Transitioning toward full-time vandwelling?

[ganchan]

My original thought on vandwelling was simply to buy the van and move into it right as my apartment lease expires. This would free up whatever my rent would be at that time (probably $850 a month or more) toward my vandwelling lifestyle budget. I would simply throw out everything that wouldn't fit into the van. Done deal.

But now I'm looking at more of a graceful tapering-off strategy. I definitely want to downsize my current living situation to help fund the transition, but I feel that I need to own the vehicle for a while, take some "proof of concept" road trips in it, etc. before abandoning all housing. Current thoughts include:

1. Begin a comprehensive downsizing by throwing out obvious junk and renting a small storage cubicle for items I'm undecided about tossing

2. Buy the vehicle so I have a daily driver (carless at the moment) about 1 month before lease is due to expire

3. Use my new van go find a room for rent (in someone's house), and then move my downsized self into the room on lease expiration date

4. Make initial experimental road trips while renting room month-to-month

5. Begin full-time vandwelling while maintaining the storage cubicle

6. After X amount of evaluation time, return to town long enough to sell/toss stuff in storage cubicle before resuming travels

"Escape hatch:" Obtain letter of recommendation from landlord showing my sterling tenant history. Use said letter to help get me back into an apartment if things aren't working out on the road.

Something like that, anyway. Total process would take about 15 months. Or am I just dragging my feet?  :blush:

 

[Iggy]

Jump in the deep end! j/k. Do you have lots of patience or are you more of a procrastinator? You decide. You sound like a you are good at planning and it doesn't hurt to have as much knowledge as possible. That said, there will always be surprises when you actually start living in the van. Plus some people discover they aren't cut out for vandwelling and hate it. I eased into living full-time in my van over a six month period. Set it up inside and took many short trips first, while still living at a homeless shelter. Then after living in it full-time for a few months, I redid the interior with different storage options and lowered my bed. There will be more changes made this summer as I refine my needs and wants. Good luck as you figure things out!

 

[Hereandthere]

ganchen, I'd say it partly depends on the climate (both weather and social climate) you are in and what else is going on in your life. In terms of when you buy the vehicle, that may not be something you can pin down precisely... it's kinda like falling in love... you'll know when it happens!

 

[LeeRevell]

G, it sounds like a good plan. No sense burning bridges too soon.

 

[Almost There]

At least you have a plan...that's miles ahead of a lot of people who fail to plan at all!

The only 2 things I'd suggest is to question why you would rent a storage area while you're still living in the apartment if it's to store things you're not sure if you should keep or not. Keep them in the apartment, boxed up if you want...no sense in paying rent for storage AND for living space. Surely there's a corner somewhere you can put the stuff. Rent the storage area right at the time that you're moving out of the apartment because then you'll need it for all the things that won't fit in the room you're proposing to rent.

That and don't wait until a month before your lease is up to buy a van. Sometimes shopping for a van can take months and you don't want to leave yourself with neither the apartment nor the van. Also, once you get the van, it may take a while to have it road worthy, insured and on the road.

 

[ganchan]

Still, I can see how it might be smart to get a "quick-start" plan B together too, just in case that perfect vehicle comes along sooner than I really wanted it to.... The main governing factor is my lease agreement. I either let it expire in a few months (but only if I find my month-to-month cheap room by then, which i'm not likely to do without a vehicle to go shopping in) or renew for one more year. (Shorter terms will jack up the monthly price, which is a no-go.)

 

[KristinaKarina]

I like your list, ganchan:

I too have been trying to work out a time-line/to-do list for VanDwelling ( I have in the past set out once in a converted van, and more than once car camped without a plan, and hence I am not VanDwelling).
Just another thought on the month-to-month: if they are available in your area, and affordable to you something like AirBnB could double as a room to rent/place to stash-sort your stuff, and to park your van until you set out.
Maybe, depending upon your job/income, you might find that things move along faster than 15 mos.
And, you might want to think about some form of residual income on the road like producing an item you can sell, and blogging about it/taking ads. A couple of sources I am looking at are:
Two people sell on eBay while travelling on the road -

And the Dainty Squid, she produces designs which she then prints on items that she sells in her on line store,
and she accepts advertising on her blog -
http://www.thedaintysquid.com/

Just some thoughts, not trying to make things more complicated!
~KK

 

[BigT]

I think you're going about it right.  It would be reckless to just dump everything and move out in your van (though some here will say otherwise).  
If funds permitted, I'd hang onto my apartment for an extra month and live in the van a month.  That way you have your own place to come back to if you decide van living isn't for you.  That's what I'm going to do, but then I live in the SF Bay Area where rents are INSANE and available units are on a waiting list.  
I don't know where you are, but if you're paying $850 a month for an apartment, I guess units aren't as hard to find in your area, so a rented room makes more sense. 

I pay less than half market rate because I got in early and have rent control, and there's no way I could afford to move back into another place in the same area were I to change my mind.  I'm seeing shared housing / *bedrooms* for $1,200 a month!  :s
I'm planning to do the tiny storage unit thing too, but in my case it will be where I keep the things I don't want to carry around with me in the van, not things I want to throw away.  

imo, baby steps and a backup plan are the right way to go, and it sounds like that's just what you're doing.