<p>First let me start by saying that this site has been amazing, it really has answered most of my questions, but I have a few that need to be resolved in order to move forward. With that said, let me introduce you all to the situation at present - </p><p>My girlfriend and I are moving from the relatively cheap (standard of living) Kansas City to the pretty expensive Pac-NW. We are doing this because I'm going to be starting school after spending 7 years in the Army. She is leaving her current career and going to be searching for something out that direction. So in essence, you've got a mid-twenties student and a young professional that are going to be crammed into a van.</p><p>Our reason for doing so is two fold, it'd be an adventure and secondly, we'd save a boat load of money. Currently we are living in a 600 square-foot apartment that we pay around $800 a month for with utilities. Even if our endeavor is a short one, we'll come out on top.</p><p>What we have figured out:</p><p>We are pretty set on a Ford Econoline. Trying to get a 150, but a 250 wouldn't be too bad, just trying to stay away from big V8s. For hygiene we are going to get gym memberships. There are no less than three 24 hour fitness clubs within a 10 mile radius of where we are going to be living. We are both very active people and both lift/workout as it is, so this isn't going to be an added expense at all. For cooking we've settled on a 2 burner propane camping stove, we are also planning on selling all of our current cookware/dishes and replacing them with things that are more suitable for backpacking. This is for space saving and because we are planning on backpacking in our free time, so why not go ahead and use those dishes on a day in day out basis? Finally for water we were thinking of getting either several gallon water containers or a 5 gallon water container, having it suspended from the back corner, a sink under it that drains through the floor of the van. It's straight in my head, but explaining it without a diagram is difficult. Mail is going to go to a PO box and internet is various cafes or work/school. Laundry is going to be done at the laundry mat. We have to pay for our machines in our building already, so once again, not an added expense. Finally, we are planning on renting a small (5'x5' perhaps) storage container for things that won't fit in our van that we are planning on keeping.</p><p>Unknowns:</p><p>After doing quite a bit of reading, I don't think a refrigerator of any sort is an option. This wouldn't bother me, but my GF has medication that she has to take every other week that needs to be refrigerated. Plus there are things we'd want to keep for more than a few days after cooking. I think a cooler with a constant supply of ice would work, especially given the climate we are going into. A cooler with ice in 50 degree weather is going to keep much longer than a cooler in 85 degree weather. Is this a good plan? Alternatives?</p><p>Physical address. In my experience, in order to get a drivers licence you need to have "proof of residency." Usually this boils down to a bill for you sent to that address. Is there any easy way of doing this? I know I could ask a few Army buddies of mine that live in the area to let me throw my name on there stuff for a bit, but that seems like a lot of canceling/setting up/canceling/setting up going on. Is there an easier way?</p><p>Thanks for reading, and we appreciate any information/help given.</p>