Making it work in New Yorkr

[GoodWorksMedia]

Hey all!

I'm posting in here cause I consider myself a new comer still. I've been keeping a blog about my journey into the van life at www.godgoneviral.wordpress.com 

Currently I picked up a job in NYC, the first month and a half they had me traveling out of town for 4 weeks, so I didn't even have to stay in my van which was nice. Now that I am officially in the city I've just been urban dwelling and so far it's been great. 

I was really apprehensive about it at first. Sometimes I still get a little worried but for the most part there isn't much to be concerned about. There is ample parking, you can find a great neighborhood. Currently I'm one block away from a subway station along with a starbucks and a NYSC gym i joined. The gym provides soap, shampoo, and conditioner!!!! It wasn't a selling point, but I will admit, I have used it and it all smells great. 

The beauty of NY is that people are so busy and focused on themselves, they never worry about you. 

The only bummer is that it can get lonely in terms of not having people to hang out with regularly. I am quite the social butterfly so I make friends easily, but that can be tricky even in NYC. I spend my evenings at the gym or at Starbucks writing my blog or reading. It still costs money to live here, but if you're not paying $1000 dollars on rent a month, then you are able to afford eating out. Sometimes with my job I get some meals paid for anyway. There are of course things I could do to make it a little cheaper, but for right now it's going great. At present, I will be here until mid October or possibly November, after that I am hoping to make my way across the country and shoot some videos for churches and small businesses. 

On the weekends I've been charging my batteries at my brother's house in CT, but I just bought a solar panel and am hoping this weekend I can install it on my roof and kinda see if 100W is enough to charge my two auxiliary batteries throughout the week. I only use them for running a small fan at night. 

Anyway, that's my update. I love reading all the posts and everything. Happy travels. If anyone is in NYC I'd love to meet up and see your setup.

 

[BradKW]

Good to hear things are going so well in what many consider a difficult place to live. Hope you post some pics and details about your urban camping strategies...

 

[muddy]

Good to know it can be done even in NYC.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

My two brothers both lived in NYC at different times and I always remember my younger brother saying he felt like he's had the most personal freedom there compared to anywhere else he's lived because there are so many people nobody can focus on what just one of them is doing. That always made me think it would be easier to van dwell there than you'd initially expect.

Welcome aboard and glad to see you are making it work.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard tGWM !

 

[poprouge]

ha ha ha when I read your title, forgive me, but this commercial just won't stop playing in my head.



Welcome! Can't wait to read up on your travels.

 

[Jim Plow]

I would like to here some more details of your stealth camping. 

Timing, places you look for to park overnight, thing's like that.

 

[GoodWorksMedia]

I would like to here some more details of your stealth camping. 

Timing, places you look for to park overnight, thing's like that.

Hey Jim, Where would be a good place to write updates regarding my adventures? I keep a blog online, but for this website where does on post beyond the new comers corner?

 

[GoodWorksMedia]

UPDATE ALL: I have successfully installed my 100W solar panel. I'll be honest trying to read up and understand everything electrical can get really confusing and overwhelming. I basically followed the pictures and put the right wires where they need to go. The hard part is knowing wether you have the right battery and the right size solar panel. For my current electrical load all I run is a little fan at night so I am pretty much okay I think. The scariest part was placing the solar panel on the roof and then proceeding to drill holes into the roof of your van. The first hole I drilled to run the cables to the inside and there was some pipe or steel type object in the way and I had to redress a second hole in the roof. So that was a little scary. Ultimately I figured it out. I bought a voltmeter thinking I would need it and then quickly realized I had no idea how to use it and what setting to put it on and where to attach it to get the info I needed. But all in all, the solar panel did end up charging the battery. I successfully built a kill switch into the positive wire coming from the solar panel to the control panel. That way I could turn it off if I needed to during the day while I am away or if I would be gone for extended periods of time. I'm hopeful that in a few months I will be done working in NY and I can hit the road. I'd like to meet a few fellow van dwellers though and make a video or two. Seeing as how thats what I do for a living in terms of shooting videos. www.jbigsmedia.com for those interested in seeing my work.

 

[cyndi]

Congrats, GWMedia!!! That's a real accomplishment.

We have/had another member or two dwelling in NYC. haven't seen or heard any mention of the city in awhile, so I have no clue if they still arehere or in NYC. at any rate, I do remember that they were enjoying life in the big city.

Are you going to spend the winter?

 

[rvwandering]

Hey Jim, Where would be a good place to write updates regarding my adventures? I keep a blog online, but for this website where does on post beyond the new comers corner?

    Start a thread in " Captain's Logs". https://vanlivingforum.com/Forum-Captains-Logs     You could even start more than one if you want to post about different aspects of living in the city.

 

[GoodWorksMedia]

Congrats, GWMedia!!! That's a real accomplishment.

We have/had another member or two dwelling in NYC. haven't seen or heard any mention of the city in awhile, so I have no clue if they still arehere or in NYC. at any rate, I do remember that they were enjoying life in the big city.

Are you going to spend the winter?

Hey Cyndi. Thanks for the heads up. I don't plan on spending the winter here. I would like to be done and out of here by November. It's kind of open ended on the job spectrum here. I have the option to stay if I wish or at any moment I can give them a heads up and they will start looking of my replacement. That's the beauty and the curse of freelance work in television. 

Luckily I have friends and a possible opportunity to work with a ministry in Dallas, Texas that I would like to check out and might head there for the winter. I have a really good college friend who would happily put me up on especially cold nights should the occasion arise. But for now, it's a cross that bridge when I get there kind of deal. 

Best!