"Vandwelling," you might expect, had more than its share of drawbacks. Mice would move into my ceiling upholstery, washing pots and pans became so inconvenient I stopped washing them altogether, and the bathroom was a quarter-mile sprint from my parking space.Pots and pans? I don't get why you'd cook inside the van. But, okay. Note that the hardship is mitigated by using Duke University resources: the parking space, the gym for showers, etc. Obviously, if more students tried to do this the university would crack down. And you couldn't get away with this at a school — like the University of Wisconsin — with limited parking. And yet... there's always that parking at Walmart. And a gym membership is much cheaper than renting an apartment....
But people adapt, mice are flattened with frying pans, and bladders grow firm and strong.
Here's the book Ilgunas wrote about his experience: "Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom."
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A guy at work was thinking aloud about living out of his RV and still working where he works. What about address issues? may be rent a postbox? But what do you do for your license and such when they ask for permanent address?
"First off, I am 35 years old, I am divorced, and I live in a van down by the river!"
I lived in a surplus Vietnam-era field ambulance in Austin, Texas back in the summer of 1979. I moved my parking places around daily, showered at the University and ate at restaurants. I made it for about four months. What drove me back to an apartment was that it proved difficult to convince girls that it was fun to have a sleepover in a military vehicle.
Everyone who had a Van in the Seventies knew That the Biggest Problem was When the Handcuffs Poked a Hole in the Waterbed.
Yet another liberal meme about how Poverty is Fun!
From your second link:
I don’t like anything about Walmart. But, under my current circumstances, I can’t deny its convenience. I like that the store is open 24 hours, which means I can buy anything I need and use the bathroom at any hour — and feel relatively safe. Also, Walmarts are close to freeways. [Emphasis added.]
LOL. Doesn't like anything, huh? Not even that the camping space is free.
Coming soon to a bookstore near you, The Joy of Homelessness.
Oh, the places you'll go!
I don’t like anything about Walmart.
This is a liberal line that I have heard that drives me up the frickin' wall.
You know who shops at Walmart? Poor people. Poor people love Walmart.
The liberal disdain for the poor, while they seek to impoverish us all, it boggles my mind.
You're living in your frickin' van and you still manage to be condescending to the poor. Liberals are unbelievable. You're living in your van, moron! You're poor! Recognize your own poverty! And put flowers on Sam Walton's grave!
A good article for those unprepared for the the liberal democrat future.
When we're driving cross-country, we stop at Walmart sometimes to catch some hours of sleep. It's a lot simpler than finding a motel and going through the whole checking in routine (quite aside from saving money). And it feels safer than a low-traffic rest stop on the Interstate... not that we don't sleep there too.
Now, Walmart is well-lit, which is part of why it feels safe. So add a blindfold to your packing list (if it's not already there).
Re: "So add a blindfold to your packing list (if it's not already there)."
The Blinfold was a Given in the Seventies Van Waterbed-and-Handcuffs Scenario.
The Seventies Van -- of course -- with only the round portal windows on the sides, no windows in the back. Let the NSA try to Snoop That.
The Seventies portal-Window Van Practically Shouted: "Hitch-hikers, It's Safe: Trust Me."
The Blonde, her mother, and her best bud roamed the West one summer in a van.
She never set foot in it afterward.
Ann Althouse said...
When we're driving cross-country, we stop at Walmart sometimes to catch some hours of sleep. It's a lot simpler than finding a motel and going through the whole checking in routine (quite aside from saving money). And it feels safer than a low-traffic rest stop on the Interstate... not that we don't sleep there too
Wally World?
Spend the money and get a room (I heard that somewhere). The Blonde and I do, and we haven't got that much.
It's worth it for the shower, etc.
I got out of the Air Force in 1982 to attend college full time. Money was tight, but I knew that I didn't want to live in the dorms. I bought a used camper for $2000 and parked it in a trailer park near the campus. The camper was 23 feet long counting the hitch and rear bumper but it had everything I needed to live alone. I lived in it for 9 months until I got engaged. There is such a thing as too much togetherness. My camper was a practical, economical and comfortable place to live.
In the future, local government will outlaw trailers and trailer parks, because they're bad for you, and poor people live there.
As we drive around our north eastern california area, we see more and more people living....not camping....in vans, older RVs, older camp trailers, fifth wheels. You can tell they are permanent living quarters by the other structures that are around the vehicles. Often these are on a property where there is a house. I'm not talking suburban lots but generally larger acreages with substantial garden areas, cattle, chickens, goats etc.
We speculate that these are likely friends and relatives of the land owner who have been downsized, either forcibly by the economy or by choice.
Some of the set ups are actually quite nice and appealing. The economics of RV living can actually be more attractive than living in a house and paying all the associated costs. Other encampments.....not so much and have a definite Grapes of Wrath feeling about them. The issue is that over the last 6 years, the explosion of such permanent camping is worrying and indicative of a seriously ill economy.
You're so van
I'll bet amax thinks
this post is about him
He deserves credit for paying off his undergrad debt, although why the existence of the debt surprised him, I don't know.
I'm wondering, though, why he enrolled at Duke, which isn't cheap, and why his graduate degree is in liberal arts, which doesn't exactly make him a job magnet.
Unless the whole thing was a set-up for the book, and a way to launch his writing career...
"I'm wondering, though, why he enrolled at Duke, which isn't cheap, and why his graduate degree is in liberal arts, which doesn't exactly make him a job magnet."
He's a travel writer, and he has this book, and we're reading about him. Entrepreneurial. Not everyone wants a job.
Perhaps those pots he stopped washing were chamber pots?
In the movie version, "Vandwelling" will be the determined foe of the evil "Shackula".
Sexy Librarian Hitch-Hikers.
Seventies Van with No Window in the Back.
Waterbed.
"Ass, Gas, or Grass" Bumper Sticker.
Silver Ladies Mud Flaps.
A Dog-Eared Copy of Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer."
Dusty Two-Lane Road.
Deserted Drive-In Theatre.
Lens Flare.
"Pots and pans? I don't get why you'd cook inside the van."
You'd cook inside the van because you get hungry and the only place to make anything is the van because that's where you live.
Sexy Cheerleader Hitch-Hikers.
Foghat' on Eight-Track Tape.
RC Cola.
Moon Pies.
Defective Seat Belt.
Lip Gloss.
Puka Shells.
'If This Van's a-Rockin' Bumper Sicker close-up.
Slow camera Pan...
DBQ--my in-laws live in a large camper trailer on their daughter's property. They pay her a modest sum every month to cover electricity & water, and other than that, they have no housing costs. Hitch up and go when they want to go somewhere. They're on-site to help with the grandkids or maintenance projects around the homestead. Not a bad setup.
betamax3K, your services are needed in the Armstrong & Getty thread, stat.
Sexy Hot-Dog Stand Hitch-Hikers.
Bell-bottoms, faded.
Ketchup Packets on the Dashboard.
Rabbit-Foot Hanging from Key Chain.
Mood Ring.
Awkward Silence.
Didn't they call those who lived in their car homeless before the unemployed and "disabled" population explodes in the last five years making home-on-wheels a chic "on the open road" life style?
Don't ever find a permanent parking space for your dwelling van though. The in crowd will call you trailer park trash.
Police Lights in the Driver Side Mirror.
Van Tires Slowly Grinding to a Stop on the Shoulder of the Road.
Pause: Low Camera Angle as Dust drifts in Light Clouds.
Girl in Denim Cut-Offs in Passenger Seat.
Hands Fidgeting in Lap.
Goose Bumps.
Driver Door Window cranked Down.
Officer approaches: Sun reflected in Mirrored Sunglasses.
Moustache.
Hubby and I talk about the economics of RV living when the idea gains its appeal.
Based on my experience with retired clients and personal experiences in California. Many of my ex-clients have this lifestyle...you are a retired couple with Social Security of about $1800 a month and an investment portfolio of another $700 to 800 a month income. So you have about $2600 of income. You can continue to live in your home, pay the mortgage, insurance, property taxes, utilities which would pretty much eat up all of your income leaving you on a hand to mouth existence.
OR....you can sell your home and with the proceeds...buy a really trick RV set up with AC. Well equipped kitchen. Bump outs for spaciousness. Flat screen TV and satellite for reception plus internet and cell phone. Big beefy truck to haul it with and some motor scooters for fun when you stop someplace. Put the rest of the house sale into investments that generate more income. When you don't have the obligations of a house and property and your living arrangements (rv and truck) are paid for..... your $2600 to $3000 a month retirement income can really go a long way.
Many people even buy a small lot or space in RV parks in Arizona or other areas so that they can go and stay for several months if they like. Golf, fish, BBQ with the other neighbors, socialize and just have a blast.
If you don't want to sell your house and are attached to your "stuff". Lease your home to someone and put your "stuff" into storage, until you get tired of the nomad lifestyle.
You can go to visit with relatives, like Pantless' relatives. You can leisurely see the country side, discover new places, follow the sun.
I would LOVE this. Sigh.
I drove cross country PA to California in my van, which died 1 mile from the Pacific. She fought hard, coughing and wheezing the whole way, but she got me here, after numerous flats and repairs left me broke. On the trip, I would sleep on the roof of the van, because it was stuffed with my life inside including a motorcycle, which was my only transportation for years afterward. It was like the Apollo 13 of road trips. Once in CA, I used McDonalds' bathrooms to wash up, and took showers at the beach where there are lots of free cold showers and a huge saltwater bathtub. There is a reason so many homeless people live at the beach- it really has everything you need: space, free restroom, showers, and tourists to harvest.
I got my van while in college, and was one of the few people in school to have a vehicle. We would load it up with people, tap a keg of beer in the back and drive 50 miles to Pittsburgh to go to concerts. One summer we (6 guys and 6 girls) took it with another car 500 miles to the Jersey shore to live in a huge 8 bedroom house for the summer. Probably, the funnest year of my life, and that beat up old 69 van was central to it all.
This August a bunch of us are going to meet up in Pittsburgh, attend a concert together and party for a week together again 33 years later. It's funny that although many have been married and raised families in the interim, most of us are single again. Should be fun. I wish we had that van.
Flat Tire.
Van Up on Jack, Spare Tire rolled to the Spot by Girl in Denim Cut-Offs and Cowboy Boots.
Can of Olympia Beer, Pull Tab.
Crowbar.
I outfitted a VW van with plywood bed and traveled and camped for two years throughout Europe and South America, in centers of cities small and large, ranging from Bucharest and Budapest to Barcelona and Lisbon, from Rio to Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Asuncion and Santiago, and never paid a cent to overnight. In all those cities, I would find a parking space in front of a restaurant where I could both eat and clean up.
Indeed, I stayed for 3 months for free in the beautifully maintained city park above Santa Cruz, Brazil, where they had a restaurant, bathroom with free shower and monkeys. Throughout Brazil and Argentina you can overnight on the highways for free at 24-hr gas stations that have lots of parking, picnic tables, food, and bathrooms. I also parked for a month for free at Praia do Pinho, the first naturist beach in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
With meals at $2.50, my greatest expenses were for gas and repairs.
Residential Street.
Morning Light beginning to Cast upon the Green Lawns.
Van pulls to a Stop in front of a Yellow House.
Girl in Denim Cut-Offs and Cowboy Boots gets out of Passenger Side of the Van, walks Softly to the House's Door.
Van Pulls away; Camera turns to watch Van ease Slowly Down the Street.
Sound of Birds.
@jimbino
The same VW? How did you get it from Europe to South America?
Seventies Van waits at Crossing Guard as Train Moves Along Tracks.
The Sound of Warning Bells.
Blinking red Lights.
Then: dissolve into Ambient Noise.
Driver adjusts Driver-Side Mirror, Holds for a Moment on His Reflection.
Seventies Van then crosses Over Railroad Tracks to the Other Side of Town.
Helicopter Shot, pulling slowly away from Van to the Rooftops of the Dusty Residential streets, the Green trees, the Vacant land that then stretches to the Horizon.
More Lens Flare..
Credits Start to Roll, Yellow Letters in the Font Cooper Black.
Althouse Van Cinema.
Would've starred a young Sam Elliot, probably.
I too believe that Walmart is a great blessing for poor people. Both in terms of low prices and employment opportunities!
Last summer we visited Crystal Bridges, the art museum built by Sam's daughter, Alice. Definitely worth the trip. We visited the original store, Walton's in Bentonville! What an amazing success story!
If you read "Dogging Steinbeck", Bill Steigerwald speaks with fondness of Walmart parking lots. He spent many night in them as he retraced Steinbeck's famous cross country trip.
The Blinfold was a Given in the Seventies Van Waterbed-and-Handcuffs Scenario.
Oh, behave!
"I'm wondering, though, why he enrolled at Duke, which isn't cheap, and why his graduate degree is in liberal arts, which doesn't exactly make him a job magnet."
He's a travel writer, and he has this book, and we're reading about him. Entrepreneurial. Not everyone wants a job.
6/9/13, 11:24 AM
Everyone needs a job. He has a job. Writing book(s). The reality is that one has to support oneself, or else you are simply a drain on society. You literally contribute nothing and bring down society as a whole.
Even a busker has a job. A hippie selling daisy chains at a nudist colony has a job. The whole point is to put bread in your mouth ( or lobster...). It doesn't matter what you do.
Starving artists are starving, not because they don't have a job, but because their art is crap, 'rich' people who buy art aren't 'rich' any more, or both. Lets face it, liberal arts are only as much use when there are people with enough screws loose and a wad of cash. When the state takes more and more of that money, or there's a down economy (whatever keeps you sane at night) the arts is the first thing to go.
A Picasso is a pile of kindling when you are looking for warmth.
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