VANLIFE ISN'T THE ANSWER

[Dingfelder]

Interesting, but if he was floating on a dream, I didn't find it entirely clear why he came down. Nice that he's happy now. Not sure how much his story applies to others, but that's for them to tell the tale.

He did have a nice way of phrasing a few psychological insights.

 

[rm.w/aview]

Sometimes dreams are for dreaming and best left that way.

 

[crofter]

He says his goal was "[font=futura-pt, sans-serif]experiential, simple living" and that is a common thread. [font=futura-pt, sans-serif]Experiential, simple living is something that I want also. [/font][/font]

[font=futura-pt, sans-serif]It sounds like his travels ended due to moving to Hawaii and running out of money, or not possible to sustain his level of spending in the Hawaiian economy. He also meets his wife who does not share his goals of travel. Beware of the winsome derail.[/font]

[font=futura-pt, sans-serif]I think analyzing the monthly income stream vs expenses is one of the things travellers need to do to perpetuate the lifestyle. It is easy to get sucked into spending more on something one month, and then making it a habit even though it is negatively affecting your solvency.  If you are able to bank money every month, think of it more as longevity on the road and not as disposable income. Whoever invented the term disposable income did a disservice to frugal savers.            ~crofter[/font]

 

[Doubleone]

One man's journey.  Interesting take on his experiences; he seems to have grown up a bit.  My thoughts... we need to be stronger than our obstacles and excuses.  Will we bend with the wind or snap at the first sign of adversity?  A van is only one part of the journey.  I've always found in my fondest memories, the adventure and discovering the unknown far outweigh the troubles and tribulations along the way.  Thanks Cyndi, that was a treat to read and some excellent photography...

 

[DesertRose]

I guess he wanted to be a modern day hippie. With a hashtag.

Oh now THAT is hysterical. Thanks for the laugh!

 

[Seminole Wind]

"van life isn't the answer"?? how does he even know my question?

a better statement would be, "van life isn't the ONLY answer"

anybody turning to van life hoping it is the answer may be in for a rude awakening.

 

[jacqueg]

Meh, for me vandwelling is mostly practical. It's a big country, I want to see all of it, and vandwelling is the most flexible and most interesting way to do that.

I outgrew all the navel-gazing long ago.

Yeah - whether or not van dwelling is the answer depends entirely on the question you are asking, doesn't it?

 

[mayble]

"Millennials didn't invent vanlife. But we most certainly invented #vanlife, the act of compulsively broadcasting our curated adventure snippets to the world via social media."

That's the most excellent description of the phenomenon I've seen.
I do wish people would stop conflating "vanlife" & "#vanlife".

 

[RoamerRV428]

true dat.
and why in the heck does every damn thing HAVE to be labeled and 'put into a perfect' box? What is up with that nowadays? I am glad I am older, I remember the good easy times of no hashtags, social media BS, begging for money online, being tortured for 'posting' a comment or pic or whatever......yea, glad I am old now You did what ya did back then, now it has to be labeled, identified, talked about if good or bad and accepted or thrown away with a swipe into trash bin. ugh

 

[WanderingRose]

Yep, an unintended consequence of internet and social media.

No Facebook, no Twitter, no nothin’ like that for me.

I don’t need to broadcast a blow by blow of my life, nor open it to critiquing by others.  :-/

 

[Dingfelder]

true dat.
and why in the heck does every damn thing HAVE to be labeled and 'put into a perfect' box?  What is up with that nowadays?  I am glad I am older, I remember the good easy times of no hashtags, social media BS, begging for money online, being tortured for 'posting' a comment or pic or whatever......yea, glad I am old now  You did what ya did back then, now it has to be labeled, identified, talked about if good or bad and accepted or thrown away with a swipe into trash bin.  ugh

Yup, and done so competitively, with huge social and sometimes even financial rewards for being snarky, acting superior, being the first to find fault and shame another.  Kindness, wisdom, and balance are nowhere near as noticed or rewarded, and if they come in after the bad-mouthing has gathered any momentum at all, can be their own kind of self-destruction when the mob retaliates.  There is always room and time for the next bad word, but anything good must be said extremely early before the whole poop machine gets going, or it's usually too late.  Social media and the internet can reduce almost any adult back into the worst sort of punk again ... with the grotesque bonus that, unlike junior high, every worst thing can be looked up forever.

 

[RoamerRV428]

true Ding


focus on the negative.
the misery.
the horrible and how dare you out there.

scary actually. That it is the snarky and bad that gets noticed. The good out there almost means nothing and doesn't 'go viral' like misery does. I see 'animal pics and vids. go viral for 'cute' yet human cute and more never can compete?? What is up with that? I guess we can connect with a cat cause 'ahh it is so cute' and not a human to be dealt with....a human requires true empathy and connection etc that I think society isn't going there anymore. Humanity heading into the direction of being lost. Behind the technology people can say and do whatever. Phone technology etc is so isolating truly yet they say it opens up the world, yea, to the misery of it if ya ask me, rarely see the good of it in full force.

eh, sorry, rambling a bit. so crazy out there now.

sign of super scary human behavior coming out at its worst, but coming out in it's force. whoooooo….

 

[John61CT]

Fear and disputatiousness are the dominant moods of the modern era. To the point of making our society ever more dysfunctional.

Maybe that's just an artifact of the zeitgeist's complete takeover by social media.

But the old-school MSM and political actors on "the other side" certainly haven't helped.

Or perhaps all just the result of all the very real social / economic problems of late-stage capitalism just not. getting. solved.