I recently published my first vanlife piece on the millennial platform xoNecole, as a way to empower and inspire other women -- especially black women to step outside of our comfort zones and live our best lives through travel and adventure.
As mentioned in the article, I’m a avid minimalist and being that I recently moved from overseas, I have no material possessions like furniture or a car to think about — and I love it. All my apartments in Beijing were furnished, and I sold my car prior to leaving the U.S. So, decluttering my life of “things” for van life has been quite easy.
But as much as I would love to go out and buy a van right now, renovate it and start this freedom-inducing journey — albeit part time, there are a few questions I had to ask myself before fully committing to taking on the lifestyle.
• How will I continue to bring in money on the road, even for short trips?
• How much do I want to save before hitting the road?
• How long do I want to be out on the road?
• What do I want to see? Parks? Museums? Monuments?
• How will van life affect my personal relationships?
HOW WILL I MAKE MONEY?
Please understand, I want to be location independent, eventually. I’m at an age where retirement isn’t close but it ain’t too far off either. I want to travel and write on the road; make a living anywhere in the world with just my laptop and an internet connection.
Therefore, it will take time and planning to make this happen successfully. For me, #vanlife is an alternative to retirement. I decided a long time ago that travel and alternative living would be the direction for me. But van living not only allows you to save money on rent, bills, and other expenses that come with renting an apartment or a home. It also affords us the luxury to travel where we want for however long we want without the worry of being away from our physical home.
That said, I have a handful of creative projects in works that will generate income, but I also plan to continue as a freelance writer for print and digital magazines.
SAVINGS CUSHION
When thinking of a financial plan, I had to calculate my current spending habits (think: low-key foodie and consummate concert goer) while also estimating my monthly expenses on the road. I’ve set a relatively easy savings goal of $10,000; that’s roughly $833 a month saved over the course of a year.
I was a substitute teacher with Austin public schools for a good portion of 2018/2019 school year. And for the summer I’ve been a substitute at an early childhood learning center in Houston, which is my hometown.
However, I‘m happy to announce I’ve just signed on with KIPP St. Louis as a 6th grade writing teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. I'll be moving back there in the next couple of weeks. Nearly three years ago -- prior to moving to Beijing , I lived in The Lou for two and a half years. So going back as a classroom teacher — where I actually applied for Teach for America twice, is kind of surreal.
Nonetheless, I’ve already started the process of ramping up freelance assignments with various publications and organizations. I’ll be traveling on weekends, during holidays and spring break as well during the summer so having consistent writing projects during those times shouldn’t be a problem.
I’m also submitting poetry to literary magazines and journals. Though the pay with lit mags isn’t high, every dollar counts when you’re pursuing your dream, right? Thus, hitting that van life savings goal next year should happen pretty easily.
VANLIFE JOURNEY
The whole point of #vanlife is to slow it down, take in the moments and breathe easy. So for the past six months, I've been reading books and websites and following IG accounts that talk about the pros (and cons) of the lifestyle.
From that I have a good idea about where I want to go and how I want to do this. So the loose plan right now: start exploring next summer; June, July timeframe and travel until school starts, roughly for 3 or 4 weeks. I want to travel a bit through winter break; more than likely head south to get some sun. The van will still have to be winterized (post on that coming eventually).
I then would like to start the second leg of the van tour June of the following year (2021), but take a short trip during Spring Break. I follow my instincts with most everything I do, so these plans can change at anytime. I just like having a good starting point.
NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM
According to the National Parks website, there are 418 national park sites in the United States. Spanning across 84 million acres in each state and extending into the territories, including parks in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam, there are 60 sites that include “National Park” as part of their proper name.
And that’s where I'm starting: with national parks. There's a handful I want to visit during the first leg of the trip. They include: Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Joshua Tree, Redwood and Great Smokey Mountains. Whether I go east, west or north first, depends on how I'm feeling as I get closer to starting the trip.
RELATIONSHIP MAINTENANCE
I think those who truly know me know that this lifestyle isn’t farfetched... at all. Since my early 20s I've lived a life full of experiences. It's nothing for me to cross a state line to catch a show, check out an art exhibit or just visit a lake or a park. Or like last year; a few days before my birthday in Beijing, I booked a whole flight to Tokyo, and had theee best time -- by myself.
That said, I like low maintenance friendships. I have friends all over the world so even though we don’t see each other often #irl, when we do – I like to know we'll have a good time with no drama. And with communication channels at an all-time high (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), I don’t think living and traveling in a van in the U.S. will cause any communication breakdowns with family and close friends. I just need to make sure I have good cell phone service, but with 100 watt or higher solar panels installed on the van, I should be good.
I also plan on blogging about my experiences on the road, so there’s that as well. I can’t account for everything that can happen while taking this journey, but what I can do: my best to keep those close to me in the loop.
Got any #vanlife or van living tips, ideas or inspiration, please sign in and comment below.
