New, but not new to the concept of van dwelling.

[elocs3981]

My name is Steve and probably 10 years ago I started looking into van dwelling when I retired and I've been retired for 6 years now and I've learned a lot about myself in that time.  I now understand the appeal that van dwelling had for me because it came from the same place as my prepping for Y2K some 20 years ago.  Nine years ago at the ripe old age of 58 I was diagnosed with schizoid ("skee-zoid") personality disorder.  Now you can read some cardboard caricatures of what schizoid is online and some are really off the mark and wrong because SPD is different for everybody who has it.
The bottom line it means being a loner and not having a need to socialize and to be with people.  Myself, I am a secret schizoid, meaning if you even knew what schizoid was you would never guess I had it.  I am not shy or withdrawn and can easily speak with people but although I can do the social sprint I have no interest in the social marathon.  I really need my alone time and a lot of it, but the upside for me of being schizoid is that I never feel lonely.  The connection between van dwelling and Y2K for someone who is schizoid is that you feel a great need to be as self sufficient as possible, to not to need to depend upon other people.  A lifestyle I would love is exemplified by Dick Proenneke of "Alone in the Widerness" fame which I'm sure that many have seen on PBS.  I only wish I had a tiny percentage of the skills and talent he had to live alone in the Alaskan wilderness for 30 years from around age 50 to 80.

I had seriously considered van dwelling as what I wanted to do when I retired but when I reached the age I wanted to stop working and after I had been diagnosed with SPD was that I really did not like to travel and had no desire to be a nomad of any kind.  In fact, 6 years ago I decided I didn't even need a vehicle anymore so I sold the 2006 Scion xA which I had bought new.  That turned out to be a big mistake, not that I needed a car, but that people who owned that model Scion have given it a rating of 4.8 and nearly all say what a great car it has been for them.
A little more than a year ago my 28 year old daughter was diagnosed with health problems which put her in the hospital and then in a healthcare center where she still is and it is 45 miles from me so I needed to get a vehicle in order to go and see her.  And remembering my interest in van dwelling I bought a 2004 Honda Odyssey van, not to full-time in but for something to use for sleeping to avoid the expense of a motel.  I've never cared for paying to be able to sleep somewhere even when I had the money and now when I am poor and retired it is even more important.  Also, having a van is a good plan B for me just in case my current living situation changes due to circumstances beyond my control

I enjoy reading about what people have done and are doing as full time van dwellers but once I was honest with myself I knew it was something I just did not ever want to do.  If it came to it I would prefer to live by myself in a van in the area where I live so I could still see my daughter and keep my healthcare, but having to more into an apartment or more especially into a subsidized senior citizen high rise and being forced to live in close proximity to people who have nothing better to do than to watch what everybody else is doing and who knew more about my life than I did would be a particularly hellish experience for me.  I'm fine with people, but a little bit goes a long way.
But I still like reading posts about van dwelling and watching the YouTube videos about it.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums elocs3981! The Odyssey sounds like an ideal vehicle for what to need to do. I hope your daughter's health improves.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[crofter]

Welcome to the forum, elocs3981. I have heard that those Honda vans are good dweller rigs. Bob did a recent video at the last van build that included a simple setup for a mini van without doing really any buildout. You could check that out and get some ideas. 

For me personally, my van is my home, which I can move from place to place. It is comfortable to pull in someplace, and I am still at home in my van.   -crofter