As offices shut down for Covid, workers bought vans and hit the road

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

walterbyrd

New member
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
3
-- and some don't want to come back.

Interesting article.

----

When Erica Horn received a work email in May 2020 saying her company would be fully remote for the next year, she knew right away it was time to live out her long-held dream of living out of a van... Horn is not alone. Many workers with jobs that let them work remotely during the pandemic left behind their sedentary housing situations and moved full-time into vans. These remote workers drive from location to location in their homes, working from internet hotspots in their vans and spending their free time in nature and exploring new places. As vaccines roll out and states start to open up, some workers are returning to their offices.

But many workers who've adopted the van life don't want to give it up...

Like overseas backpacking, van life appeals to those with a love for travel or the outdoors who have the privilege to work remotely and the budget to spend thousands of dollars buying and setting up their vans. They can shift the money from rent and car payments toward a lifestyle of endless travel... For some, working out of a van is less about travel and more of an alternative to leasing an office. Kenzo Fong, CEO of tech start-up Rock, began working out of his van in May 2020 after his children began doing their schoolwork at home during the pandemic. Fong still lives in his San Francisco home, but during the days, he gets into his van and picks a new location in the city...

Some van lifers only need a laptop. Others have more elaborate set ups complete with multiple monitors. But most carry at least two hot spots from different network providers so they can catch signal from at least one of the services as they hit new locations... Despite the challenges of life on the road, those who spoke with CNBC said they plan to continue their nomadic lifestyle until their companies stop allowing remote work or until they get burnt out. Horn said she originally planned to live on the road for at least a year, but that's now changed.

"At six months, I still feel like I'm just learning this, just getting the hang of it and just getting started," she said. "I could actually see myself doing it for closer to two years, and who knows, maybe longer."


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/oth...-road-and-some-dont-want-to-return/ar-AALf52R
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/as-offices-shut-down-for-covid-workers-bought-vans-and-hit-the-road-and-some-dont-want-to-return/ar-AALf52R
 
Throughout history dire circumstances have been the catalyst for enlightenment, change, and new beginnings.   Wars, famine, plague, new technology, natural events, etc have caused people to reexamine their status quo.  All of history is a record of this happening.

Van/vehicle dwelling & travel is nothing new at all.  But with the internet and the Covid Pandemic where people were out of work and had time to gain a new perspective on life and read the testimonies of others who were living as modern Nomads, watching Youtube videos, and visiting the many internet message boards that regard this emerging way of life, a shifting from traditional ways has began to be adopted. Young people have been learning computers since they started school and have the skills to work remotely.  Gyms have franchised and spread out across the country where people can belong to them and use the showers and tech facilities there as they travel. (to stay clean)  Laundromats have networked on the internet so they are easy to find for travelers. (so you don't have to check into a Motel now to have domestic facilities) 

Cell & Sat Phones have internet to offer and WIFI is common now.  And about everything else anyone in the sticks & bricks would go out and enjoy is available to the new wave of Nomads while offering a life that  Is far less expensive than the traditional "sticks & bricks"  lifestyle. For young people right out of school with a train load of student loan debt this could be a blessing.  A suitable Van rig & computer outfit could be an ideal graduation gift for them.
 
I've been an AutoCad/Revit/NavisWorks user since 1995 when I was in the Air Force and kept going after I retired. I've travelled to Phoenix, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Ireland, and a lot of other places doing designs on all kinds of giant projects. I've hung up my travelling boots these days but, still do floorplans from my home computer using a very old version of AutoCad with AutoCad Architecture on it. It's a Not For Resale version I got when I was doing tech support for a couple of AutoDesk Resellers. I have no intention of updating as it does what I need it to do. I even have AutoCad Mobile on my Tablet but, I have to update that one every year or so but, it's only like $100.

I plan to redo the inside of my 27' Class C that sleeps 8 people (Yeah, I wouldn't want to be in there with that many) but, since it's just the wife and I, the dogs, cats, and parakeets, I'me going to redesign the back "room" of my RV into an office for continuing to draw plans and whatever else people need drawn when we go full time.

It'll be my drafting/caricature nook if Momma isn't using it..
 
From the TV interviews I've been viewing lately, I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of burnt out and frustrated health care professionals in the Hospitals resigning and considering the Nomad life. I can't imagine any industry whose employees are needing to get away and decompress any more than these people. Any of them who visit the Newcomer's Corner should be met with open arms and offered generous support.
 
-- and some don't want to come back.

Interesting article.

----

When Erica Horn received a work email in May 2020 saying her company would be fully remote for the next year, she knew right away it was time to live out her long-held dream of living out of a van... Horn is not alone. Many workers with jobs that let them work remotely during the pandemic left behind their sedentary housing situations and moved full-time into vans. These remote workers drive from location to location in their homes, working from internet hotspots in their vans and spending their free time in nature and exploring new places. As vaccines roll out and states start to open up, some workers are returning to their offices.

But many workers who've adopted the van life don't want to give it up...

Like overseas backpacking, van life appeals to those with a love for travel or the outdoors who have the privilege to work remotely and the budget to spend thousands of dollars buying and setting up their vans. They can shift the money from rent and car payments toward a lifestyle of endless travel... For some, working out of a van is less about travel and more of an alternative to leasing an office. Kenzo Fong, CEO of tech start-up Rock, began working out of his van in May 2020 after his children began doing their schoolwork at home during the pandemic. Fong still lives in his San Francisco home, but during the days, he gets into his van and picks a new location in the city...

Some van lifers only need a laptop. Others have more elaborate set ups complete with multiple monitors. But most carry at least two hot spots from different network providers so they can catch signal from at least one of the services as they hit new locations... Despite the challenges of life on the road, those who spoke with CNBC said they plan to continue their nomadic lifestyle until their companies stop allowing remote work or until they get burnt out. Horn said she originally planned to live on the road for at least a year, but that's now changed.

"At six months, I still feel like I'm just learning this, just getting the hang of it and just getting started," she said. "I could actually see myself doing it for closer to two years, and who knows, maybe longer."


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/othe...-road-and-some-dont-want-to-return/ar-AALf52R
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/othe...-road-and-some-dont-want-to-return/ar-AALf52R
I've met quite a few people including myself where that has happened. We all left to go home thinking it was just going to be for a month or two. Two years later and I'm still remote. I work better this way and my stress has gone down quite a bit. Thankfully I've done my type of job for enough years that I can say I'm only interested in working virtually.
 
From the TV interviews I've been viewing lately, I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of burnt out and frustrated health care professionals in the Hospitals resigning and considering the Nomad life. I can't imagine any industry whose employees are needing to get away and decompress any more than these people. Any of them who visit the Newcomer's Corner should be met with open arms and offered generous support.

Not to mention the fact that they can make twice as much - or more - doing travelling nursing.
 

Latest posts

Top