I have decided to give it a shot for a few months. I want to save up some money for a down payment on a home and figured this would be a great way to do it. It is a late 80s chevy, with a bed in the back. My office building has heated/cooled underground parking, so I am just going to park in there each night. I also have a membership to Anytime Fitness up the street, and they have shower facilities.
I will do all my laundry at the joint around the corner.
Have any of you guys done this? or had a co-worker do something similar. I am slightly worried about the stigma at work, being “that guy who lives in a van” but it will only be temporary (6-12months) and it makes quite a bit of financial sense imho.
actually I am doing the same,since in some ways i am reconstructing my house and you cant live in it , I am living in my van, the buggest problem is lack of space which will get frustrating after 2 weeks.where are you planing on ironing your clothes ? The laundry service ? I have to use a bottle for urinating,the good thing is its finishing in a week or two
I knew a guy who lived out of his van. Not a camping car or anything meant to be lived in, but a van (similar to your situation I guess). Except I’m not sure what his shower situation was.
Can’t you just move in with parents? I don’t get US stigma with living with parents, but if you explain it stems from financial responsibility, I’m sure that’s better than being homeless.
edit- two guys actually. they’re both sad, lonely, single, and weird
I was watching a documentary on wanderers and people who live out of their vehicles. According to them you’re only homeless if you want a home. Since he’s consciencely making this decision I don’t think he’s homeless. I don’t know if this is that crazy an idea. How much time do you spend at home right now anyway? But the best option would be to date someone and crash there sometimes
There’s a great Reddit thread about how to live out of your van. I’ll try to dig it up later but it was full of tricks and tips. Bottom line, aside from not being able to bring ladies home, it actually didn’t sound that bad (no bidet though). You save a shit ton of $$$.
Any other relatives? I dunno dating someone is dangerous unless you have plan b. which I guess he does. But, see my post above. I don’t care how nice, caring, attractive you are, trying to date while living out of your car cannot be easy.
I don’t spend a lot of time at home no but I need a stable HQ to recharge and keep going.
Where are you going to get your mail? Billing address?
I have a P.O box and my gf is in a chair, hence why this van makes so much sense. It has a hydraulic lift in it so she can come over and hang out whenever she wants.
If you can save up for a down payment in a few months you can certainly afford to live in an apartment (perhaps cheaper) and still save up.
This guy’s first post is about living in a van and his gf is in a wheel chair… I’m really sorry if this is actually true but we have a virus going around posting fake posts and this has all the symptoms.
I saw something once on people that lived out of thier vehicles in Walmart parking lots. The Walmart’s were open 24/7 and as long as they bought something each day and had a reciept, they were “customers” who were entitled to stay. Multiple people would caravan together… kind of had the feel of a perpetual NFL tailgate.
While the gf in a chair and this general post is raising some flags I’ll take the bait.
I would not tell my coworkers.
I know 8-12 people who have lived in vans about that amount of time, but they were living a dirtbag minimalist outdoor lifestyle so it made a lot more sense. I’ve lived in my SUV (the rear seats all lay flat) for about a week at a time off and on over the past couple years with the longest stint being about two weeks. Trying to live in a van and be presentable at work will be more challenging.
Plan on spending a lot of time out and about, which will probably eat away at any savings you planned on making through this.
I don’t really have any specific tips. You just kind of do it.
