlife movement include the Vanlife Diaries. In 2019, the founders of Vanlife Diaries published a book called ''vanlife diaries: finding freedom on the open road'' which pulled content from its blog and Instagram. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some social media users promoted the #vanlife lifestyle as a way to stay safe and avoid illness. The movement attracted many newcomers to the lifestyle including younger and more diverse people than the initial promoters of the lifestyle. A less idealized, more stark depiction was presented in the 2021 film ''

Nomadland ''Nomadland'' is a 2020 American drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Chloé Zhao. Based on the 2017 nonfiction book '' Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century'' by Jessica Bruder, it stars Frances McDormand a ...

''.

Vehicle modifications

Van conversions consist of a wide range of possibilities. A conversion can be as simple as a few personal items thrown in the back, such as a

sleeping bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...

or folding bed along with a few pieces of clothing, while using only the engine battery for power. It escalates all the way up to vans that function like micro-apartments on wheels with complex power setups, a kitchenette, and even simple plumbing. Vehicles like the Volkswagen Westfalia, a regular passenger van, or a cargo van, can be modified for day-to-day living by a professional conversion company. Upscale van conversion can provide most of the amenities of a conventional home including heating, air conditioning, a house battery system, a two-burner stove, a permanent bed, and other conveniences that make the vehicle fit for full-time living. School bus modifications (" skoolies") are also common among vandwellers.

Communication

Since many vandwellers lack a permanent address, they sometimes use

mail forwarding Post offices and other mail service providers typically offer a mail forwarding service, commonly known as hybrid mail or virtual post office box services, to redirect mail addressed to one location to another address – usually for a given p ...

services, instead of a simple

post office box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door-to-door delivery ...

, in order to receive packages and other mail. This is beneficial because the forwarder can then send packages to an address which the vandweller can access. Vandwellers often pay their bills and conduct business online through the use of public

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

, which they can access at libraries or in eateries such as

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

Employment

Vandwellers will usually work seasonal jobs, ranging from national parks to warehouse jobs. Some vandwellers work only part of the year then use the money earned to travel. Vandwellers have been known to be

digital nomad A digital nomad is a person who travels freely while working remotely using information and communications technology such as the Internet. Such people generally have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, c ...

s who work remotely from workplace or have a job that does not require working at location. Alternatively, some vandwellers have permanent employment at

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

tech companies and choose to live in a van to both save on high rents and take advantage of generous company perks that include free food, on-site showers, and laundry service.

In popular culture

Actor

Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. He was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' for fiv ...

's character Matt Foley would often describe himself "living in a van down by the river" in ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' sketches.

Notable vandwellers

* Jessica Bruder, American journalist *

Alex Honnold Alex Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his Free solo climbing, free solo ascents of Big wall climbing, big walls. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a f ...

, American rock climber * Gabby Petito, American crime victim * Steve Wallis, Canadian YouTuber * Bob Wells, American vandwellerBergstein, Rachelle (September 23, 2017
"America's Forgotten Men and Women Are Becoming 'Vandwellers'"
''New York Post''. Retrieved September 24, 2021.