Hi future friends!

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

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

RandaOnTheRoad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 22, 2015
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Hello all. I have been reading through all these posts and am so happy I found this community! I am still in my planning stages but am actively searching for my future home. Hopefully you guys can help me find the right one!

I am an online college student, 21, and ambitious by nature. I have moved around alot throughout my life and decided a couple months ago this is definitely my next step!

I'll have many questions for you all... but I just wanted to say hi. I'm specifically interested to know if there are other single females out there doing this alone? Any people in my general age bracket?

Once again, so amazing that this is a community. My number one concern is feeling alone and like no one out there can relate to my struggles! And also van maintenance... lol

Looking forward to chatting with you guys[emoji1]
 
I'm not a single female, but, welcome. Are you looking towards vandwelling to get through school? Or just to take off while schooling online?
 
Just to take off while schooling online. I figure I am young and this is the perfect time [emoji18]
 
Welcome to the CRVL forums Randa! There are many single females who are van dwellers. You'll probably notice that most of the forum members are a bit older than you but there are members in their 20s and 30s. Hopefully some of them will notice your post. There's also a section of the forum for women only. :)

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.
 
Welcome! I'm 20 and I just bought my van! I'm going to traveling solo full time when I finish my build this fall. I'm an artist and I decided not to finish college because a drawing degree doesn't get you that far anyways, so it would be a better use of my time just to focus on my work. I just started the conversion but it's still in the beginning stages. I have the same fears, I don't know much about mechanical issues and I'm a very social person, and I don't want to feel like I'm isolating myself at all! A cool site to check out is www.she-explores.com they have a section called women on the road and there are some solo women there that you can get some tips from too.
 
So glad to have found you!! Where is your home base right now? What kind of van did you get?
 
RandaOnTheRoad said:
So glad to have found you!! Where is your home base right now? What kind of van did you get?

Marquette Michigan! How about you? And I bought a 2005 ford econoline e-350. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but I didn't have a ton of options. What kind were you thinking of getting?
 
Caroline57 said:
Marquette Michigan! How about you? And I bought a 2005 ford econoline e-350. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but I didn't have a ton of options. What kind were you thinking of getting?
I'm in atlanta ga. I was looking into something similar, my main concern is stealth and reliability. Let me know how your progress is with renovations
 
Reliability is a big one for me too. I Wanted something newer but I just couldn't find anything. I wanted a passenger van because I liked the windows and there usually better taken care of by there owners, not as beat up. Stealth isn't my main concern. But Forsure I will! Let me know if you find a van!
 
Welcome, Randa, love the adventurous spirit! I had it in spades at your age but was constantly slammed about it because "girls don't do that", didn't stop me but it got old hearing it. Is it better now?
 
My family is concerned for my safety but I assured them its no different then living in inner city and that Ill have protection. A lot of people ive told think I'm crazy but I think people would whether I was male or female lol
 
Caroline57 said:
Reliability is a big one for me too. I Wanted something newer but I just couldn't find anything. I wanted a passenger van because I liked the windows and there usually better taken care of by there owners, not as beat up. Stealth isn't my main concern. But Forsure I will! Let me know if you find a van!
What is your general strategy once you start? Im planning on staying in large cultural hubs and staying for a month or two, get an easy serving job just to get by.
 
RandaOnTheRoad said:
What is your general strategy once you start? Im planning on staying in large cultural hubs and staying for a month or two, get an easy serving job just to get by.

I want to spend more time in the outdoors for hiking and my artwork, but I for sure want to spend time in cities too. I need to be social and wear cute clothes and be a girl sometimes haha. I want to travel slowly also. But I've saved up quite a bit from working more Than full time for the last year as a nanny, so I shouldn't need to work for a while. I hope to nanny when I need money, so similar to you with waitressing, and hopefully support myself as an artist eventually. I just don't wanna sleep in cities a ton because I don't wanna be nervous about where I'm sleeping or people bothering me. I'd rather stay on BLM land and free camp sites and feel safer.
 
Welcome aboard Randa.

You'll find plenty of answers and advice here.
Lots of van build threads to give you ideas too.

I see you've already found a new friend in Caroline.
There are many more single ladies here of every age.

Don't worry about people that don't / won't understand this lifestyle , everyone here does and there's plenty of encouragement here when you need it!
 
Caroline57 said:
What are your plans for the inside?
Luckily my dad is an engineer and being very supportive. Without an actual van yet we only have a rpuch plan, but we are thinking of making a bed with storage underneath that turns into a futon-mattress. He will build some sort of shelving storage unit as well. We are going to get solar panels and install a large fan in the roof. But that's about all! What about you?
 
Top