Hi all, I’m Michiko. I work as a nurse and have hopes to one day live the van life as a traveling nurse. Not quite sure how to make it a reality and definitely have reservations about traveling safely as a single woman, but I’m excited and inspired by this community. Nice to meet you all! :smile
Good luck with your dreams. 
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Hello from a full-time female vandweller also from NY! Though I do travel with my SO, let me be the first to assure you that it’s a LOT easier to travel very safely than it seems like it would be. Definitely don’t let your gender dictate your travel/life plans! Also, welcome 
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Thanks for the welcome and words of encouragement.
Hey girl hey! Fellow NYer and solo female vanlifer here. I’ve been on the road for almost 3 months now and it’s been great! It felt scary at first but i got a hang of it just by trusting my instincts and trying to never be REALLY alone in certain places. You got this! You don’t regret it…we can tag team my van once i get back to NY haha.
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Hey, may I ask where you are traveling? I get a strong sense that the vanlife is a bit more feasible/accepted out west, but what’s your take so far?? Safe travels!
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I disagree with that. I believe that If you can do literally anything you put your mind to!!!
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Hey! sorry for the delayed response…My route was/is to travel south and over to the west, to then go up the PWC and back over to NY (a full circle around the country). My experiences so far have been great! I’ve heard once I hit the west side there will be more of a (a larger) community of vanlifers but I’d say it is “accepted” most everywhere Ive been so far. I haven’t had any run-ins, yet. But I have also, mostly, been avoiding city areas because parking a van in the city can be a bitch! I make sure to use sites like freecampsites to find spots to park to ensure Im not breaking any rules and Im staying out of peoples way. I would say, though, that Denver is one of the most accommodating cities for vanlifers.
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There is a Facebook group for solo female vanlifers as well! I’m not in it because I’m with my husband, but I know plenty of solo female travelers that are in it and it sounds like an incredible additional community to be a part of! Might help joining! You can get all kinds of questions answered and have people who can firsthand reassure you how to be safe about it.
The world is driven by fear, but there really is so little to be afraid of if you educate yourself and are prepared. Best of luck to you! You got this! 
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As a single woman you should select the countries where law and enforcement agencies are enough strong. Italy, UK and Canada are the best places for single female traveler. Best of luck to discover your dreams. 
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Hey, I’m curious what your strategy was in Denver, as I’m there now and find it to be rather unaccommodating. Most of the townships in the area have no overnight parking ordinances.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still having a great time here, just finding myself needing to be creative to find a safe and legit place to sleep. 
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Good morning! Solo female shuttle bus-lifer in NYC here. I’m currently parking in Brooklyn in the more industrial areas and I’m scared a lot of the time because parking a 22" shuttle bus is really only possible outside of residential areas. I had a partner who also dreamed of van life with me and we built a whole dream and savings account for two years and were getting ready to find the bus and start the build when he decided instead it wasn’t his dream and he went to live with his mommy where he can be catered to again.
My landlady then raised rents 40% because, well, New York! So I decided to do the van life myself.
I have a small pitbull/Shar pei mix doggo with me so she helps keep me safe and I work full time so I do have job security and safe bathroom usage. I’ve only been doing this for a couple weeks and could really use a community of support since I don’t have a backup plan.
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Greetings & Welcome!
Didn’t cater to the partner enough eh? hehe
You might want to consider having your own toilet on board, even if it’s just for emergencies. I really prefer my own clean and sanitary toilet & shower. Public facilities can be pretty disgusting.
Ventilation and reliable climate control can be among our best friends. Unreliable ones can be the pitts. Always have backup plans or equipment to keep you safe and comfortable. Summers & winters can literally be killers.
Stay safe & give the pupper an extra hug from me!
Cheers!
"Working hands make more money than praying hands." ~ Real_Life
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Thanks for this! I keep a portable toilet in the bus for emergencies and use the commode liners with gel pads (like the ones for hospital bed pans 
) so I can dispose of everything in a tidy way should it come to that. I maintain a gym membership solely for showering purposes, but honestly a little splash bath in the van is what I do most. The van has an AC unit that is also a heater and a fan but my current solar set up can’t handle the AC for more than an hour or two before my inverter starts to beep and I lose all power.
I’m investing in a couple insulated Dickies coveralls for the winter and have an electric blanket and my pup for cuddle warmth but I’m not sure if that will get me through NY winter. I do have some friends I can stay with on super cold nights and they gave me their keys for showers too if needed.
I saw that one of the other NYC van life girls goes without heat during the winter because of the noise it makes so I’m keeping my fingers crossed as I’m not a fan of the cold.
Looking forward to getting to know all you cool people out there doing this with me!
Hello From ADK potential future #vanlifesummit, great info so far. Love it
Greetings!
I have a 12v electric blanket that both heats & cools, has a thermostat on it, and a timer too, then I also have 12v seat cushions that heat, cool, and even give you a massage. I really like to rough it, can’t you tell. 
When I wad working outdoors in the winter for years, those insulated coveralls saved my bacon. Then sometime after the Peltier chips became popular, they came out with heating/cooling ones. I think all my heating/cooling goodies now are Peltier powered.
Now I even have a Peltier powered heat pump for climate control. Perfect for A/C, and good for heat down to about freezing. Below that, not so much. Seems to heat or cool by 40-50°F max. I draws a little less than 5a @ 12vdc, so it’s been good for me. Prior to that, I used swamp coolers for years, and they only drew about 2a.
I just make sure I have non electric backups for everything essential, like heating & cooking, just to be on the safe side. I try to be prepared for just about anything.
Cheers!
"Not having an emergency fund, is an emergency!" ~ Rubber Tramp
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Greetings!
This forum is a great 24/7 resource as well… 
Cheers!
"Not having an emergency fund, is an emergency!" ~ Rubber Tramp
I’d never heard of Peltier chips but now I’m looking into them, thanks for the info!
Did you have humidity issues with a swamp cooler in the vehicle? I’m constantly replacing damp-rids and humidity reducers so I’m interested to hear how this worked for you in the summer.
I lived without AC this summer as mine broke on July 4th and since I knew I would be moving into a bus soon, I didn’t bother replacing it. I found that eventually my body regulated it’s temp and I was fairly tolerant of the heat naturally. I’m crossing my fingers that I can do the same for the cold 
. I’m not good with cold. Glad to know the insulated coveralls work in the cold temps too. I will probably live in them.
Have you heard of any reviews or opinions on the heater panels like the one from econohome? They claim to take only 250w but I’m interested to know if they actually work or not.
Greetings!
A swamp cooler used correctly will not cause humidity issues, because that requires ventilation on the other end of the room or vehicle. Unlike an A/C it will actually continually replace the indoor air, with cooler air, and the warmer more humid air is exhausted out the other end of the room/vehicle.
In my experience, even a 1500 watt electric heater can’t keep you comfortable if it’s below freezing outside. A 1500w electric heater only produces 5118 BTU’s of heat. In comparison, I have 60k BTU’s available. Once a comfortable temperature is reached, 10k BTU’s can maintain it, but it takes much more to actually raise temperature within a reasonable amount of time.
250 watts would only be 853 BTU’s… Not very much…
Cheers!
"Ignorance can cost more than an education." - Sir Claus Moser