Hi im Mathieu, Van life enthousiast but also a student Development and Design at Howest in Kortijk - Belgium.
For both school and personal reasons i would like to know what your motivation was or what triggered you to make such a drastic change and live the van life?
Every answer is much appreciated!
Greetings & Welcome!
I worked construction all the way through high school, for a gentleman that ran construction crews all over the USA. He wanted me to work full time for him once i got out of school. I had the choice of staying local, or joining a traveling crew for higher pay. Getting higher pay while getting to see the country appealed to me, but living out of motels didn’t. I had already bought an old VW camper van as my driver, and to use for camping, so I decided to live in it, and pocket the food & motel money we were given extra.
I worked as a traveling construction worker for 30 years until my body told me I needed to quit. Over the years, I lived in many different rigs, but only rarely in a motel. I developed friends all over the country. I attended van and RV rallies all over the country if they were near my location, and from there I learned how to make money online. This allowed me to keep traveling while still having a nice income.
As the years passed, many of my friends who were business owners got old, and requested my help. Especially a group where I am now, South of Miami, and another group located in Minneapolis & Duluth Minnesota. So for the last couple years, I’ve been spending summers in Florida and winters in Minnesota while helping friends. Besides managing their businesses, I am also caregiver for some of them. I hope to be free to travel once again in the near future, after arranging the finances and personal care of all my friends, without the need of me physically.
Cheers!