Hi everyone!
I hope it’s ok to immediately declare myself an outsider- I don’t live the van life and don’t plan to. However I think it’s awesome and I’m really intrigued by the whole idea. I’m working on my third novel and it’s about a newlywed couple who decide to drop everything for a year and go live the van life. I have a couple questions!
- How has 2020 affected your life living in a van? Did it change anything?
- Were there still gatherings of van lifers in 2020?
- I know most people don’t actually live totally off grid, but my characters want to go all in and actually live with no phones for a year. My question is- how possible is it to live separate enough from society that you wouldn’t really know what’s going on in the world? Is it pretty unheard of to have people living that far from everything or does it happen? And if they were doing that, how would they get food, shower, etc?
I really appreciate any insight and I’m sure I’ll have more questions. Thank you!!
Greetings & Welcome!
- How has 2020 affected your life living in a van? Did it change anything?
The biggest thing for me is missing being able to eat out 2-3 times a week.
- Were there still gatherings of van lifers in 2020?
Most were cancelled, but my schedule would have prevented me from attending most of them anyway.
- I know most people don’t actually live totally off grid, but my characters want to go all in and actually live with no phones for a year. My question is- how possible is it to live separate enough from society that you wouldn’t really know what’s going on in the world? Is it pretty unheard of to have people living that far from everything or does it happen? And if they were doing that, how would they get food, shower, etc?
Living off the grid and being self sufficient is possible, but pretty rare. For most people it still involves a job for income, and shopping for food & supplies, gas for your car, etc. Cutting off communications with family & friends also seems extremely selfish.
I would at the very least try to make it reasonably believable and if you focus on their struggles, solutions, & failures, you could even have a best seller. People crave worthwhile knowledge.
Cheers!
"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." ~ Murphy
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Thank you so much! That is really helpful.
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