Hey-o!
So this might be old-hat to the pros and long-timers out there, but it was new to me and so I thought I’d share it for other newbies like myself.
So basically, this website (link below) helps you connect with hosts who will allow you to stay with them in exchange for some sort of help. Most of them also seem to provide meals, as well as basic facilities and whatnot. A large majority of these are not really “Vanlife” specific, BUT…
If you search for things like “Homesteading / Off-grid” you get small communities that are actively looking for Vanlifers/Buslivers/RVers/Whatever and offer space for your rig in exchange for some help with farming/building type stuff.
I’m personally interested in Homesteading as a future endeavor, so I was pretty excited to have found the site. It also opens up a new route for “cheap places to stay” with most of them even providing meals. They do all seem to have the set standard of you giving them at least 25 hours a week towards helping out with stuff, but that’s only like 4 hours a day. For a free place to park, free meals, and free use of “facilities”, 4 hours of labor a day is pretty “cheap”.
Some of them even have paid opportunities.
Find a nice farm, stay for a month or two, save up some income living cheap there, learn some cool skills helping out with their projects, then head back out!
Even if you aren’t Vanlife/whatever and are just looking to travel, this might be another possible route for you to explore as you can find hosts all over the world!
Oh, I had forgotten because I signed up for the site about a month or two ago, but it does require a fee. I paid it, I think it was like $40 for the year, and have been happy with my “membership”. I found more than a few different “Homestead Properties” that I was interested in, I wrote two of them, and immediately heard back. I chose one that is in Arizona and will be heading out there on the 1st! I’ll try to update this with how it goes after trying it out, but they have great reviews on the site already.
(Not an influencer, no commission for people “joining” or anything like that, just thought it a useful tool)